Converting to Digital TV

[Ann-Marie]

How can I tell if my TV is Digital? I went online, and found a website that tells you how to tell, by reading the fine print on the back of the TV. We really can not tell. The TV is about 15 years old. My daughter said that if it does not have an antenna, it os OK. Anyone else know?

 

[pittle]

If you have cable or satellite, you should not have a problem. If not, you need a converter. At least that is what they keep saying on the Phoenix TV stations.

 

[Brett]

How can I tell if my TV is Digital? I went online, and found a website that tells you how to tell, by reading the fine print on the back of the TV. We really can not tell. The TV is about 15 years old. My daughter said that if it does not have an antenna, it os OK. Anyone else know?

if it's fifteen years old it's not digital but the good news is you don't have to worry if you have cable or satellite.

 

[Ann-Marie]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

[Lee B]

I put a digital converter on the TV and then I had to play with the attic antenna. I like the high quality pictures and the new channels. Most of the stations have at least two things going on. Two of them have Spanish language programs on their second channel.

One public TV station has five channels, including a childrens' and a Spanish language one. I like having two more chances to see Charlie Rose. Another public channel (we have three) has an international channel with entertainment and news from Europe, Asia and sometimes the Middle East. That's often worth a look.

Two stations have full-time weather channels. One sucks but the other is good. The good one also has a mostly news channel, with the occasional light-weight non-fiction program.

So IMO the switch to digital is good: better pictures and more channels, after fighting the antenna a bit.

 

[Icc5]

Mom's TV

My Mom didn't like cable because she say she watches very little TV. We had given her cable as a gift and paid the first year in advance. She had them take it out.
We then did as she asked and my son hooked up her new box to let the TV work still. Great picture, lots of channels. The problem is we told her to use one remote for on/off and the other to change channels. She keeps getting things confused and complaining about the picture. When we come over, the box is turned off.
I'm old, she is older. It sure is going to be rough getting towards her age.
Bart

 

[Ann-Marie]

We definately do not use an antenna. We have cable.

 

[gorevs9]

Now there's talk of Obama suspending the switch to digital. Other companies are in line to "buy" those old analog signals (my electronics is a bit fuzzy, so that might not be the best terminology).

All this because the procrastinators can't get the $40 discount cards in time for the switch-over. Guess what, Convertor boxes are still available, go buy one. If they delay the switch-over indefinitely,will the gov't reimburse the people who bought boxes or digital TVs?

 

[Brett]

[QUOTE
All this because the procrastinators can't get the $40 discount cards in time for the switch-over. Guess what, Convertor boxes are still available, go buy one. If they delay the switch-over indefinitely,will the gov't reimburse the people who bought boxes or digital TVs?[/QUOTE]

I don't know but for anyone using an antenna this is a good excuse to go hi def with a new TV. The over-the-air picture quality is better than cable hi-def (at least with Cox) and you get more stations than before. That combined with internet sites like Hulu gets you all the TV you would ever want.

 

[wackymother]

All this because the procrastinators can't get the $40 discount cards in time for the switch-over. Guess what, Convertor boxes are still available, go buy one. If they delay the switch-over indefinitely,will the gov't reimburse the people who bought boxes or digital TVs?

Lighten up, sunshine. We have our converter boxes and believe me, hooking them up and using them is not as easy as shoving a plug into an outlet. I posted here for help a few months ago and everybody was great and had a lot of ideas, and the digital picture is still less than ideal.

Not everyone wants to spend $50 or $70 a month for cable or digital, and not everyone can afford to. Plenty of people don't even have the $30 or $40 it costs to buy a converter box. And while TV is not a must-have for me personally, there are many older and infirm people who rely on it to stay in touch with the world.

 

[Icarus]

Now there's talk of Obama suspending the switch to digital. Other companies are in line to "buy" those old analog signals (my electronics is a bit fuzzy, so that might not be the best terminology).

The only thing being discussed is a 6 month temporary delay in the mandatory cutoff of analog transmission.

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=10300CL7ZR6J&page=1

Hawaii already made the transition, one month before the rest of the country.

-David

 

[Htoo0]

I find the converter boxes to be a bit of a hassle as well. It's not just the TV but the VCR/DVD player to deal with for us. One of the TV's is digital but none of the players are. I found alignment of the antenna was critical. Not only direction but level too. Rumors I've heard is the signals will be boosted when analog is dropped so hopefully that will help. I happen to live outside of cable's reach and would probably have to cut down trees for satellite. Also, because we're quite happy with the local channels as we don't watch TV all that much (we do rent quite a few movies), we're loathe to spend $50+ per month for service. BTW, you heard it here first, watch the price of converters drop considerably once the vouchers are no longer available. (although I could be wrong )

 

[caribbean]

Frankly I have been putting it off due to all of the hassel. I live in a rural are where cable is non-existant. Figuring out how to add yet another box along with the DVD/VCR and surround sound system frankly gives me a headache. I ordered the coupons when they first came out as was instructed to ensure we got them and then set the envelope aside. Found out later that they had and expiration date and when I looked, they had already expired.

