It seems my family is just one of many with much less access to television since the switch to digital. Bush’s government kept telling us that all we needed to do to continue to watch TV after the switch to digital was buy a converter box with the free government coupon. Well, this wasn’t any more true than some of Mr. Bush’s other stories.
Thanks to President Obama postponing the switch date my family and many others were able to get a digitial converter box in time but that’s the end of the good news in this story.
The reception problem lies with the nature of digital signals. They are weaker and more directed than analog signals, so there’s less chance of a signal reaching your TV or antennae. When a signal does get to you, if it’s weak or coming in at the wrong angle, your equipment may have trouble picking it up. When the signal doesn’t come in well you won’t get a bad or snowy picture as you did with analog transmission – you’ll get a picture that freezes or none at all.
Unfortunately, a converter box makes it possible for a TV to get digital signals when they’re available but it doesn’t help the digital signals get to our TVs. Neither does a brand new (indoor) antenna with 4-foot ears (we’ve tried). Many people are experiencing loss of signal including Tom Allibone of teletruth.org. Jessica Almond of the FCCgave an interview the day before the switch and confirmed that many people might need to spend hundreds of dollars on antennae and connections in order to continue seeing TV programs after the switch to digital.
Test your signal strength
Find out what kind of antennae you’re going to need to get the channels available in your area at the FTC site or at antennaweb.org.
Why your old antennae doesn’t work now
None of the announcements we read or heard in the months leading up to the switch said anything about this: it’s true that just about everyone who needs a converter box will also need an antenna. And, any old antenna might not do the trick. Standard rabbit-ears indoor antenna probably don’t provide strong enough reception any more. New, box-type antennae sold as “digital” might not provide any reception as some don’t receive uhf signals at all. Many stations just happened to abandon vhf broadcasting in favor or uhf transmission when the switch to digital took place.
Signal boosters often don’t work, so think carefully before spending money on them. Here are some government guidelines to help withselecting an antenna that will work for you.
An outdoor (roof) antenna is almost certain to work if it’s new and has been properly installed. You need someone willing and able to work on your roof to install it. With professional installation plan on spending about $600 including equipment. If you own your own single family home, an outdoor antennae will probably solve your reception woes. But if you live in an apartment, like my family does, your condo association or landlord may not grant you permission to mount one. In which case you’ll have to decide whether to watch (a lot less) TV or buy FIOS or cable service.
The FCC says: try “double rescanning”
According to the Huffington Post, “double rescanning” may get you more channels.
the FCC put out a new advisory Monday recommending “double rescanning.” That involves disconnecting the antenna from the box or TV, rescanning, turning off the box or TV, then turning it back on, connecting the antenna and scanning one more time. The procedure can clear the box or TV’s memory of saved channel information that is now incorrect, the commission said.
Oh, and check your cables!
There’s one more element that can affect your digital TV reception that I haven’t finished researching yet – the black cables used to connect the pieces of your viewing system. Those cables used to be RG-59 but the new standard is RG6 and apparently you need the newer cables in order to get the best crack at reception. I haven’t yet located information telling me how to figure out which type of cable I have so if you know how, please don’t hesitate to share.
So, the other day a cable guy came buy offering me cable service. When I said I wasn’t interested he assumed I was a FIOS customer and started offering to by out my FIOS contract and switch me over to them. But I don’t have FIOS either. I just don’t want to pay to be able to watch TV and I told the guy this. Next, he asked me a question that put me off a bit. “Are you saying you’d rather have nothing?” Clearly reception isn’t available in our neighborhood and his company is sweeping in the sign-ups from the families who just can’t make it without TV service. My answer is “Yes, I’ll do without TV reception,” and I’m comfortable with this, but my kids aren’t loving this change.