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As
most of us know the big transition from analog to digital television in
the US will happen in less than a year. Either the public service
announcements are starting to work, or people are just finally starting
to pay attention, but our inbox is filling up with questions. We tried
to cover the whole issue back in Episode 257,
but we must have left out some crucial details because the email keeps
coming. We'll probably need to do this again in the future, but let's
see if we can clarify things a little better.
Digital Converter Boxes - a clarification
What's happening?
Right
now if you use an antenna to watch TV, it arrives in your home as an
analog signal. You need what's referred to as an NTSC tuner to change
the channel and watch what the antenna picks up. When the transition
happens, the signal that will arrive in your home will be digital.
You'll need an ATSC tuner to change channels and watch what's on TV.
The two technologies are not compatible. So if you do not have an ATSC
tuner, will will not be able to watch TV.
Hopefully the public service announcements and this show have worked and everyone is up to speed on that part.
What do the converter boxes do?
The government is giving out coupons to those who need them to help
them purchase an ATSC tuner so they can continue to watch television.
These tuners will decode the new digital signal and turn it into the
old analog signal you've been using up to this point. It you use the
TV to change channels, you'll be able to just disconnect the TV from
the antenna, connect the box to the antenna and then connect the box to
the TV and nothing in your life will change. You just watch TV like
you always have. Essentially you just insert this new box between the
TV and the antenna and it fixes everything for you.
Are the new converter boxes HDTV? No,
absolutely not. Some support S-Video, but for the most part they just
output composite video or NTSC over coax. You will be able to watch
any HDTV shows that might happen to be on those digital channels, but
they will be down converted to standard definition quality. You can
not use the coupon to get a free HDTV tuner.
What one should you get?
There
are over 50 models listed online to choose from, we haven't used a
single one of them. And most likely we never will. Many of the emails
we receive are asking for advice on which on to get for a family member
or friend who needs help making the transition. The specifications of
the boxes are mandated by the government, so the feature set on all of
them is going to be nearly identical. Of course some of them may do
the ATSC to NTSC conversion and down-convert the video a little better,
but without using them, we'll never really know. If it was up to us
we'd get the Echostar TR-40,
but it isn't available yet. So if you already have your coupons, and
that 90 day clock is ticking, we'd get one of these for our relatives:
InsigniaŽ - Digital-to-Analog Converter for Analog TVs
Model: NS-DXA1
Price: $59.99
First
of all Best Buy is convenient. There's probably one near by. And
secondly, if it doesn't work you can very easily take it back and get a
new one. It's a bit on the pricey side, but you're paying for that
"just in case" factor. And it's Energy Star compliant.
Digital Stream DTX9900 Digital-to-Analog Converter Box
Model: DTX9900
Price: $59.99
For
all the same reasons as the Insignia one from Best Buy. There's a
Radio Shack in just about every neighborhood and mall, so you should be
able to get your hands on a box without issue. If it doesn't work out,
just take it back for a new one. In our experience, Radio Shack tends
to be very easy to work with.
RCA Digital TV Converter Box
Model: DTA800
Price: $49.87
This
is purely for the price. Of course there's probably a Wal-mart in your
back yard, but for $9.87 after you apply the coupon, that's hard to
beat. You can spend the extra few bucks you save on some snacks to
munch on while you're watching digital television.
The HT Guys love their Starbucks. If you want to say thanks, a cup of joe will do just fine!
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