The Other Digital Divide

There's been plenty written about the digital divide. Unfortunately, our nation's policy on leveling the playing field between urban and rural for the access to broadband services is somewhere between nonexistent and haphazard. While I'm rarely for bigger government, there a few times when they need to regulate things so users can have more access than dialup at a reasonable price.

That out of the way, I wanted to mention the other digital divide that I see coming. The digital TV transition is creating another divide of those that can obtain a TV signal with an antenna, and those that can't. I saw this on the CBS news today. They manage to take a complicated issue, and simplify it to the point of uselessness. It's why I can't stand folks like Suzie Orman who would approach the DTV transition as just get your coupon for a new converter box, hook it up to the TV, and you'll have digital goodness with an improved picture and sound. Yeah right, if only this "one size fits none" approach ever got anything done.

I'm here as the living proof that it's not that simple. Even with a new TV, and a digital recorder, both with ATSC digital tuners from different manufacturers, hooked up to a set top antenna, I have yet to see digital television (unless you count my DVD player, but that's another story). And yes, I do have good analog TV reception currently. They really need to explain to folks that most of the digital signal is in the UHF spectrum (at least for now), and half of it is likely to stay there. This depends on the specific market you're in, of course. However, for those that live too far from the metropolitan area, without a really great antenna, their OTA signal will likely go dark on 2/19/09. None of the advertising ever wants to mention that, and no amount of converter boxes are going to change that.

While I don't see folks moving out of suburbia and back to the cities just to get free digital television, just realize that this is a problem that no one is discussing, but they just might be a year from now. Too bad the nation's consumers cannot really afford to upgrade everything right now, as this could get expensive during these lousy economic times.

Jonas

Ditching the Antenna

It's been a long haul of trying to figure out what to do with my personal transition to digital television. After a false start with a new HDTV with a digital tuner, I've been stuck on the process of actually acquiring the new digital signal. Apparently, this is not an uncommon phenomena, and many folks return their shiny new TV when the analog picture sucks in hi def detail and blame the television. Unfortunately, at least in this case, I'm too savvy for that, but this has turned into an on and off quest for the last year.

I should mention that I'm roughly 25 miles from the NYC transmitters, and my rooftop antenna is VHF only, hence my problem. I should also mention that my analog picture is generally pretty good with only a small amount of interference and I consistently tune in all the VHF networks fine over many years.

After too much research, first I tried a Philips antenna which failed to impress me. Next, I tried the DB4 from Amazon. I'd like to be able to tell you a final verdict, but in the spirit of journalistic integrity that we hold here at TN, I can only say that this was returned without a final conclusion (hence why this is not in TNL-Reviews). I'll detail how I ended up doing this in the hope that it may assist someone else sort through this complicated issue.

I will tell you that when the DB4 arrived from Amazon, I was disappointed. For the $50 I parted with, it seemed like a piece of junk, and rather flimsy. It also didn't include any coax cable which seemed like a cheap package for the price (the less expensive Philips was a better total package including a run of coax and a powered booster). I ended up assembling it, and heading onto the roof only to figure out that my coax wasn't long enough to reach the splitter. Did I mention that I'm not a big fan of being on the roof, especially in the windy month of March? In the interim, with the DB4 hooked directly up to the TV on the ground in the house, it didn't pick up any digital stations which was not exactly reassuring.

I headed back to terra firma, and acquired a more reasonable length of coax, 12 feet to be exact, and the connector doodads to be able to hook this into my Samsung TV, while leaving my old analog TV on the VHF antenna for the next several months. In the meantime, I did some more research, while being bombarded with silly DTV Transition ads that just tell you to send away for your coupon, and pick up a new box and all will be digitally awesome. Oh, did I mention that my disability policy lapsed?

In the meantime, waiting for the wind to die down, I did more research on the internet. While antennaweb.org presented an optimisitc picture, I'm not sure it was accurate. Another site, tvfool.com gave me the following image:

You can probably make out that all the stations I could receive are in the red portion, and those can be difficult to tune to. Several are in the weaker portion of the red, so I didn't give it much hope. Did I mention that my house is at the bottom of a hill, and there is a larger hill between me and the transmitters?

I also had been seeing posts on the AVS Forum that even folks that are closer to the transmitter are having plenty of issues. Their forums are specific to the various markets, and I figure if others are having issues, and are not in the red zone, what hope is there for my location, given the junky DB4? Did I mention that I was concerned that mounting a second antenna with the wind storms we had last month gave me that sinking feeling that all will fall down?

