Digital TV Bust

[JesseL85719]

I watch DTV and there is no problem. Get your facts right.

[glk001]

The digital transmissions are weak and digital signal drops off sharpely from the transmission tower...There's been debate to allow broadcaster to up the power, but something has to be done..Once with analog we were able to get from Connecticut, most New York VHF stations along with all major VFH and UHF stations in Ct...Now we got two stations until I did some antenna work to pick up 3 more UHF stations...It's not a good situation at all and we're getting robbed of some good Public Tv stations.

[kk5vn]

Built a 4 bay (indoor) antenna off of youtube, and am 30 miles out for 57 of the 59 channels I get in Houston.. 66 miles away, I get one way south in West Columbia,, and another way northwest in Bryan. For VHF, I will have to add a couple elements. I am going to tell ATT to keep the U-Verse. I don't need it. If you don't get good reception: build a better antenna, get it up high, point it properly.

[harvesterofhope420]

dtv = scam.

[RAQ665]

"Better TV" Better TV my ass.

[amcabbott]

cable companies were forced to go digital as well they lost millions in doing so think about all the places that have analog tv (no box) old age homes 2nd 3rd 4th tvs in privet homes all these tvs are going to need a box like satalight customers don't want to pay of course so my cable company is sending at 3 free boxs per house that must cost millions its not the broadcasters that did this its the fcc they want all the analog bandwidth for things like enhanced 911, fire rescue and police radio,s

[kats9livesfive]

I believe the Government got together with the Pay Cable Companies,and made a deal to pass on the extra cash from new forced customers that could not receive programs in a decent manner.. That is a big way to make money for the cAble companies,and I think that getting together with the Government to go Digital was a way of forcing most people to give up and come to the dark side of Paying Cable,and the Cable Companies pass on to the Government some money for bring in more customers..

[Igentenos]

we used to get 2 channel pretty well here in rural midwest. we now get nothing!!! zip!!!

evenwith the big antenna and everything they recommend. i will not pay $50 month for cable that is more than half garbage and late nite is infomercials. i only like a few shows anyway. The Office. i watch some free episodes online. NBC has free episodes of Dateline and some other shows online. But back to DTV. I feel like no TV watching will be free in the future.

[Igentenos]

And we had the big antenna on the roof.

[Cringle84]

Well, it is not just America that has problems, Us in Australia will have problems in the future when we switch our analog network off, I live just outside the city, surrounded by a residential neighborhood, only thing that works properly is Satelite pay tv (Austar), and the old analog VHF/UHF network that still works perfectly on all channels with even indoor rabbits ears, or better: the ancient spiral antenna. dont get me started with my experience with Digital, yecch!

[mubd1234]

@Cringle84 I live in Sydney, and I absolutely agree with everything you say. I have a specially made for digital, amplified antenna and what happens? I pick up the infomercial channel and Channel 10 from Wollongong (reception sucks donkey balls). The power that digital TV is broadcast at is a quarter of analog TV, and I suspect that is the problem.

[WeatherSTARIII]

If you can't get any more over-the-air digital signals, then I suggest you should use a outdoor antenna tower. It works better than a indoor rabbit-ear antenna. You can even hook up more than one tv with an outdoor antenna tower.

[n8hud1]

No shit! Every time I think I want to watch TV now, I check the 2 channels I have and it's either Maury or evangelism. This is horse shit. I've got an amplified $100 digital antenna, I went for a more expensive converter box... and still have only 2 fuggin channels. Screw digital TV, screw the FCC, and screw the whole god-damn gov't. Can they get ANYTHING right for fux sake? They've got the fecal touch - anything the gov't touches goes to sheet.

[BIGJ46227]

Dtv channels skip more than a scratched dvd wtf.

[jed2j]

mine worked perfectly fine

[mustrockone]

i think the conversion is sponsored by cable and satellite companies so we will pay for tv now. they promise us one thing and SURPRISE! we get something else. I know i want cable now. how 'bout you?

[Gary1111001]

I get cable for a few months until I wear it out. I last ditched cable in Oct 08. TV stinks now, and I don't watch it - so the conversion hasn't effected me.

