Your Analog TV Will Stop Receiving in 6 months! (HOT topic!)

[Mike B]

It got good reviews online.

Has a L R audio, composite and S Video output as well as RF on ch 3 or 4 (switchable) and a metal case with an internal (not wall wart) power supply.

Haven't hooked it up yet because I still need to put up the antenna.

[Chris D]

Okay folks, the day has arrived! Last day EVER of high-powered broadcast analog TV in the USA is TODAY! As of midnight tonight, I think there's going to be a lot of very unhappy campers out there that get nothing but snow on their old TV sets. I really think that a lot of the public has stuck their heads in the sand, in denial that this was coming. Some are going to luck out (or justifiably just don't care) because they just happen to have cable or satellite TV.

I'll admit... as a procrastinator, even I myself took wayyyyyyy longer than I should have to order my converter boxes. My first coupons expired, and I finally used my replacement set of coupons last night to order the boxes from Amazon. (best available were the Tivax T8's--with coupon and free shipping came to $9.99 each) I have DirecTV, but still have one old TV in the house running isolated on an antenna, and another VCR that will need a box. I decided I needed to go ahead and order before there's a mad rush from the public tomorrow.

Start watching the news and listening to the public tomorrow. Will be interesting.

[Chris D]

... quiet around here, all over the Guide today.

What's the word out there on Day 1? I'm currently travelling in Canada. Had caused problems at the hotel I'm at, but not huge.

[Chris D]

Ok, folks, if anyone is having transition problems to digital TV, ask questions here, or you can call the national FCC helpline. 1-800-CALL-FCC.

700,000 calls placed this week, and 300,000 today since the cutoff. The FCC says that's much less than what they expected.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31343385/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

[aud19]

Reminds me of the whole Y2K non-event :lol:

[JustinGN]

Everything went according to plan, it seems! The FCC says they got around 300,000 phone calls on Day 1 regarding the switchover, and they've all been answered and pointed in the right direction.

My (crappy) TV signal still works, so I'm satisfied. Parents are hunting for a converter box for the van, though.

[David Meek]

Reminds me of the whole Y2K non-event :lol:

Crickets. I hear crickets. :

Sorta the same sound I heard very early in the morning on Jan 1, 2000 as part of Shell Oil's Y2K alert team. And that's GOOD. :T

[Chris D]

Huh... yeah, looks like we could be good! A few ways that I'm personally impacted.

- All my TV's hooked up to my DirecTV's still work good.

- My VCR and an older TV in the house on an antennae now need the converter box. Shipped from Amazon yesterday, so hopefully I'll get them soon. (but now all the programmed control commands in the house I had to control the VCR are going to need to change, and I'll have to split the signal somehow, because I'll still need Play/Pause/etc for VCR control, but separate control for the TV channels on the converter box)

- As mentioned by Justin, portable TV's are now kind of SOL.

[David Meek]

Portable TV's? You mean iPhones? :B

[madmac]

I have a Sony HDTV with a built in ASTC tuner. I am in Montreal and get all my HDTV over the air from Plattsburg and Burlington Vermont which is a good 70 miles away at least. I use a Radio Shack outdoor antenna (White round, sealed flying saucer style) mounted to the side of my house ($150). It is amplified and has a Rotor built into it that allows me to move the array when needed (Rarely). All I can say is that I NEVER got the stations I have now when it was all analog. With digital, the signal travels MUCH further and as stated above, you either get it crystal clear or not at all. Even the stations that are not HI-DEF look much better than the old analog way. There is no 'ghosting' in the image and it's basically DVD quality. Trust me folks, this is a MAJOR improvement in broadcast television!!.