On top of that, it's not entirely clear to me where all the stations are going to end up after the digital transition. A few of them are going to end up back in the upper VHF spectrum, which my existing antenna should bring in anyway. Here's a site with far more substance than flash worth checking out. According to it, at least in the NYC area, ABC, PBS, and CW11 will end up back in the upper VHF range. It seems that the DB4 is purely UHF so it may not get those stations, so what do I do if half my channels are VHF and the other half in UHF? Did I mention that both Fios and Optimum have their cables running past my house?

When I put it all together, and looked at things objectively, I made the decision to return the DB4 to Amazon. Of note, they took it back and didn't charge a restocking fee AFAIK, and even paid for the shipping back (hence why I buy lots of stuff from there). While I'll never know if it would have definitively worked, I significantly doubt it given all the data I was able to look at. While it did save me a trip up on the roof, it just didn't produce a satisfying conclusion that I had hoped to come to. While I did toy with the idea of an attic installation, I doubt this would work as well, and ditto for any set top antenna. Did I mention that I think after all these years, I decided to join the pay per TV club?

Now the challenge is just to figure out who to send the check to! At this rate, this will take me another six months so stay tuned...

Jonas

NudgeCast 3/24/08

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Digital antenna update, thoughts on the wireless auction, the end of record companies, and speedtest.

TechNudge Live

NudgeCast 3/11/08

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This week: more about T-Mobile, their service, and a phone battery issue. Also some talk about a new TV antenna. Finally, the incredibly useful site is Consumerist.com.

Seriously Super Saver Shipping

So I've ordered my new antenna from Amazon. It seems these days they're more aggressively trying to get you to upgrade the shipping option. I ordered it on 3/6. When I put the order through, it said that I would receive the item 3/18 to 3/25. As this still beats the digital transition date, I figured this was ok, and it saved me $7 over standard shipping, which is 3 to 5 days.

Today I checked on my order, and I've tracked the package to Pittsburgh, with an arrival date of 3/11. Even if it's a day late, this still is more like the 3 to 5 day shipping, so what are those folks paying extra for?

Is this an isolated event? I'm pretty sure not as when I ordered stuff in January, including a Zune 80, they again threatened to ship it almost two weeks later. I held tight, and the package arrived in less than a week from order.

I think in the end that there is little difference in the time that the package will be received from standard shipping, or super saver shipping. Maybe they should rename standard shipping to "sucker shipping?" Keep this in mind with your next order.

Jonas

In Search of a New TV Antenna

It's less than a year to go for the end of our analog television signal. I've still got my analog antenna. It's attached to the chimney outside, and still works fine for VHF duties. After some research, I've got a plan for the upgrade.

I thought at first that the way to go was to buy a new antenna and swap it out for the old one. You know, one of the newer ones that has the UHF V at the back that will tune in all that HD goodness. After researching it, I'm glad I didn't go that way. For starters, these things are heavy. They can also be kind of bulky to hoist up into position. I've also heard that they can be a challenge just to put together. They also are more expensive than some other antennae. After a few reviews, I was convinced to look for an alternative.

As a first step, I'm going to try this compact model. While I don't give it much hope of working perfectly, it does have some favorable reviews, and just might work, so I figure it's worth a shot. Rather than taking my existing antenna down, I plan to piggyback it onto the main shaft. Apparently it has a range of 20 to 30 miles, and I'm right in the middle of that from the towers. I figure I'll give it a try, and see if it works.

When it doesn't, I've got a plan B. Moving up in size and price is this model I found on Amazon. I like that I can also mount it to the pole of my existing antenna. It also claims a range of up to 50 miles, so I should have enough overkill factor fudge factor available. Recall that a marginal digital picture results in image dropouts and resets so it's really not going to be enjoyable unless it's right.

The stumbling block so far is that I've been to two Wally Marts and both of them have been out of the antenna that I've been looking for. Geez! Good thing I didn't wait for the last minute. While they've got piles of the digital converter boxes, they need some more antennas or the boxes will be useless. I plan on hitting another Wal-Mart later this week, so stay tuned how this all goes.

Of course, if neither antenna works, I can just justify Fios so maybe it's not the worst thing in the world...

--Jonas

NudgeCast 012808

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Discussing the podcast reloaded. A new television antenna. Zune issues. Skreemr.

DTV Answers, What You Really Need To Know

Now that we're nearing the cutoff date for the end of analog television broadcasting, and the digital transition is a little over a year away from being complete, I thought this would be a good time to discuss what users should be aware of. While the government has a web site devoted to this, like everything they do, it's hardly as simple or complete as it should be. I'll do it as a FAQ so it's easy to reference down the road.

What are we talking about?

Since the beginning of television, the signal from the TV transmitter (the tower) to your television set has been analog. It will be replaced with a digital signal, which offers some advantages.