I watch DVDs, Youtube, and even VHS! (last night was Star Trek TNG)

[rep0eagle]

Wow, digital tv is so cool. I spent $300 bucks on my outdoor setup and I get an amazing 2 stations that pixelate every 5 seconds. NOT. I'm telling you all, it's a waste of time. Don't spend your money on it.

[davenwin1973]

I had no problems with DTV prior to the June 12th date. Since June 12th, problem after problem. I'm thinking in my area, some of the power from the analog transmitter helped boost the signal. The problem has been DTV stations on the Sears Tower, but not John Hancock. Every Chicago station, except 2, are on the Sears Tower. Some stations are set, while others are still working on theirs today. I had to use an outdoor antenna with analog, and even more so with DTV. When it's good, it's good.

[RedDrMario]

Most of my channels are infomercials, news, and religious channels not that its bad but come on we only need one

[nrox653]

It's just that ATSC (the digital signal used in the US) is more primitive at broadcasting. If there's a weak signal with ATSC, it just kinda pixelates and goes black and the sound drops. With DVB and ISDB (Europe/Asia), it progresses from max quality signal to a low res signal before dropping altogether. Apparently America just HAS to be different at everything (*cough*imperial system*cough*)

(Although I have to say miles work great instead of km).

[rep0eagle]

When FAUX news can't reach it's audience anymore, then maybe they'll do something.

[JeffN727]

I can pick up alot more digital stations than I ever could analog stations.

[princessjen12345]

I only get 1 channel now. DTV SUCKS

[vigeeeeeeeeeee]

Just 2 channels are available in my area--one is only infomercials and the other is in Spanish only. No local radio either--only preprogrammed music. I called the FCC and they said broadcasters are currently operating on low power output.They may increase power but only if they chose to so. If there is an emergency situation, good luck!

[pgm98387]

wow, your converter box gets 2 channels!

I have a roof antenna connected to the box

and got 12 stations in analog. Now its no signal for all of them...

[wbd206]

DTV is horrible, We all need to make a stand!

[Dudtz]

I am curious why so many organisations pushing for DTV are so Fascist like.

They try to make people out who don't buy into DTV,Satellite,and/or cable out to be fools,for some odd reason.

[buck23337]

you goverment is at work for you with new picture quality that contly screws up and has an amazing 2 channels

[TheNinja4]

i cant wait to watch fucked up tv shows that are getting messed up every 5sec o boy i can't wait!!!!!

[RAQ665]

dtv is going to be the tv standard of the 21st. century.

[bigal8631993]

digital tv fucking sucks.

[kipptumor]

I have four converter boxes in the house - I love them. Unlike cable, it is free, and it has like 17 channels - Yes, you have to piddle around with the antenna, but you get used to that little game. It tends to get the worst reception during very overcast days, but for the most part they all work great and I have rabbit ear type antennas, but with adjustment knobs on them. The boxes have antenna/signal strength aids too - those help a lot. hey - It's free - sort of.

[whovian1971]

I have more channels then I did with analog. And the picture quality is better. I can actually SEE lost now!

[tv10morehead]

I also do not like having to pay to watch commercials so check out FTA dishes about 80 English free sat channels from Aljazeerah to numerous smaller stations and the Sky angle type religeous networks but no monthy fee.

the best dish set up you can get is about 450.oo the cheepest for only on KU sat is about 150.oo a great supplement when the DTV aint working or nothing is on;

ALSO CATV has to give you just the Broadcast channels for a cheep rate if you demand it, about .50 per ch. 15.oo month

[tv10morehead]

see my comments on the other video with some tips that I have found work in many cases but yeah, lots of unreliable locations for DTV/HDTV analog pass through on the boxes should have been manditory!

[rep0eagle]

I have a 22" Vizio LCD HDTV (HD tuner built in) and I get CBS in HD 1080i, PBS SD, Create, World, and a kids cartoon channel.

All clear with no skips. DTV cool!

[0Francine0]

Lmao, I have a 19" one. I only watch WHRO Kids and WHRO HD lol. I also occasionally watch movies on other channels.

