Steve Moore-St.Louis-Gail,with all the crap and garbage on TV now the best thing the local stations and networks could do is salvaged all their equipment and sell it to the scrap dealers.Now is the time to un-load that stuff-copper goes for $3.00+ a pound.They can use the proceeds to start over anew and put stuff on that people want to watch instead of cheap,tacky reality shows and stupid quiz programs.

I have cable so I’m supposed to be ok. We also have one brand new TV running from a brand new amplified antenna that seems to get most of the digital and analog channels fine now.

But, my efforts to assist my parents in Maryland Heights with hooking up their not too many years old but analog TV to a converter box with the same antenna have not been all that successful. It took us 3 hours of twisting, searching and manipulating to get the stations they cared the most about to come in. (namely, Channels 2,4, 5 9, 11 and 30). Unfortunately they still have problems since. Last time I talked to them they are not getting those channels in well. It’s spotty at best and I think they even unhooked the converter box for now to get the analog which is better. Of course, the VCR is right now just useless if they use the converter box and if they hook up a 2nd converter box to it after the change the problem is that they can only record on one channel at a time so if they are out of town for a couple of days they will miss something.
My Mom is not happy about not having her VCR in use and somebody just told me you have to be careful about buying a Tivo or similar product because just because it says Digital Video Recorder that doesn’t mean its a digital tuner. It seems like they will be spending big money one way or the other and all they really want is to watch some programs on CBS and Wheel of Fortune. This has not been cool.

What is this guy talking about? I can’t even keep up with everything I want to watch.

I always DVR shows and movies and end up deleting stuff I can’t get to, or if a series doesn’t pan out after a handful of episodes, it’s sayanara.

And this is the slow summer season. I’m really going to have to weed stuff out in the fall.

Although we did recently switch from Dish Network to DirecTV and thus have different channels in our package and have a few months of trial for Showtime, Starz, Encore and TMC. That opens up a bunch of movies and Showtime originals I never used to get when all we had was the HBO/Max package.

Gail, funny I should run across this posting right now. I’m trying to watch Kitchen Nightmares, on KTVI, on the digital tuner attached to my computer. I’m ready to change channels, as the picture keeps freezing up on me.

According to the software, the signal quality is 100%. However, the signal strength is hovering between 40-60%. KETC Channel 9 is even worse. I can’t watch anything on any of KETC’s digital channels, no matter how I reposition my antenna. If they want to keep me as a viewer, they need to boost their digital signal strength before September, ’cause I’m going to start watching shows I may not be able to finish in May sweeps.

Ugh, I flipped over to Wipeout, and they’re actually doing a clip show of “worst of” faceplants from earlier in the season. Maybe Celebrity Password will come in.

(I have more for you, I’ll send it along)

It will affect me. I have two Watchman portable TVs. They have been great to use while outside BBQing, on the road, and–the best use–during recent power outages. From what I understand there is no type of converter that will be available for these TVs, even if I had them plugged into the wall and stationed on the kitchen counter.
That doesn’t seem right, they should develop some sort of portable converter (battery operated) to go with portable TVs.

Since I love my portables so much, I wonder if/when there will be portable TVs produced with digitial tuners.

I, too, am having multiple problems with my new “converter box”. I have tried several high definition antennas, none of them seem to work. Some channels won’t come in at all, others come in, then break up and I get a message stating the antenna isn’t powerful enough or that I need to move the antenna. I guess if I stand at the TV and continually move the antenna, I can actually watch a program. When I returned the antennas, both department store clerks said they’ve had many returns, that so many people are complaining of the same problems. One clerk told me that the high def antennas and converter box won’t work properly until February 2009 when they make the change. Can you help? Thanks.

None of my current TVs are digital ready, but I don’t plan on upgrading until they stop working and need to be replaced. So I requested the coupons, even though I have satellite connected to three of my four TV sets. I don’t want to be unprepared if that should change for any amount of time.

For example, the last time I moved there was a four day wait before they could come and hook up the satellite. Rabbit ears allowed me to see local channels during that time. I will be going through another work related move out of state sometime in the next two years, and there’s sure to be a period of time when I won’t have satellite or cable. Also, satellite signals are occasionally affected by rain. It’s usually only a few minutes, but if you’re in the middle of an exciting show it’s great to have an alternate source. Or what if there should be some kind of a hardware failure with the satellite dish? Not likely, but it could happen. And it might be several days before a technician could get around to fixing it. I know cable subscribers who have lost service for days after one of those destructive storms the midwest is so famous for. So I can’t imagine why anyone who doesn’t have at least one of the newer TVs, wouldn’t want a backup.

My dilemma now is what kind of converter to buy. I know I have 90 days to do it, and I know that not all converter boxes qualify for the coupon program. Dish Network is offering one called DTVPal that will still cost $20 with the coupon. But it has some nice features such as an onscreen program guide, event timer, program search, parental controls and stereo audio output. I don’t know if I need anything that fancy because it won’t be used very often, but maybe.

After reading some of the comments here, I’m concerned that without a rooftop antenna there still might be a signal problem. Even now, all of the locals have varying degrees of snow and interference with rabbit ears. The only one that comes in really clear is channel 30 because it’s UHF. But it sounds like after the switch they’ll all be equally bad. I wonder if the quality (i.e. expense) of the converter makes a difference in the quality of the signal?

I rely solely on over-the-air television. I already applied for the coupons on January 1, and got a converter around March. I also have an outdoor antenna. I live about 45 miles away from the transmitters, and my antenna is only about 15-20 feet high.

Right now, I can clearly get 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 30, and also a PBS station from Springfield. 9 used to hardly come in at all until a couple of days ago when storms must have turned the antenna a little bit. I sometimes get 24, 46, and two more Springfield stations, usually at night or after some rain. There are times where I have picked up stations from other areas, like Columbia, and the Quad Cities areas, but only temporarily.

So far, I’m really liking the digital signals. My one gripe with this though, is that there aren’t many digital recorders (DVD or DVR) on the market with a digital tuner, and the ones that are are usually of poor quality.

There are millions of Americans struggling along without health insurance that the government somehow can’t seem to take care of. Millions have teeth rotting out that they can’t get fixed because they can’t afford it. But the government’s biggest priority is to make sure everyone can continue to watch TV. No money for healthcare, but somehow there’s money to give every living creature in the U.S. coupons to get converter boxes.

Right now, our biggest problem as a nation isn’t people not being able to watch American Idol. Unless you’re a media company of course. How about talking about important things for a change?

I got rid of my TV a year ago. Outside of leaving state to go to college, proposing to my wife and getting pregnant it was the best decision I could have made. Everything you want to watch is already on the internet. Whatever you can’t find on the internet is available on DVD if you’re patient enough to wait a year and be behind everyone at work.