aaronwt
Premium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Chuckles
Re: This day.
said by Chuckles  :I think the digital converters will be available anywhere you used to be able to buy rabbit ears. Because in a sense that's just what they are... a 21st century rabbit's ears. You will still need the rabbit ears with the digital converter boxes to receive the OTA programming. The rabbit ears worked fine for me 6 yeras ago when I first started wacthing and recording(with a PC HD tunuer card) the OTA HD broadcasts. |
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aaronwt
Premium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
·Verizon FIOS
1 edit | reply to Chuckles
said by Chuckles :I think the digital converters will be available anywhere you used to be able to buy rabbit ears. Because in a sense that's just what they are... a 21st century rabbit's ears. |
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oldman
@unimi.it | reply to Nerdtalker
Quote article - "An estimated 19 million people now do not subscribe to cable or satellite." |
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to dvd536
said by dvd536 :The bad thing about digital is its "All or nothing" meaning its either really good looking or its a black screen. With analog at least you can get a snowy/wavy but watchable screen. that same issue on digital, you won't get anything. Depends on how you have your TV set.
Some will blank out if there is a signal problem. Some VCRs did the same thing so channels that were nothing but static wouldn't blow out your speakers. |
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ElJay
join:2004-03-17
·Great Works Internet
| reply to dvd536
said by dvd536 :The bad thing about digital is its "All or nothing" meaning its either really good looking or its a black screen. With analog at least you can get a snowy/wavy but watchable screen. that same issue on digital, you won't get anything. I think the "all or nothing" digital myth needs to go away... Yes, at the bit level it's all or nothing, but most digital systems have some sort of redundancy or error correction to handle the loss of some bits. I have seen plenty of digital video that is obviously somewhere halfway between the "all" and "nothing" states. Tiling, green spots on the screen, excessive pixelation, etc will replace analog distortions. |
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DonLibes
Premium,ExMod 2001
join:2003-01-19 | reply to dvd536
Not true. Pixelization is a common complaint from people receiving digital signals. And I'm not talking about intentional pixelation (such as that induced by compression). |
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WiseOldNerd
De gustibus non est disputandum
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Phoenix, AZ
 ·Cox HSI
·Qwest.net
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to Nerdtalker
OTA HD broadcasts by the local stations in Phoenix are far superior in video quality to the same stations as carried on the Cox HD system. A $30 antenna (inside) does a superb job of gathering the broadcast signals. I usually watch the OTA when ever I want to view local/network programs. It is just so much better. You might want to checkout how well the Tucson stations are doing. 
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My perception is REALITY |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL | reply to goldy
Then he is a candidate for Satellite. |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| reply to moonpuppy
The bad thing about digital is its "All or nothing" meaning its either really good looking or its a black screen.
With analog at least you can get a snowy/wavy but watchable screen. that same issue on digital, you won't get anything.
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You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth |
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alg
Just a shot away
Premium
join:2001-04-10
Houston, TX
clubs: 
·Earthlink Cable Mo..
| reply to Nerdtalker
We switched over to full digital OTA about 1.5 years ago back home. In my apartment I have a digital tuner in my PC to pick up the digital stations here in Austin. I get free cable through my apartment but I always find myself watching the OTA channels. |
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Chuckles
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN
| reply to goldy
I think the digital converters will be available anywhere you used to be able to buy rabbit ears. Because in a sense that's just what they are... a 21st century rabbit's ears.
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kustomerservice.net |
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N3OGH
Bear patrol must be working like a charm
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs | reply to Chuckles
I would probably harumph and head for the library.
It's full of good books, and they're all free!
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Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power… |
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·AT&T DSL Service
·Comcast
| reply to digiblur
said by digiblur :Actually OTA is where it is at. I watch OTA signals everyday. Beautiful HD material from the source! For free... Yep. Comcast wants $7 per month for a 9 pound set top box in order to get a HD signal. I hooked up an antenna for the HD channels.
Comcast ran a promotion where they would upgrade you to digital starter cable for the same price as analog for 2 years with a guarantee of no price increase. It comes with a free and much smaller set top box that can't do HD. That's what I have now. I just switch to the antenna whenever I want to watch HD programming.
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We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company.
-- Ernestine |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | reply to Nerdtalker
My TV in the PC room uses OTA - I don't want to buy/rent another receiver for Dish and I don't really want to run more wire either... |
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goldy
join:2000-11-14
Augusta, GA
·AT&T DSL Service
| reply to Chuckles
said by Chuckles :This day is going to be friggin' hilarious. They'll be zombies out wandering the streets, drooling, "where's my television?" By then I will probably be one of them. You know certain issues haven't looked into very carefully or ignored entirely.
There are areas where cable tv doesn't reach. A fellow worker lives out in the boonies 30 mile drive to work and the cable tv said he'd have to pay 6000 bucks to run cable out there not to mention the 60 bucks a month for sevice and 8 bucks a month for the converter. and since there are just three farms out there, he'd have to sign a 1 year agreement.
Where can one buy a separate converter besides comcast or other cable companies. haven't seen any stand alone converters advertised except in expensive tv's
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Never chase a dragon with a butterfly net. It annoys the dragon and will probably get you burnt! |
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digiblur
Got Sipura?
Premium
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana
| reply to Nerdtalker
said by Nerdtalker :You're still getting OTA signals? Seriously, I didn't even think there were that many people using OTA for TV service anymore. HD Cable is where it's at, at least for me. Nothing wrong with digital, as long as it looks better. Wave goodbye to static. Actually OTA is where it is at. I watch OTA signals everyday.
Beautiful HD material from the source! For free... even works when the cable line is laying out in the street for 3 days.
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Make your Sipura speak. »www.voipurize.com
And now for the PAP2-NA and unlocked PAP2's. |
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to Nerdtalker
said by Nerdtalker :You're still getting OTA signals? Seriously, I didn't even think there were that many people using OTA for TV service anymore. HD Cable is where it's at, at least for me. Nothing wrong with digital, as long as it looks better. Wave goodbye to static. Say hello to pixilization.
I still do OTA sometimes. |
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Chuckles
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN | reply to Nerdtalker
Well the only reason I have cable is because I get it for free from work. I'd never pay for this $#!+.
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kustomerservice.net |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
| reply to Chuckles
I'm betting the stations will run ads and even scrolls near the end to warn people. If you get caught out, well, either 1) you don't watch hardly any TV anyway, so no big deal, or 2) You're an idiot.
We're gonna be bombarded with ads about the TV switchover... not to mention retailers pushing new HDTV's will hit you everywhere you turn to "upgrade". There will probably be newspaper, radio, and even billboards and government public service announcements too.
A lot of people may not know about it NOW, but I think before February 2009 that will change.
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) |
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Nerdtalker
Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?
Premium,MVM
join:2003-02-18
Tucson, AZ
clubs:
| reply to Chuckles
You're still getting OTA signals?
Seriously, I didn't even think there were that many people using OTA for TV service anymore. HD Cable is where it's at, at least for me.
Nothing wrong with digital, as long as it looks better. Wave goodbye to static.
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"Some people never see the light till it shines thru bullet holes." -Bruce Cockburn
I'm testing Gmail's spam filters: Broadbandreports1@gmail.com
Spam: 12900+ messages currently using 406 MB. |
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