[marsam233]

This video doesn't mention where you live is a factor of receiving signals. In SLC, I get 25 channels of digital TV and about 20 with analog that I can barely receive. There is no doubt in my mind that Digital TV is better.

[sebenste]

For the record, even though I love digital TV, you should know that the Senate yesterday passed a bill to delay analog shutoff until June 2. The President is expected to sign it immediately. That will make a rather messy situation much worse than it has to be.

[MauserKar98k]

Digital TV sucks. I went from having like 24 channels to just 7. It seems like it's just a big scam.

[killerdeamonking]

Get A big intena and get two channel boosters a that will do the trick.

Plus it wont work very well right now because their not done switching everything to digital.

[AllieRX87]

You have to buy a cable box. It's the only way to watch TV when this happens.

[kibjohn]

"fades to black"

the end:

NO TV is better than TV. . .lol. . .excellent point. because TV is bullshit

[sebenste]

I am 60 miles west of Chicago, and get all but one channel perfectly. You get 15 channels? Will people will watch them if they are full of snow/"ghosts"?You do need a decent antenna in the attic or roof more than 20 miles out from a full-power station. By decent, a $40 from Radio Shack is fine. Sadly, most people with analog TVs and "rabbit ears" get lousy reception. And of those 15 channels you get, 8 were poor, and 5 were almost pure snow. All you need is a better antenna and you'll be fine.

[spacenuke2003]

Digital doesn't have snow and ghosts. It is much worse! It locks up and has giant artifact pixels and garbled sound. Even on cable it doesn't work well unless the signal is perfect.

[sebenste]

If done right...which many cable companies DON'T do, it looks fantastic. Ask DirecTV or Dish Network. Again, I am 60 miles away from the transmitters, using an antenna in my attic. Minus storms and weather fronts in spring moving through, no issues, and sometimes I get stations hundreds of miles away.

[beerrox711]

im in Los Angeles and from 20something channels in analog i get 10 halfassed dtv channels and by the way airplanes and helicopters tend to interrupt the signal so good luck if you live near an airport

[michaeloptv]

Hi.

I live in Southern New Hampshire. I get most of my stations (except for one) from the Boston network. I hook up the converter box to make sure it works...does it/yes!! FOR TWO CHANNELS!!!!

I would get about 11 on analog, but if there is only one channel I can watch without it freezing, no audio, no signal, or just fuzz worse than before...f*ck it! We have no choice but to buy cable now bc we live in a condominium. I want cable, but my parents just can't afford it!!

[sebenste]

Can you get an amplified TV antenna with rabbit ears and a loop UHF antenna? That may help you.

[Techknomen]

MOST all amplified small antennas do not have ANY FM trap so strong local FM stations induce harmonics in the amp prior to the TV & can wipe out signals from ch7-13 or even a UHF ch. Sometimes FM stations can have harmonic problems. FM96.3 1st harmonic =192.6MHZ,

in ch. 10, higher FM's will hit channel 11 12 & 13. SOME analog police scanners can step from 173mhz to 222mhz to see if you hear any FM programming (as a cheep spectrum analyzer) FM trap at the antenna or use AMPS w/FM traps

[rickmumma]

In my area 40 miles south of NYC I go from 7 analog VHF stations (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13) over the air without the converter box to ZERO digital stations with the converter box.

I'll get my news from the internet and my entertainment from books, my guitar, and DVDs. I'm not going to start paying for cable just because of a law pushed by John McCain and passed 51-50 (with Dick Cheney being the deciding vote).

This wasn't passed for the benefit of cable companies, was it???

[sebenste]

What converter box are you using? I'd go with a Zenith DTT-901 at Circuit City (while they're still open) or Radio Shack can probably order one. The ones at Wal-Mart are bad news. The ChannelMaster one is also very good.

[allahollah311]

DTV cheerleaders don't tell you that DTV ota signals not only have to be received well but also held steady so the tuner or converter box can lock onto it.Folks using rabbit ears over 20 miles or so from the xmitter will be in for a rude awakening come 2-17--09 in most cases.

