Does anyone else fear this Digital TV thing?

[Nuzzolese]

I sure do. Isn't it really weird and suspicious how it's required by law to get the digital TV, and how you HAVE to buy this converter box even though they are practically giving them away (probably because they're all cheap pieces of crap that will most likely break every year) and that no one ever seems to give you a good reason for the change, and how the converter box is actually a reciever, and possibly this could all be some mind-control device or some spying device like the screens in 1984?

Plus, I got my converter box and I still have to use an antenna to get a clear picture. What's worse, the digital reception is worse than analog. Instead of static or a slightly unclear image, I get digital blips and signal loss all the time. It's so frustrating! I have to rearrange the antenna more now than I ever did.

I just think this whole thing is creepy.

[Jollop]

I don't fear it, but i'm with you on its' problems. I had to buy a booster antenna just to get a picture.
Every so often, the audio cuts out, or the screen will pixellate.
Sometimes i think we're going backwards, rather than forwards.
Don't get me started on mp3!

[Rock]

It may have something to do with keeping track of who is watching what. For ratings and red flagging and shit. All up in our bidness.

[rirv]

Saying it's required by law to buy a digital box is like saying it's required by law to buy a TV. I'm guessing the reason it's required to buy a box (or digital ready TV) is because the analogue signal is being switched off soon.

[Adam]

It won't record TV ratings. In the UK (and thus I assume rest of the world) the TV ratings are calculated by a thousand people who have special boxes to record what they are watch and when and then they multiply by the amount of people who have TVs. Which is pretty stupid as they don't take into account so many variables.

Why by law? Can you opt to not have a TV?

In the UK you have to buy a license to receive a TV signal. And then you can be put in jail if you caught watching it and don't have one. Most people have a TV license, I don't and thus don't watch TV. They send you a letter threating to pull out your teeth unless you submit. But they never do.

edit: ^^meant to say also, I thought it was only the UK who had the fudged up law thing about receiving a TV signal only via license

[ToucanSpam]

They're putting depressants in our Fruit Loops, too. Be careful.

[rirv]

I think they also turn the central heating up to keep us all drowsy.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by rirv

I think they also turn the central heating up to keep us all drowsy.

The reason I am so uptight is cus I don't subscribe to any of these things. And my tin foil hat helps I think.

[Nuzzolese]

It took me forever to find out why they're doing this, and still I don't trust the only answer I got. Every time I went looking for answers, all I got was a bunch of propaganda, telling me how great DTV was going to be. I do get more channels, which is nice. But why would the government insist on doing this just to give me a better home viewing experience? Since when do they care?

Finally I got some explanation that they were going to free up all the analog radio space for emergency broadcasts. Sounds fishy to me.

And what's with these boxes, anyway? I had my TV plugged into the wall, and the Converter box sitting on top of it. The converter box wasn't even plugged into my TV and I was getting an episode of According to Jim clear as day. So apparently this converter box is a receiver. Why would it need to be a receiver of analog signals, and if it's only a receiver of digital signals, how did it communicate that to my TV without being plugged into it? I know my TV isn't digital because it's old and before this converter box I had fuzzy pictures and static most of the time.

I hope that when the switchover takes place for real, the analog signals will stop interferring with the digital signals and causing the pixelation - if that is indeed the cause of the pixellation in the first place and not a shitty converter box.

They kept warning us about the switchover date but it seems less definite than I thought.

"On Feb. 17, some full-power broadcast television stations in the United States may stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital. The remaining stations may stop broadcasting analog sometime between March 14 and June 12. June 12 is the final deadline for terminating analog broadcasts under legislation passed by Congress and expected to be signed by President Obama."


Yes, you could opt to not have a TV and be cut off from the media. That's what's going to happen anyway, it seems, the way the signal keeps getting lost and I'm betting these converter boxes won't last. Already I've been having some problems with having to turn it off and back on again just to get a picture.

I think there's more to this than they're telling us but I just don't know what it could be. How do we know the NSA isn't behind this? Generally I have faith in the world that it's not run by evil people with enough time and energy to get involved in my small little life...but you just never know.

[Adam]

The media ain't cut off not having a TV. Interweb is far better.

Anyway, the reason for the set top box is because your TV which is probably analogue needs to receive a analogue signal. Thus all the box does is turn the digital signal into a analogue signal.

[Nuzzolese]

Oh...okay then. That checks out. I guess, hence the term CONVERTER box. I'm still not without suspicion about it.

[Adam]

Ms Crafty!

Hello. Not seen you about for a while.

I know nothing of feng sui

[Nuzzolese]

How annoying that you have to register like that. All I ever watch is PBS, NBC and ABC. I guess that means nothing to you nonAmericans but there you have it.

[RobMoney$]

It is completely beyond me that there are still people in the civilized world who are watching a TV with rabbit ears or an antenna on their roof.

Hello, welcome to the 21st century.

[Nuzzolese]

cable TV is for suckers

And you kids get off my lawn!

[Schmeltz]

I feel your pain. Dang gommint wants to take away my dependable ol' telegraph line and make me get one o' them newfangled "rotary telephones." Probly so the Reds can listen in on my conversations! What's next? Women voting? A negro for mayor?

[kaiser soze]

looks like someone needs to upgrade their internet too

http://beastieboys.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=90041

anyways, I have cable now and my addiction to The Food Challenge is growing exponentially

[AceFace]

what's irritating is the current digital cable. last night while watching ghost hunters, it froze up on us about 5 times and when we would switch the channel and come back to it... the station would go black. we ended up having to watch it on regular cable.

hurumph.

[Lex Diamonds]

Heh, you dumb Yanks.

[TurdBerglar]

jesus christ

it's just a set standard. the anolog reception was also a set standard! we used the standard of NTSC and the eroes used the standard of PAL. the governement/fcc forced the standard of ntsc for us. how come you weren't complaining about that! and it's not required by law to get a converter box. and who the fuck doesn't have cable or a dish nowadays? fuck those backwards antenna weirdos. there's only like 10 of them anyways.

free over the air hd tv is fucking awesome.