When is this happening?

The date is February 17, 2009. While there's always talk of changing it to another day, it seems firm this time.

What are the advantages of digital?

A digital signal promises a cleaner picture, with no static, and clean audio. A digital signal is also required for a high definition TV to display the broadcast in hi def (which by definition is >500 lines of resolution). It's like the jump between listening to music on a CD (digital) versus a cassette tape (analog)- both provide the music, but the digital is a lot clearer, and no one wants to go back to tapes.

Are there any disadvantages to digital?

The main disadvantage is that in an area where the signal is not too strong, and you could watch a fuzzy analog picture, in some cases with digital, you may get no picture at all. Also, you may need some new gear to watch your TV. Finally, changing the channel takes longer to tune into the new signal.

Who is really effected?

First of all, only 15% of the nation is really affected by this transition. They're the folks that get their television over the air (OTA) with an antenna. For the other 85% that have cable, Fios, or satellite, things will continue the same. In most cases they have set top boxes that do the decoding, and will continue to do the same.

(As an aside, that's not entirely true as those that watch analog cable will have some type of transition in 2012. They will likely need new converter boxes as well. See more here.)

What's needed?

For the minority that get their signal over the air, there are two essential components here. The first is an antenna that can pull in the signal. The second is a television set with a digital tuner. Without both, you're not going to be able to watch digital television, or after 2/19/09 any TV at all.

Do you need a new antenna?

Maybe. While there is no such thing as a "digital antenna" most of the digital broadcasting is done in the UHF range (these are the channels above 2 through 13, those are VHF). For those that are close to the transmitter, good ol' rabbit ears may do the trick. If your antenna is old, it might need to be replaced, er, I mean upgraded.

In the picture above, the antenna covers both UHF and VHF. You can tell that because it has the "V" on the left side of the image. If your rooftop antenna looks like this, you should be ok in receiving a digital signal. Without the "V" you have a VHF only antenna, and you're going to need an upgrade.

What about this tuner?

This is the tricky part. Assuming you have the right antenna, and are pulling in the signal, that doesn't mean that now you have digital television. There needs to be a digital tuner (known as ATSC in television jargon), to decode the signal. All the TV's sold since the spring of 2007 have one, and the larger TV's (>35") since 2004 have one. However, that still leaves tons of older sets with no digital tuner, including those that were sold as "hi def ready," and had no digital tuner.

If you're on the fence about a new TV, and you get your signal from an antenna, then over the next year is a great time to upgrade to a new TV set, with a digital tuner to simplify things. Then, as long as the antenna can bring in the digital signal, you're good to go.

What do we do with the older sets?

I'm glad you asked! No, you don't automatically need to toss it in the garbage. If you're otherwise happy with the set, you'll need a digital converter box. This will attach to your antenna feed, and decode the digital signal for the set, thereby bypassing the internal analog tuner of the set. These are the so called set top converter boxes that many are talking about. The government is giving out two $40 coupons to defray the cost of this to any citizen that asks for it. If you're interested in the coupons, click here.

Just to be aware, before you grab your coupon, there are a few gotchas. The first is that the coupon expires in 90 days. The second is that it can only be used for this converter box, from an approved list, and not for anything else (like a new TV with a digital tuner, for example). Also, remember that if you get your TV from cable or satellite, you really have no use for this box, so don't get the coupon as it may keep someone who really needs it from getting it, and these are not unlimited. Finally, while it is a $40 coupon, the boxes are expected to cost $60 to $70 so it still will cost you a few bucks.

What about other devices?

Quite bluntly, they probably won't work. While your VCR will still playback prerecorded tapes, it won't be able to record from its tuner. A possible work around may be to have it record from "line in" and send it a signal from the converter box, but I haven't personally tried it, so proceed accordingly and don't blame me when it doesn't go according to plan.

Devices that have an internal tuner, but no input, like a handheld TV for example, will also end up in the brick pile once there is no more analog signal.

Also, the older TV tuner PC cards, like the ATI All-In-Wonder stuff will end up not being able to tune in anything as the analog signal will be gone. There are some new tuner cards that have a digital tuner from Hauppaugue so look for this feature if you're purchasing anything.

Why is the government doing this?

Aside from the greater good of better television for all, and the electronic lobbies wanting to sell us new TV's, antennae, and converter boxes, the vacated analog TV spectrum will be auctioned off for some type of wireless broadband. The details are sketchy still, but the government stands to make billions, but if we get wireless broadband out of it, I'll gladly buy a new TV and antenna.

Feel free to ask any unanswered questions in the comments.

Jonas