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After some delays, the country is finally switching its TV signals from analog to digital. And the government is expecting a lot of confusion from the estimated 1 million people who are unprepared for the switch—the AP reports, "The Federal Communications Commission put 4,000 operators on standby for calls from confused viewers, and set up demonstration centers in several cities. Volunteer groups and local government agencies were helping elderly viewers set up digital converter boxes that keep older TVs functioning." If your TV is hooked up to cable or satellite feeds, you should be fine, but if you're wondering, the Star-Ledger has a good guide on the new world of DTV (did you know the FCC is still giving $40 coupons for convertor boxes—they just take 9 business days to arrive). Here's more at the FCC's DTV.gov site.
Get Ready For Digital TV Conversion
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Those Mariachi guys piss me off when you enter a mostly silent subway car.
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God help you if you work at an electronics store for the next few days. Prepare for a mass of old, lazy, or confused people beating down the doors, screaming "What's going on! I didn't knooooowwwwwww!!"
What posting about DTV is complete without this?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w34nNux4Xw
LOL! I was coming in here to post that very same video.
My wife and I are using spare sets of rabbit ears for some kinky role-play, to keep the marriage fresh.
My wife and I are using spare sets of rabbit ears for some kinky role-play, to keep the marriage fresh.
Thank god. Just get this over with already.
Seriously.
What time does the changeover start so we can get a countdown?
I has to have my "I'm a Celebrity, get me out of here" in HD.
This nonsense makes me regret my need for tv. Too bad I can't cut the cord.
It's about time, finally. The analog siganls will be shutting off throughout the day. Stations have until 11:59pm to shut it down.
I got a dtv converter a couple of months ago. GE Model 22729 from Target, and it's the biggest piece of sh!t ever.
First of all, it cost $60, so minus the coupon, it was $20 out of pocket despite the fact that it looks like it shouldn't cost more than 5 bucks - I thought maybe getting a more expensive one might mean it was better. Secondly, you can't use it without the remote, for which the batteries die incredibly quickly, and you literally have to be standing 6-12 inches away from the box for the remote to work anyway. Third, if it's been on for 30-45 minutes, it decides to turn itself off; at this point, I think it's "overheating" and turns itself off every 5-10 minutes after that (again, you have to get up and point the remote at the box to turn it back on).
Another thing I don't like is that with an analog signal, if the reception was weak, you'd get a "snowy" signal and could tweak the antenna. With digital, if the signal is weak, you get nothing usually, so moving the antenna can be tricky since it takes a minute or two to know if you moved it correctly.
I know people will say to just get cable, but I honestly cannot justify paying $100/month for television. For the most part, you can watch most everything within a couple of days off of the internet (I do pay for high speed internet), and most tv sucks anyway.
Anyway, avoid this GE piece of crap if you can!
Cable doesn't cost $100 a month. If you get the bundle with the internet and phone it's about $99-120ish. (on about 3-4 tvs)
As long as it's more than $0, it's too much; I'd rather check out a book or DVD from the library.
The only stuff I wish I could watch: The Daily Show, but I can watch it online; Frontline, but I can still get PBS at least; and major sporting events like the NBA playoffs; but I can go to a bar and actually interact with other human beings.
So, given the cost of cable, even at $40/month, I can't see why I would get it. Every time I stay at a hotel, I get excited to see what's on cable (excited is relative when you're in a hotel in Bumscrew, Kentucky), but I end up watching crap like the Real Housewives of South Boston or Iron Chef Panama.
A lot of elderly christians just went into hyperspace...
Yeah! fake smile news! Digital = more commercials to the masses, kittens in trees, dead people in cars. Oh and now the weather, Beautiful jim, Cloudy days are BAD! Your too fat! Dancing with the stars. Nice day jim! Thanks kelly. CHEEEEESE. And on to another fake lead in cancer reasearch. At 10! Keep those donations pouring in folks! We almost found you's a CURE!
Eek!