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Hey! My TV stopped working!

Doctor Q

Doctor Q

Administrator
Original poster
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
40,485
9,443
Los Angeles
"My TV is broken."

"I can't get a television signal."

"What do you mean 'digital broadcasting'? I don't understand all this technical stuff. I just want to watch House and Gossip Girl."

"Why didn't somebody tell me about this switch from analog to digital broadcasting?"

Actually, my TV has long been ready for digital broadcasting. I just wanted to be the first one to say all of the above. :) You're probably ready too, right? After all, you're a person who frequents a computer forum. But what about the general public?

Today U.S. television stations turn off their analog signals for good, and this will benefit everyone in the long run. But no matter how many flyers, signs, websites, and TV news reports were used to publicize the change, there are bound to be many people too uninformed (or, frankly, too clueless) to realize it would affect them.

The switchover was originally scheduled for February 17, but was postponed to June 12 to give the publicity more time to sink in, but that won't stop a lot of people from being surprised.

Nobody will suffer a fatal lack of soap operas, but I know we're going to be hearing a lot of complaints for the next weeks, as people with TVs that no longer work yelp for help and rush out to buy converters.

Can you hear the noise yet?
 
What is "TV"? ...Oh, wait, I think I remember--wasn't that the thing that existed before the internet and DVDs? You mean it still exists?

--Eric
 
Eric5h5 said:
What is "TV"? ...Oh, wait, I think I remember--wasn't that the thing that existed before the internet and DVDs? You mean it still exists?

--Eric
Click to expand...

I have the same idea, I have a TV in my room and haven't turned the satellite receiver on in months. I am thinking about asking my roommate if I can save $30 a month on rent if he just took the unit out. If I want local wx and local news I get it online.
 
I attempted to go digital via over the air here, and my sister has done the conversion - in the end it may look like the worst idea ever. Poor reception, drop outs, and all that...
 
I just pulled out my old Sony Watchman (circa 1986), now that's a collector's item. Sucker still works and picked up a few UHF stations.
 
rdowns said:
I just pulled out my old Sony Watchman (circa 1986), now that's a collector's item. Sucker still works and picked up a few UHF stations.
Click to expand...
Broadcasters have until 11:59 pm to make the switch. So a few stations might still be broadcasting analog.
 
I'll still hang on to my old TV, if for no other reason than to communicate with Carol Anne.

poltergeist.gif
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
I attempted to go digital via over the air here, and my sister has done the conversion - in the end it may look like the worst idea ever. Poor reception, drop outs, and all that...
Click to expand...

It should improve; a lot of stations haven't been broadcasting their digital signal at full power because they didn't have the equipment to support analog and digital. With analog gone, they'll eventually begin upgrading and cranking up the power.

rdowns said:
Maybe you should start a petition. :D
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Yeah, maybe they can use all that extra money they're screwing out of their customers by making them fulfill contractual obligations to use that spectrum!
 
Chip NoVaMac said:
I attempted to go digital via over the air here, and my sister has done the conversion - in the end it may look like the worst idea ever. Poor reception, drop outs, and all that...
Click to expand...

Hmm I'm not looking forward to all digital over here. I've tried with various digital boxes and I can't get a bit of digital signal where I'm living now :(
 
At least we won't have to put up with snowy pictures anymore. If the digital reception isn't good enough, you get nothing nada zilch.
 
yg17 said:
Yeah, maybe they can use all that extra money they're screwing out of their customers by making them fulfill contractual obligations to use that spectrum!
Click to expand...

It's been a pretty petitiony day today hasn't it? ;)

Doctor Q said:
At least we won't have to put up with snowy pictures anymore. If the digital reception isn't good enough, you get nothing nada zilch.
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Aww no more ants throwing snow balls. :)
 
We've been digitial in this house since 98 or so, ever since OnDigital. Had to get a new jock off aerial though. Sitting on the roof towering over us, blocking out the sun for most of the lands acres.
 
On the radio today (I think it was the BBC) they had a short bit about the switchover. They said the elderly and poor would be the most likely not to be ready for it. The part I found interesting was their comment about how TV is such an important part of life in the US versus in the UK.

Do a lot of households in the UK not have TVs? I actually know several people here in the US that don't have one.
 
Rescan

Those of us who are getting the over the air digital on an antenna may need to be reminded to rescan for the digital channels. I've done it on two sets today and it takes awhile... .there's a warning on the screen that it might take up to 30 minutes.

I'll have to do it again Saturday morning when all of the stations should have switched to digital.

Even if this piece of advice does not pertain to those who don't use an antenna with a digital conversion box or with a digital set.... it might pertain to your parents, grandparents, or neighbor in that situation.
 
Rt&Dzine said:
On the radio today (I think it was the BBC) they had a short bit about the switchover. They said the elderly and poor would be the most likely not to be ready for it. The part I found interesting was their comment about how TV is such an important part of life in the US versus in the UK.

Do a lot of households in the UK not have TVs? I actually know several people here in the US that don't have one.
Click to expand...


I don't think the elderly had any problems getting ready. I know for example my grandmother asked me a couple years ago (she was about 88 years old at the time) if she was ready, which she was as she had cable, and she lives in a senior citizens apartment and said almost everyone living there was ready, this was 2 years before the transition. Old people watch a lot of TV and see the DTV messages all the time and it's drilled into their heads; and they will do what they need to do to make sure their daily dose of Regis and Matlock won't be interrupted.
 
Haven't had TV for ten years. Sometimes it would be nice to have, but Hulu has filled most of my needs in recent history. I miss baseball games.
 
yg17 said:
I don't think the elderly had any problems getting ready. I know for example my grandmother asked me a couple years ago (she was about 88 years old at the time) if she was ready, which she was as she had cable, and she lives in a senior citizens apartment and said almost everyone living there was ready, this was 2 years before the transition. Old people watch a lot of TV and see the DTV messages all the time and it's drilled into their heads; and they will do what they need to do to make sure their daily dose of Regis and Matlock won't be interrupted.
Click to expand...
A senior neighbor of mine started asking me about the conversion last year. And asking and asking and asking. I helped her get ready well in advance, since it was obviously worrying her, after which she kept asking if I was sure it would work. While seniors who watch a lot of TV may have been more aware of the change, that doesn't mean they understood the instructions.
 
Doctor Q said:
At least we won't have to put up with snowy pictures anymore. If the digital reception isn't good enough, you get nothing nada zilch.
Click to expand...

That's not 100% correct. If the signal is poor you may get a picture with lots of artifacting/pixelating and video freezing without going to an all black screen. It is different than snow, but possibly even more exasperating.
 
boo hoo.

i've read a couple articles today about people bitching that their tvs dont work.

too bad. this transition was announced years ago, and if people are so lazy that they cant go out and get a $40 dtv tuner over a span of 4 years, then they obviously don't care that much about watching tv.


i'm so glad this transition is finally over with. now hopefully all the stations can finish getting full-powered atsc transmitters up and running. i know some of the stations near me aren't running at full power yet, but they will be soon. :)
 
The switch over happened a few months ago here (south west UK), my TV no longer works anymore, it sucks because our digital signal is pretty terrible and we have all the poxy equipment for getting the best signal, it's a bit of a joke.
 
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