Comments on: FCC: Some DTV transition hiccups still anticipated

The Federal Communications Commission says most consumers are prepared for the June 12 switch to digital TV, but it still expects some issues and outreach continues.

[gertruded]

Our tv viewing will end soon as we are more than 40 miles from the nearest broadcaster and have several low ridges between us and the station transmitters. It is not worth the cost of a tall antenna. We can get all our news from the internet and the radio, and any entertainment over the internet or purchased.

The tv has so many commercials that it is no fun to watch anymore anyway. We will see how it goes.

[smokified]

What does this have to do with anything?

The point of switching to digital is because for every 1 analog channel that is removed, 13 digital channels can take it's place. Not to mention that it uses far less energy.

If you are still using an antennea and you live 40 miles from a broadcaster, you should be out milking the cows, not watching TV. Leave the comments to people who are actually affected by the issue.

[SteveW928]

It probably is relevant as they likely can at least watch analog TV currently. If they are getting a fuzzy picture now, at least they can tell what is going on. WIth digital, they will likely not get enough signal to pull it in (at least that has been my experience with DTV so far... much more picky). I'm wondering about all the apartment dwellers who can't put up a roof antenna, but get a less than perfect signal. I guess they just have to go to cable if they aren't already.

[smokified]

What is all of this probably?

You are complaining about **** that may or may not even happen?

******* die

[SteveW928]

@ smokified -

May or may not happen? I'm pretty sure it is going to happen.

[martin_c_e]

Amazing how much money the FCC has wasted going to DTV! Still 3 million are not prepared according to Nielsen; they just really don't care. (see gertruded comment). Most people who enjoy free tv would spend their own money for reception because in the long run, it is much less expensive than cable or satellite.

[Tod Smith]

I hope they focus on boosting the digital signals now.

[timber2005]

Again, not noted in the article but analog stations have to underpower the digital signal (lower power than the analog signal) so they don't override the analog signal on older sets. Once the transition hits, full power will be applied.

[man_w_balls]

It's mind bottling how people have trouble with this DTV thing. It's less complicated than connecting a VCR. Remember the VCR? If you don't, it's the thing that we used to have before the DVD player. Digital TV converter boxes are more simple than any of those, but somehow they manage to have community meetings for people who just can't grasp it.
What if all that money wasted on this DTV ignorance had been applied to something actually useful, like food for poor people or healthcare for the same?

[smokified]

I hope when you said "mind bottling" that you were joking in reference to the movie Anchorman, and you are really not stupid enough to know the saying is really "mind boggling"

[Draq Wraith]

You obviously do not have comcast and you are not deaf!
My mother gave up and i gave up trying to get a digital set top box working due to all the garbage Comcast put us through just to get it the box to our house. then there was a to activate your box Jump to though this. Since comcast took over for insight in New castle IN there is no point of presence for some one deaf to go and have then set up their box.

THe box sits unplugged and unused! I WANT PLANET GREEN WITH OUT HAVING TO GET SOME SET TOP BOX SUCKING UP POWER ON MY LIGHT BILL AS WELL AS JACKING UP MY CABLE BILL 46 MORE DOLLARS.
D~W

[regulator1956]

Comcast??

Digital TV converters have nothing to do with Comcast. Comcast is a cable TV provider.

Digital TV converters are for receiving the FREE channels over the air on an old TV set.

[smokified]

They are also for people who are using basic cable with no cable box.

[smokified]

They are also for people who are usDring basic cable with no cable box.

[smokified]

Draq, your inability to determine the difference between a digital cable box that costs $40 more a month (due to the added digital TV content) and a government funded CONVERTER box is not the fault of the TV industry. Instead of whining like a slow child about crap that you do not understand, try living with your head on the outside of your ass...things are much easier to grasp out here.

[smokified]

Give up on life man, it is obviously too much for you to handle.

A Comcast digital cable box has nothing to do with the conversion to DTV. I have 2 TVs that don't even have cable boxes on them and after the conversion they still work fine. This conversion is for local digital channles for people who have TVs that are more than 5-7 years old that do not have digital tuners built in.

You thinking that this is the same thing as being required to own a digital cable box is your own fault because you were too stupid to listen to the 100000000 days worth of information that every media agency and the govenrment provided for the eternally retarded citizens of this country.

[smokified]

The problem here is that people are lazy and stupid.

20 years ago if a change was made, a change was made and people figured it out.

Now we cater so badly to the freaking retarded that millions of dollars are being wasted of our tax money to educate people that are too stupid to plug in a box to their television.

It is a simple concept people. Go buy a ******* box with government money and plug it into your TV. there are 2 connections, in and out. If you are too stupid to figure out what that means after 2 tries....kill yourself so the remaining resources on this planet can go to the people who actually give a **** about being more evolved than a brain damaged monkey.

There is no excuse for not knowing anything these days. Google it retards. They even have pictures for those of you who have trouble with words...such as "in" or "out".

[jhacker]

Wow smokified, tell us how you really feel!! I think you have some anger issues that need to be checked out, too. ;-)

[gertruded]

Smokified, I am so glad that you are so smart and are able to identify some of the rest of us as so lazy and stupid, (and unworthy). It really puts us in our place and below you. I look forward to your comments and instruction in order to improve myself.

[smokified]

Well if you are having trouble with this simple conversion to DTV, I have already given you instructions. Were you too stupid to understand that part too?

