Digital TV Convertor Box questions

[Dream]

How many people here have signed up for the coupon or already bought a digital convertor for their old tv? Just received the coupons in the mail wanted to see how many other people like me are out there. Was it hard setting up the box? Are the channels much clearer after the change from analog to digital?

 

[Zulu Romeo]

In the UK we've had Freeview (the free-to-air digital service which picks up digital TV and radio signals through the same aerial using a digital decoder box or equivalent TV) for quite a few years now. The picture quality is much clearer, with only the sort-of "digital" stuttering interference if there is a poor signal (as opposed to the old-style snowstorms), plus most of the main channels show their programmes in widescreen. HD programming on Freeview is still a few months away, but I believe is available on the alternative, Freesat.

Setting it up was easy: plug the aerial into the back of the set-top box, connect it to the TV SCART socket, and start searching for TV and radio stations!

Personally, I upgraded to Freeview for the extra channels (most of which are largely surplus to requirements, save Ideal World where we might find, hawking various bits of tat, the occasional contestant from The Apprentice...).

 

[Spot's Meow]

I just ordered my coupons a couple of days ago. We have cable but it only works in the living room. I wonder when they will run out of coupons for people...for that matter I wonder how many people are going to wait until the absolute last minute to get them.

 

[Dream]

I just ordered my coupons a couple of days ago. We have cable but it only works in the living room. I wonder when they will run out of coupons for people...for that matter I wonder how many people are going to wait until the absolute last minute to get them.

Most people are slackers so they will wait until the last moment.

The coupons are pretty cool. They are like two red plastic credit cards and they save you a buch of money. No way I would have spend $100 on two boxes but with the coupons it becomes an affordable $20.

 

[Non Sync]

Where I'm currently at, I can't get any over the air receiption. I still got my coupons and purchased a couple of the boxes just to have them for wherever I end up.

 

[Hermiod]

Zion Ravescene forgot to mention one major advantage of Freeview here in the UK - you get Dave. With Dave you get Top Gear!

 

[Dream]

OH MY GOD! DIGITAL TV ROCKS!

Set it up a few hours ago. I was just watching the Heroes rerun this Saturday and instead of the decent video that I usually get the episode had near dvd quality picture and was in widescreen. It makes all the difference!

 

[Zulu Romeo]

One more thing: once the analogue signal is switched off (nationwide by 2012), I think the power used to prop the old system up will be chanelled towards the digital signal, making it stronger.

Zion Ravescene forgot to mention one major advantage of Freeview here in the UK - you get Dave. With Dave you get Top Gear!

And they've recently started showing League of Gentlemen on Dave! About time too...

 

[Bob The Skutter]

One more thing: once the analogue signal is switched off (nationwide by 2012), I think the power used to prop the old system up will be chanelled towards the digital signal, making it stronger.

Yep, digital is currently low powered, but when switch over is done the power goes up and the signal will cover ~98% of the country. Only problem is that the relays won't be carrying all of the channels. So some areas will only get around half of the available channels, but all 5 of the network channels should be available.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Where i live in the UK we have not switch over yet but according to the freeview web site we should be able to pick up all the BBC channels but i can't get any BBC channels and the ones i do get like Dave don't like it if it rains or too windy.
Also my box is supposed to update at 3am in morrning but all it does now is wipe it self i read in the paper a update the freeview people sent out made some boxes useless so i was wondring if this was what they ment if this is the case the who ever is in charge should pay for thoese boxes because mine was't a cheep box and i know the swich over is still going on but they should have had the boxes worked out by now.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Where i live in the UK we have not switch over yet but according to the freeview web site we should be able to pick up all the BBC channels but i can't get any BBC channels and the ones i do get like Dave don't like it if it rains or too windy.
Also my box is supposed to update at 3am in morrning but all it does now is wipe it self i read in the paper a update the freeview people sent out made some boxes useless so i was wondring if this was what they ment if this is the case the who ever is in charge should pay for thoese boxes because mine was't a cheep box and i know the swich over is still going on but they should have had the boxes worked out by now.

Freeview aren't the ones responsible for the updates, it's the manufacturer of the box. So what's likely is that if you don't get a good signal, the update was sent out, but corrupt and when it updated it went from a working firmware, to a corrupt one. Some boxes have the old firmware stored and it's possible to revert by using a factory reset, or an option in the menu.

If not you may be able to contact the manufacturer for fix, or possibly download the firmware off the net and update it yourself.

Did you get a new aerial, or is it an old aerial on your roof? Because it is better to have a wideband ("Digital") aerial for Freeview. Or perhaps checked that it is pointing at the right transmitter.

 

[ITL]

I was given a Freeview box as a gift, but it's useless until I get a rooftop arial. Which I can't afford.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I was given a Freeview box as a gift, but it's useless until I get a rooftop arial. Which I can't afford.

Know anyone (fool)hardy enough to get up on your roof for you? Cos you can pick up an aerial for not much more than a tenner, they just need to get up there and point it in more or less the same direction as the others in the area.

 

[ITL]

Nope, I do not. Dammit!

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Nope, I do not. Dammit!

That's a shame. It'd probably cost less £25 total for the aerial, coax and connectors, as opposed to the upwards of £100 a professional fitter charges.

 

[ITL]

Yeah, true. My area doesn't switch over for two or three years, so I still have some time to get something sorted out.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Thanks I got a man to come and put me a new aerial up then we had a earth quick and the chimney fell off so i had to get another man to sort me out. :-(

 

[John Picard]

OH MY GOD! DIGITAL TV ROCKS!

Set it up a few hours ago. I was just watching the Heroes rerun this Saturday and instead of the decent video that I usually get the episode had near dvd quality picture and was in widescreen. It makes all the difference!

No kidding? I may rethink buying a converter box for the time being. I have only one TV and it's analog (purchased ~1993). I had the power supply replaced 7 years ago (which was cheaper than buying a new set) and I use rabbit ears (no cable where I live and I'm not paying for satellite). I have issues with pulling in a good signal during the winter months and figured I would wait until I get a flat panel TV rather than buy a box. My thoughts were that if I can't watch TV after February 17, no big deal. I guess I'll rethink that for now.

 

[bigdaddy]

The whole thing is a joke.

The US government will make billions and billions of dollars from selling the old airwaves and I still had to spend $30-$40 on a damn box, they should have been free.

And the boxes suck. I used to get NBC and ABC best, Fox would sometimes mess up a little, and then PBS would be fine mostly.

What channels do I get now?! I get two ABCs, which I don't understand, and that's it! It did come in VERY clear, but it's useless if I only get one channel.

Thanks government for fucking the American people over yet again, that must be a wonderful job to have.

 

[Brian]

I set one of these up for one of my mother's elderly friends, and from all reports it is just confusing for him. Yet another remote control to manage, plus the channels are weird now. Where he had channel 18, now he has channels 18.1, 18.2 and 18.3, and can not fathom getting multiple channels where one used to be. Also, degradation of signal is an issue. When analog degrades, you can still see through the static. When digital degrades, past a certain point (which you reach very quickly), you just lose everything.