We've reached the point of no return in regards to the digital TV transition. And at this point, even a member of Congress wildly waving hands and laying down on the DTV Track won't stop the end of full-power analog TV in the United States, by the end of the day this Friday.
Yep...THIS Friday.
Read the entire article at our Ohio Digital TV blog...
11 comments:
I wonder if Raycom one day will cut their losses, bite the bullet, and go digital on RF 19(probably not likely). They would have better signal saturation, plus RF 19 in the Pittsburgh market is going away too (maybe it's gone already?), so WOIO would have a clear shot to the east. I'm not surprised they're having coordination problems with Canada. I figured that's why they have yet to get approval for the station upgrade if that's what you want to call it!
No more delays! Procrastinators get what they deserve. Time to move forward!
Okay, anyone living in a cave who has not heard about analog tv stations switching to digital? Anyone who has not taken advantage of the $40 DTV converter box coupon program raise your hands as well? Sorry, you're screwed by Friday unless you have cable or satellite. Wonder how well these people did in their elementary school current events classes? DUH! Betcha by the end of next weekend Radio Shack and Walmart will be flooded by consumers wanting the DTV converter boxes and willing to pony up the full price!
- Andrew, MALL727.net -
Andrew I have to agree with you.
I read an article on Cleveland.com about a woman who lived in Bay and couldn't get WOIO-DT or WVIZ-DT- I am hoping to get WVIZ when they start broadcasting at their new tower, but I am not holding my breath on WOIO-DT. I have heard they have a request into the FCC to up their signal strength. I put an FM trap on my indoor antenna and I still can't get WOIO-DT.
Aside from it look funny in my living room, would having an outdoor antenna inside work? I was looking at this antenna by Winegard- http://www.winegarddirect.com/viewitem~p~HD-1080~d~Winegard-HD1080-2Bay-Bowtie-UHF-and-High-Band-VHF-Antenna-(HD1080)~post~.htm
I have a large living room window/sliding door that I can point an antenna toward the Parma farm through.
Any thoughts?
Hey Mark,
There's no problem using an outdoor antenna indoors. I have a few friends and family who have small directional antennas in their attics. It won't work as well indoors as outdoors, but it's a huge improvement over trying to screw around with rabbit ears. My family use to have a summer home on Cape Cod. We had a VHF/UHF antenna (2 elements VHF and 4 elements UHF) that we used in the attic that worked fine. It probably wouldn't fly with DTV because the picture had a little snow, but then again we were 50+ miles away from the nearest full powered TV station. As far as using it in your living room...well that's up to you. It would agitate me quickly having it where it's taking up valuable space-not to mention it would look a little tacky. At any rate, the best thing you can do is get the antenna as high as possible.
My second thought is that if you're planning on getting that particular antenna then I would recommend you NOT go through Winegard Direct unless you like paying a premium. Amazon lists various merchants who sell the same exact Winegard antenna new for $20 cheaper. You may be able to find it somewhere else for a better price.
Well, other than being a little inconvienient, if it works, and you can put up with it, fine. The Winegard HD1080 is a nice antenna, and you can experiment with its placement - depending on the exterior shething material used in where you live, its possible it can be put in a closet and it might work fine. Keep in mind, screens produce a 'faraday' effect where it can actually block a signal. So if you place it by a window, make sure its clear glass without a screen blocking it. Also, use a good quality cable like the THX-rated coax by Monster Cable. There is so much cheap junk out there that's highly lossy. I've never had much luck with the stuff I bought from Radio Shack in the past. Monster seems to be worth the extra coin. If you need a signal amplifier, Motorola makes a real nice one. In any case, good luck. One tip, with only a week to go, I'd wait and see if increased signal strength goes up on all the stations when analog gets switched off.
- Andrew, MALL727.net -
Thanks for the advice. I live on a second floor apartment building in Westlake on Detroit Rd by Dover Center. I am not going to buy anything until at least after Friday. I have been following this blog for a while- I am hoping to pick up WVIZ-DT when they start transmitting. I found that antenna on eBay new for around $32. I currently have an antenna from RCA UHF/VHF combo (ANT 1250) I bought 5 years ago at Walmart and I can pick up 3.1, 3.2, 5.1, 8.1, 43.1, 43.2, and 61.1. I can pick up WVIZ and WOIO analog very strong, but no digital. WBNX analog varies, but also no digital. The reception is pretty strong, even inside behind the windows. I have actually taken the antenna outside and the reception is only about 3 to 5% stronger. I live in an apartment with 3 windows that are about 3 feet wide by 6 feet tall, the middle one a sliding door. Here at my apartment they allow DirecTV dishes to be mounted on our patios/balconies.. I might ask if I can mount that antenna I'd like to get on my patio. They have a few on the roof here that I have hooked into, but my indoor antenna is stronger!
WBNX analog has been running at reduced power for about the last month which may be why the signal is not as good. It seems many people including yours truly has a harder time receiving WBNX-DT than many of the other Cleveland UHF digital signals. Hopefully it will be easier to receive after the 12th when they are able to implement their maximized facilities (i.e. move the digital antenna to the top of the tower).
A sad day for OTA TV for us up in Lake/Ashtabula counties (below the ridge) that are border to Canada protection, & have no secondary market.
WBNX running low power? I hope so too, I was hoping WVIZ was just running lower power with an improved antenna location. Still pixelizing here on my attic mount 140 mile UHF/Vhf combo that was good for analog for the most part.
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