DTV Transition

Well we got mom all setup for the Digital TV transition that is due on June 12. Originally I thought this will be simple enough, we hook-up the converter boxes to the current TV; scan for channels and we’re done. How naïve of us to think that would be it.

Mom lives on the edge of nowhere and the nearest TV station is about 100 miles to the south of her. Now she is only two miles from the courthouse square in Magnolia. Cable TV is not provided outside the city limits (which mom is about 10 feet out of).

We have always used an outdoor antenna attached to the house. Years ago we got three TV stations, then it went down to two and a few weeks back she was down to one station. Thank God it was ABC. I would have had to rent a motel to see Desperate Housewives and Dancing with the Stars.

The thought of getting Satellite TV just turns mom’s stomach because the cost. Sure it starts out low, and then you have all the add-ons if you want TV in more than one room, then rate increases and having to depend on them. Her wish was to simply have her two TV stations that she has had for years. So she set the bar low enough we should be able to swing it off.

I hooked up the DTV box and scanned for new channels. Nothing! I think a few profanities to myself and try it on a different TV. Still Nothing.

Being on the edge of nowhere there are not many options for help. I break down and find Radio Shack who explains to me that you have to have both VHF and UHF antenna to get the transmissions. Well we don’t have the right antenna on the house so the project just mushroomed. So while we are there we do fact finding and are told we can’t use the old flat cords we had used and we also need to install coax cable.

We spent the better part of a day pulling cables in the house, and another day taking down the old antenna and putting up the new one. We ended up getting the basic two channels (3 & 6). But each channel sends multiple signals so channel 3 has three settings 3.1, 3.2 & 3.3. On one is ABC, the next is always local weather and the last is the local news that repeats over and over like CNN Headline News (only the local version).

Channel 6 has HD (High Definition) on one and SD (Standard Definition) on the other. Then in some rooms I get an additional channel with two digital numbers showing the same programs.

So now we are out $40 in converter boxes; $90 in a new antenna and $100 in coax cable and splitters. Mom decided she wanted a TV in her bathroom where she can watch while putting on her makeup. So she picked out a nice 19” HD TV. The picture in her bathroom is better than I get with Cable in my living room.

I also read on ( http://www.dtv.gov/ ) that many stations are not transmitting full strength right now. Once the conversion happens they will increase the signals. There is a wealth of information on the website. The only issue there is most folks who use antenna’s for TV don’t have computers or internet to read those websites.

I think this transition will leave a ton of people without TV. We just happened to be at moms at the right time to prevent her from having problems. I never expected it to be such a big ordeal. I think June 12 will end up being the real Y2K.