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Hill Keeps DTV on Front Burner
Submitted by Benton Foundation on September 21, 2008 - 8:16pm
Last updated: September 23, 2008 - 8:41am
Last updated: September 23, 2008 - 8:41am
Source: Broadcasting&Cable
Author: John Eggerton
HILL KEEPS DTV ON FRONT BURNER
One thing about the debate over the progress of the digital television (DTV) transition is becoming abundantly clear: If it doesn't go well, blame will be passed around a whole lot swifter than converter box coupons. The House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee, which is hoping to wrap up its business this week, is trying to press the point that primary stakeholders in the transition must do everything possible to prevent viewer -- and voter -- backlash. Simply calling a DTV oversight hearing prompted a flurry of activity, including the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finding fault with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a letter from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to electronics retailers asking where all those vaunted $40 DTV converter boxes are, and the decision finally to allow nursing-home residents and post-office-box owners to get converter box subsidies.
Links to Sources
Ratings:
Recomendation:
Informative:
Accuracy:
For those viewers who hav
For those viewers who have not yet purchased a converter box, Consumer Reports has upgraded their ratings on some of the available converter boxes at: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/televisions/dig...
Here is a quick summary of a lot of models: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/televisions/dig...
While cable and satellite program providers will continue to serve the great majority of homes as the primary signal source, missing HD local reception, compression issues, higher costs, billing add-ons, service outages, contact difficulties, in-home service waits and no shows have left many of these subscribers looking to OTA antennas as a good alternative.
But Off-Air FREE TV reception starts with the right antenna.
Viewers should certainly try their old antenna first. It’s true that any of these older antennas will pick up some signals, maybe all the broadcast signals a viewer wants to receive, depending on their location. If they’re getting all the OTA channels they want and some of their local stations aren’t changing from VHF to UHF or UHF to VHF, than they’re good to go.
In order to know if you’ll have the right antenna or combination of antennas, viewers can look up “DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and Second Rounds” at
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_publi...-06-1082A2.pdf and “Third Round DTV Tentative Channel Designations” at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_publi...-06-1675A2.pdf to find out from what channels local stations will be broadcasting after the transition.
Or go to antennapoint.com for a quick look at a specific city and those within range close by.
While Antennas can’t tell the difference between analog and digital signals, they certainly can between a UHF and VHF antenna and there are definitely certain models which have higher DTV batting averages than others. Not all antennas are equally suited for DTV. A percentage of viewers will require something a little more tailored for DTV reception.
With one of the newer and smaller OTA antennas, with greatly improved performance, power and aesthetics, viewers may also be able to receive out-of-town channels, carrying blacked out sports programs not available locally, several additional sub-channels or network broadcasts. And for those with an HDTV, almost completely uncompressed HD broadcasts (unlike cable or satellite).
And if viewers decide to buy a newer antenna, they should buy it from a source that will completely refund their purchase price, no questions asked, if it doesn’t do the job.