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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:38 am Post subject: YES! Your analog TV will STILL WORK after February 17, 2009 |
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I have answered this question a couple of times in the last day so I thought I would put this here for any Googler that happened to be looking.
YES!! Your analog TV WILL STILL WORK after February 29, 2009.
The shutdown refers to the transmission of analog TV signals OVER THE AIR.
If you get your TV through, cable, Satelite, FiOs or ANY other method OTHER THAN antenna you will still have a picture on your TV!
Now if you do use a TV antenna don't worry! ( rabbit ears, roof top antenna, antenna on a tower built in antenna on your TV )All you need is a Digital Converter Box. They are available at electronics retailers all over the US or online.
The US Federal government and the FCC is offering two $40 coupons towards the purchase of two converter boxes per US household.
Have a look here:
https://www.ntiadtv.gov/home.cfm
Have a look here for some antenna ideas:
http://antennaweb.org
Please note the converter boxes require an antenna to work. The better the antenna the stonger the signal. Don't skimp on the antenna.
PLEASE: Keep this one on topic. I know I am the king of off topic posting but I want people to be able to refer to this without having to wade through tangents galore.
To that end I will be pruning any off topic replies that I feel are necessary to keep this topic from getting too far off the rails.
TIA guys.
Analog shutdown, ATSC, TV converter box, Digital converter box
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Last edited by AnalogRocks on Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:32 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Joust
Joined: 05 May 2006
Posts: 2429
Location: Almonte, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Marquee 8501LC
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:35 am Post subject: |
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is that only in the US? or Canada too?
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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:36 am Post subject: |
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| Joust wrote: | | is that only in the US? or Canada too? |
Only in the USA. Our Analog shut down in Canada will be around Aug 2011.
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greg_mitch
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 5320
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:43 am Post subject: |
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I keep seeing messages that the lower power stations are not being forced to switch over so they are recommending converter boxes with analog pass through.
Can they confuse people over here any more??!
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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:00 am Post subject: |
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| greg_mitch wrote: | I keep seeing messages that the lower power stations are not being forced to switch over so they are recommending converter boxes with analog pass through.
Can they confuse people over here any more??! |
Yes I know. I started looking back in September. It's wayyy to confusing.
My father, 63, and definitly knows nothing about technology. He said "You know the old TV in the living room won't work after February?"
So I explained it.
Then later today I had a customer of mine mention he hates cable and wanted satelite because his rabit ears won't work after February. So I gave him the 1/2 hour spiel on what he needs.
Of course NON OF THIS APPLIES TO CANADA untill August 2011. Just the USA after February 17, 2009.
Also if your local station ( comunity, public access, low powered UHF etc... ) doesn't want to switch to digital you will need a converter box that has analog pass through. This allows the analog signals to "pass through" the converter box when the box's power is switched OFF.
If your box does NOT have the analog pass through and the local low power stations don't switch over to digital then you
a./ won't be able to see them with the converter box connected
or
b./ have to get an A/B switch box to bypass the converter box.
See. Clear as pecan pie 
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Last edited by AnalogRocks on Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:34 pm; edited 2 times in total
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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:10 am Post subject: |
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| MikeEby wrote: | My mother has a lot of pine trees nearby it seems the digital signal doesn't like those much but analog works fine. When it's windy her digital picture cuts in an out even with an outdoor antenna. Does anyone know if a newer omni-directional antenna is less pron to this kind of issues.
Mike |
No, you'll need a MORE directional antenna. That's the BIGGEST problem with digital. It has a cliff effect or a threshold.
Once the signal level drops below that threshold the picture disapears or goes pixelated and pauses. Which just annoys me to no end. At least with analog I could still hear the sound while I adjusted the antennas.
I hate it when it STUT-STUT-STUTERS
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MikeEby
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Posts: 5237
Location: Osceola, Indiana
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:13 am Post subject: |
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| AnalogRocks wrote: | | MikeEby wrote: | My mother has a lot of pine trees nearby it seems the digital signal doesn't like those much but analog works fine. When it's windy her digital picture cuts in an out even with an outdoor antenna. Does anyone know if a newer omni-directional antenna is less pron to this kind of issues.