 

[geekette]

Yeah, we have never paid for cable - since the 70s I have thought they are greedy so and so's - pay more, get less. We have only one provider available (NO CHOICE! and I REALLY hate Comcast). Can not get satellite. So we also have dial-up internet. Our options are severely limited, due to where we live. And we're not that far out.

What some think of as a necessity doesn't make it so for everyone. My SIL goes without health insurance but refuses to be without high speed internet and cable. To each his own.

I have the money to pay for cable, I just choose not to. Many simply do not have the money. The reference about teh older folks - yeah, they need tv. I totally agree.

 

[KCI]

Wilmington, NC made the switch to total digital last September as a test case and they found no problems and they are still on it. I believe people will procrastinate until it happens and they will complain that they didn't have more time. Lets get on with it, I'm tired of the thousands of commercials telling us of the change.
KCI's Wingman

 

[Ann-Marie]

I'm sick if hearing the commercials as well. My poor SIL is dealing with an elderly mother big time over this change. Her mother has a TV set that is ancient, with rabbit ears. The woman loves this TV to death, and will not part with it. She got a converter box, and the TV will not work with it. Several people have tried to hook it up, without success. They have done other TV's successfully, but not this one. This silly TV is the ONLY thing this little old lady has in her life, and she is flat out refusing to get a new TV. And, there is no way she can afford cable, and my SIL just lost her job, so she can not help with getting her cable. I know that eventually she will have to give in, but I am sure she is not alone. Especially in the old folk world where these people can not accept new technology at all.

 

[Don]

You might try a different antenna, one with a built in amplifier.

 

[wackymother]

I'm sick if hearing the commercials as well. My poor SIL is dealing with an elderly mother big time over this change. Her mother has a TV set that is ancient, with rabbit ears. The woman loves this TV to death, and will not part with it. She got a converter box, and the TV will not work with it. Several people have tried to hook it up, without success. They have done other TV's successfully, but not this one. This silly TV is the ONLY thing this little old lady has in her life, and she is flat out refusing to get a new TV. And, there is no way she can afford cable, and my SIL just lost her job, so she can not help with getting her cable. I know that eventually she will have to give in, but I am sure she is not alone. Especially in the old folk world where these people can not accept new technology at all.

Ann Marie, has your SIL asked her cable company about "reception-only" or "local channel" cable? I think that's about $10 a month around here (and we're in an expensive area). You get just the local broadcast stations--that is, the mother would get the same channels she gets now with rabbit ears or a broadcast antenna, only nice and crisp.

It's still a good bit in the course of a year, but your SIL might want to get it for her mother in this situation, because I think they can hook it up to ANY television, even the really old ones, with a converter box. Your SIL might even be able to get away with telling her mother that it's the new switch-to-digital converter box. HTH!

 

[caribbean]

The other problem with getting an elderly person a new set is teaching them the new remote. No way in he** I would be able to get my 89 yr old Mom to use a different remote. tried that 5 years ago and gave up and went back to the old set. With advanced Alzheimers, she simple can't change.

 

[Born2Travel]

I can't even get my DH to use a second remote. We have Direct TV on most tv's, but I just bought a new small HDTV for the kitchen so he wouldn't have to try using two remotes - I knew how that would turn out

 

[wackymother]

Okay, this is kind of crazy. Is the old TV one of those big guys in a wooden cabinet? Could you take out the old "works" and drop in a newer TV? Not a brand-new flat screen, but maybe a five-year-old TV that could be hooked up to an analog-to-digital converter box?

 

[Ann-Marie]

The old TV is a tiny little, probably 13 inch, TV. I think my SIL is just going to have to have a new TV ready on the day of the switch, and when the old one no longer works, Maybe she can then convince her mom to switch.

 

[wackymother]

The old TV is a tiny little, probably 13 inch, TV. I think my SIL is just going to have to have a new TV ready on the day of the switch, and when the old one no longer works, Maybe she can then convince her mom to switch.

Well, so much for that bright idea! I bet the "new TV" plan will work. It's hard to give up something that still works, isn't it? I'm younger than your SIL's mother, and yet here I am, digging in my heels and saying, "Dammit! Those TVs are practically good as new!"

 

[Blues]

Frankly I have been putting it off due to all of the hassel. I live in a rural are where cable is non-existant. Figuring out how to add yet another box along with the DVD/VCR and surround sound system frankly gives me a headache. I ordered the coupons when they first came out as was instructed to ensure we got them and then set the envelope aside. Found out later that they had and expiration date and when I looked, they had already expired.

Here, try this link

http://www.hulu.com/watch/36608/talkshow-with-spike-feresten-cable-psa

-Bob