[tornadoguru5]

Do ou have an indoor antenna or an outdoor that could be your problem i did not get no channels at all about 10-25 miles either with an indoor antenna.

[Djoe2]

LOL, this video is kind of funny.

2011, Canada loses their signal.

[eimac4x1]

Google "Centris DTV". The FCC has been warned about the shoddy coverage of DTV signals, however, they are trying to downplay the information. Lots of people going to be without news and weather, even if they have the converter box.

Dont you feel so warm and fuzzy that your government is taking care of public airwaves for you?

[gccengineering1996]

Sounds terrible there. Maybe an amplified antenna with FM trap might help. Only 2 channels that's messed up there.

[doubledodeccagon]

This dtv thing sucks balls. I waited until the last minute to get my box (coupon expired the next day) because I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to go pick one up, you know, because the switch isn't until February.. I go to get it and every place in a 30 mile radius is sold out. I finally find one, get it home, hook it to the tv and antenna and TA-DA! I get 3 fucking channels, one of which is 24 hour weather, and all 3 freeze and turn to a multi-colored blocky mess every few seconds.

[thamuzicaddict]

Mine started out fun, but that's about what it's turning into. When my mom hooked hers up it was worse. I think she got one channel. She was a bit underwhelmed.

[eimac4x1]

Yep, lots of people will NOT be able to get ANY signal, where once they could get very usable analog.

I live fairly close to a city (50 miles) and I can get digital as long as the weather is OK. here are 3 stations I cant get in digital, and are really good in analog.

I have a HUGE antenna and a good booster. Im eally not impressed. Those rural folks who depend on TV for weather and news are going to be screwed.

Thank you uncle sam!

[lonewolfette]

As others have said, if you live in an area with good reception to start with, you're in luck. If you're anywhere else (like reception of two analog channels = no digital) then I hope you've got cable.

[DigitalTVsucks]

Why pay for something that should be free? The air waves belong the the people, not to the FCC or the broadcasters or the politicans. If someone in payoff land got some money under the table to force us to pay for something "we" own, it's not going to happen in my case. I feel ripped off that they sold me 2 converter boxes that can't convert the TV signals because they are too weak.

[sebenste]

Which ones? The Zenith DTT-901 and the ChannelMaster ones (available at Circuit City and elsewhere) are the two best. The ones from Wal-Mart...awful. They also can overheat.

[blablissimo]

Got a huge antenna and 2 of those converter boxes, still get no reception to speak off with digital TV.

This is a BUST for most. The FCC must be in bed with the cable providers.

Now when WalMart can't reach its audience anymore, then maybe it will become news.

[pmarceau]

Maybe they all are not broadcasting in digital yet? You may only be getting channels that have switched to digital or or broadcasting both.

[Techknomen]

Well I suspect we might see a boom in "Pirate" LPTV in analog and digital since it seem the FCC and the Corporate Media are all too eager to get rid of small independent stations that might not be with the new paradigm.

A channel 6 analog audio signal is all the way to the left on many FM radios but there is also a interference factor from sub harmonics generated in cheep tuners. FCC wants all TV off channel 6 but some LPTVs are staying digital or not.

[kk5vn]

@blablissimo The reasons for DTV are: Digital uses a much narrower part of the band. This leaves huge amounts of radio spectrum to be sold off to the highest bidder by the FCC. It leaves more room for cell phones, and digital airwave internet access. Also, the newest police/public safety band will be in the 700 mhz portion. It had nothing to do with the cable providers. With all of the new channels,, cable will most probably die a slow death over DTV.

[Jean0987654321]

@DigitalTVsucks because they want u to

[hlasiy]

Just the opposite case in Atlanta, GA. The converter box plus an amplified antennae gave me nearly possible channel in our area, no more snow. In addition the channels are in some cases pure HD. "Some got it and some don't"

[motz99]

If you're close to where they broadcast you have a chance to get better and more reception, depending on the weather. If not you're watching a black screen.

[vigeeeeeeeeeee]

You said it!!

the digital convertor box is a BUST!!!!

Back to to the drawing board.

What a waste of time and money!!!!