Mike |
No, you'll need a MORE directional antenna. That's the BIGGEST problem with digital. It has a cliff effect or a threshold.
Once the signal level drops below that threshold the picture disapears or goes pixelated and pauses. Which just annoys me to no end. At least with analog I could still hear the sound while I adjusted the antennas.
I hate it when it STUT-STUT-STUTERS |
HAHA I read that on another site after I posted so I deleted my post, that's the first time I have seen that happen. What's the most directional type to get? She has a corner reflector now.
Mike
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Last edited by MikeEby on Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:17 am; edited 2 times in total
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Tom.W
Joined: 09 Mar 2006
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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:16 am Post subject: |
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| MikeEby wrote: | | AnalogRocks wrote: | | MikeEby wrote: | My mother has a lot of pine trees nearby it seems the digital signal doesn't like those much but analog works fine. When it's windy her digital picture cuts in an out even with an outdoor antenna. Does anyone know if a newer omni-directional antenna is less pron to this kind of issues.
Mike |
No, you'll need a MORE directional antenna. That's the BIGGEST problem with digital. It has a cliff effect or a threshold.
Once the signal level drops below that threshold the picture disapears or goes pixelated and pauses. Which just annoys me to no end. At least with analog I could still hear the sound while I adjusted the antennas.
I hate it when it STUT-STUT-STUTERS |
HAHA I read that on another site after I posted so I deleted my post, that's the first time I have seen that happen.
Mike |
Ok you had me very confused so I went back and did this just to make sure I was where I thought I was. No need to delte your post's it's all good information. You did have me confuseded for a minture there though.
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Curt Palme
CRT Tech
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 24396
Location: Langley, BC
TV/Projector: All of them!
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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| AnalogRocks wrote: |
Only in the USA. Our Analog shut down in Canada will be around Aug 2011. |
By that time he will be at 50,000 posts, and will have overloaded and shut down this forum too...   
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greg_mitch
Joined: 03 May 2006
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ecrabb
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Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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Even better than antennaweb.org, is:
http://tvfool.com
Did you guys see the news last night? The FCC has run out of the money that was funding the coupon program.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4247992/
| Quote: | The 7.2 million requests for coupons in December was "a larger number than we had ever predicted. We predicted 4.3 million," Atwell-Baker said.
By Monday afternoon, 103,000 people were on the waiting list, Atwell-Baker said. |
Hmmmm... I wonder if maybe this whole "digital transition" thingamabob isn't going to go quite as smoothly as planned.
SC
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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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| ecrabb wrote: | Even better than antennaweb.org, is:
http://tvfool.com
Did you guys see the news last night? The FCC has run out of the money that was funding the coupon program.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4247992/
| Quote: | The 7.2 million requests for coupons in December was "a larger number than we had ever predicted. We predicted 4.3 million," Atwell-Baker said.
By Monday afternoon, 103,000 people were on the waiting list, Atwell-Baker said. |
Hmmmm... I wonder if maybe this whole "digital transition" thingamabob isn't going to go quite as smoothly as planned.
SC |
Yah think?
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Spanky Ham
Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 5643
Location: Comedy Central
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:30 pm Post subject: |
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Mike,
That is not to much info to go on besides trees. How far is she from the towers? Anything else in the way? What channels are we talking about? The last question is probably the most important as some stations are going back to high VHF.
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AnalogRocks
Forum Moderator
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Spanky Ham wrote: | Mike,
That is not to much info to go on besides trees. How far is she from the towers? Anything else in the way? What channels are we talking about? The last question is probably the most important as some stations are going back to high VHF. |
Good point Spanky! I forgot to mention that.
Some of the curent VHF stations that have been assigned a TEMPORARY UHF licence will be reverting back to the VHF band after the analog shutdown.