[tbirdsinger]

To some, it might be worthwhile, but to me...the commercials are plenty enough to shrug television off completely, then the blips & screen freeze-ups on the new waves are just as annoying as all that it's worth, to me. As commercial as americans are, is enough entertainment as it is, not to mention you all reminding each other how stupid you are...ah ha ha, don't wanna be an american idiot, hey smokified ?

[texas010101]

I live in a major city and have been using two converter boxes for a few months. I can get a clear picture most of the time, but sometimes the signal is weak enough that a given station or show is unwatchable. With analog TV, it was OK to live with a less than perfect picture; maybe the image was fuzzy or had some snow, but was watchable. With digital broadcast TV, a wear signal makes a show unwatchable because the picture freezes or gets too pixelated to see. We rarely watch TV anyhow because there is just not much on that interests me. Much of it is garbage, in my opinion.

[Nfuego]

TO Draq Wraith June 4, 2009 2:19 AM PDT :

If you have COMCAST, why are you fooling around with a converter box anyway? Comcast ins't over the air signals to you TV. You don't NEED a converter box.

[bmn_1213]

Your two pictures are innacurate. You seem to be comparing the grainy reception of analog to the clear reception of digital. That's great except that analog isn't that grainy typically. But what's worse is that if the digital signal is coming in as weak as the analog would have to be to look that way, you wouldn't have a nice clear picture. You wouldn't even have a grainy picture like with analog. You wouldn't have a picture at all, unless you like watching a black screen with a little blue box floating around that says NO SIGNAL.

The cliff effect makes digital worse than analog.

Now, who doesn't think this is all a conspiracy to get people to sign up for cable and satellite? Naive people - that's who.

[smokified]

You are an idiot.

[SteveW928]

@ bmn_1213 -

You're right... that is the problem I've seen so far with DTV. It is quite a bit more picky. Weak signals (snow) and signal bounce (ghosting) were watchable on analog, but in digital, you're outta luck. I'm guessing there are a good number of people who watched less than perfect analog who will now get nothing.... EVEN IF they ordered the boxes and hooked them up correctly. The problem is a bit worse than just getting people to order coupons and buy boxes.

[SteveW928]

@ bmn_1213 -

Oh... that is also an excellent observation about the image at the top of the article. If they were both using the same antenna... the one of the left would be fuzzy like it is, but the one on the right would be blank. I was going to post that, but noticed you beat me to it. :)

[smokified]

So while the .08% of people that are slightly out of range of the maximum legal range of a TV station are concerned about missing their Oprah, the rest of the world has to live on limited technology so as to cater to this large percentage?

I can totally see your logical thought process.

Why don't you see people buying Apple IIe computers anymore? Oh, because the don't make them.
Why don't you see people washing cloths with a washboard in the river? I think you can figure out the answer.
Why arn't wheels made of wood anymore? Same answer.
Why don't we ride horses to work anymore? You guessed it.
Why are we communicating via lit pixels on a interestingly flat television looking thing? I bet you can figure this one out too!

[SteveW928]

@ smokified -

I don't think it is going to be .08% of people that could watch analog but now can't get a strong enough signal for digital. We'll see when all the stations are at full power... but I've seen a number of situations where people could get analog (imperfectly, but watch it) where the digital signal can't be tuned in. It isn't nearly as simple as just getting a new TV or converter box. The signal is quite a bit more finicky.

[Been_there_Saw_it_before]

Comcast in Fremont, California, is piggybacking more digital signals and is cutting off some analog signals. It promised a free set top box to make the conversion. The box is simle enough, but flies in the face of their previous promises that no boxes of any kind would be needed. To add insult to injury, they make the transition two weeks early and cutoff 20 channels last week.

[smokified]

You obviously do not understand what is going on either. There are instructions for you above.

[valentijn78]

Comcast is being impossible. We got the converter boxes for two TVs, hooked them up properly, went through the activation procedure (which, contrary to their claims, is not possible online) and NOTHING WORKS - except the message on the TV screen saying our service has been interrupted. The first call ended in the perennial customer service palm off of "wait and see, call back if it doesn't work and hopefully I won't get your call again." The second call ended with "we're updating lines in you neighborhood, try again in 2-3 hours, after I go home for the day" and the third ended in "we'd love to send a technician, have the account holder call us back because we want her SSN".

I am SO SICK of cable television monopolies. FCC SUCKS.

[smokified]

You don't need cable TV for this conversion. I think it is you that sucks for not making an attempt to try and understand a simple concept.

I had comcast service for years and I never had the problems you are referring to.

They only verify the last 4 digits of the account holders SS# to make sure it is not a random person calling for whatever stupid reason people feel the need to **** with people.

This may be a sign that you need to spend less time watching TV and being stupid and more time learning about the world around you.

[bsaucer]

To clear up some confusion...

Analog TV is broadcast in NTSC format. DTV (over the air) broadcasts in ATSC format. After the transition, local stations broadcast in ATSC, but not NTSC. Store-bought convertor boxes convert ATSC signals into NTSC.

Cable companies broadcast in both NTSC (analog) and QAM (digital). the store-bought DTV convertor boxes will not work with cable TV unless they are equipped with a QAM tuner. And even then it would only pick up 3 or 4 "free and clear" QAM channels. And the channel numbers of these won't be properly mapped.

Even after the DTV transition, I still watch NTSC cable channels as before without a cable box. I have a TV card in my PC that can also pick up a few QAM channels.

As far as TV reception, Analog TV (NTSC) can get fuzzy reception. Digital TV is "all or none". You either get the signal or you don't.