What does this mean in plain english?
If you have purchased your little indoor UHF antenna and got it all setup and working just the way you want. When they revert back to VHF ( a lower TV band, ch 2-13 ) you will need to add a VHF antenna ( that's the long rabit ears part ) or if you already have them but werent using them you'll need to pull them up and adjust them. Just like in the old days.
You will still be recieving a digital signal just on a differnt channel. Depending on your converter box you will either have to add the channel(s) manually or re-do the Auto Chanel scan to find the chanels again.
The worst part about this is some of the VHF transmitters are in different locations to the UHF transmitters. This means you'll need to point your antenna a different way to recieve the TV station you are looking for. Just like the old days.
Not all stations use different towers for their UHF and VHF signals so many of you will not notice. Just some of you.
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Last edited by AnalogRocks on Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:36 pm; edited 2 times in total
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perisoft
Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2920
Location: Ithaca, NY
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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| ecrabb wrote: | Even better than antennaweb.org, is:
http://tvfool.com
Did you guys see the news last night? The FCC has run out of the money that was funding the coupon program.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4247992/
| Quote: | The 7.2 million requests for coupons in December was "a larger number than we had ever predicted. We predicted 4.3 million," Atwell-Baker said.
By Monday afternoon, 103,000 people were on the waiting list, Atwell-Baker said. |
Hmmmm... I wonder if maybe this whole "digital transition" thingamabob isn't going to go quite as smoothly as planned.
SC |
Probably 7.15 million requests are from people with cable...
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AnalogRocks
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Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Curt Palme wrote: | | AnalogRocks wrote: |
Only in the USA. Our Analog shut down in Canada will be around Aug 2011. |
By that time he will be at 50,000 posts, and will have overloaded and shut down this forum too... |
Does that mean I'll be part of the A n a l o g shutdown? 
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greg_mitch
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 5320
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| Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 3:37 am Post subject: |
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| perisoft wrote: | | ecrabb wrote: | Even better than antennaweb.org, is:
http://tvfool.com
Did you guys see the news last night? The FCC has run out of the money that was funding the coupon program.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4247992/
| Quote: | The 7.2 million requests for coupons in December was "a larger number than we had ever predicted. We predicted 4.3 million," Atwell-Baker said.
By Monday afternoon, 103,000 people were on the waiting list, Atwell-Baker said. |
Hmmmm... I wonder if maybe this whole "digital transition" thingamabob isn't going to go quite as smoothly as planned.
SC |
Probably 7.15 million requests are from people with cable... |
I got my two coupons and I have cable. Don't know if I am going to use them or not. Do they even make converter boxes that output in HD?
I mean, I know they do because I own one (Samsung SIR-T151) , but do any of the NEW cheaper ones output anything more than 480i and are elgible for the coupons?
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ecrabb
Forum Moderator
Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 15909
Location: Utah
TV/Projector: JVC RS40, Epson 5010
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| Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:34 am Post subject: |
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| greg_mitch wrote: | | do any of the NEW cheaper ones output anything more than 480i and are elgible for the coupons? |
No. In fact, the coupon eligible converter boxes ("CECBs" as they're affectionately known) are explicitly limited to SD/480i output to be "eligible". A very few boxes have s-video outputs, but that's it.
I got my two coupons and bought two $50 ChannelMaster boxes with S-video - supposed to be one of the top 3 or 4 CECB's. I figure I'll wait until just after the cutoff when they're hard to come by, sell them on ebay for a tidy profit, then buy some other cheap box later for $20 in the (unlikely) event I need one.
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=CM-7000
Hey, I'm paying the taxes, I may as well reap some benefit!
SC
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AnalogRocks
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Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 26706
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
TV/Projector: Sony 1252Q, AMPRO 4000G
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| Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:43 am Post subject: |
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I have two of the Channel masters on order, a Zenith sitting beside me, a PHD HD box on my 42" RPTV and two Samsung SIR-360's in the hall that may or may not work. I need to do a shoot out.
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