When A Converter Box Is Not Enough - Identify Your DTV Options
Written by author on December 14th, 2009 in Television.
When a Converter Box is Not Enough - Understanding Your DTV Options
Author: Futuratty
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February of 2009 marked a new era in the world of broadcast television. When the cutoff date of February 17, 2009 rolled around all analog broadcasts ended, replaced with clearer and sharper digital broadcasts. While in the end television viewers should enjoy a clearer picture, better service and more channel choices, the change will require some preparation and some research.
By now many television viewers are aware of their options for the digital television, or DTV, conversion. Viewers who already pay for cable or satellite service will not be affected by the conversion, since their television providers will be converting their own systems to the new digital format. For the most part it is owners of older televisions with antennas who will need to purchase a converted box and possibly a new antenna.
In theory owners of new digital televisions with an ATSC tuner should not be affected by the change either, but some research is required here. More on that later. Television owners should look at the manual that came with their set and look for the word ATSC. This term indicates that the television has a digital tuner and it should be capable of picking up any digital channels that are in range. It may be a good idea for television owners to scan the available channels frequently, as new digital channels are always coming online.
Those TV owners should also make sure that they are receiving all the broadcast stations in the area. If any are missing it is important to contact the station owner and ask two questions:
1) Have you started broadcasting in digital format?
2) Is your digital signal at full power?
If the answer to both of these questions is yes it is time to do some further research. . In many parts of the country residents are finding that the indoor antenna they have been using for years is simply not capable of pulling in all the digital channels that are available. If that is the case it is a good idea to research antenna options. In some cases a stronger indoor antenna may do the trick, but in other parts o the country a medium to large size outdoor antenna may be required. No matter what the outcome, it is important to check out the options well ahead of the conversion date.
Checking with friends and neighbors is a good way to determine whether or not an outdoor antenna will be required. If the next door neighbor is getting the digital signals with a digital converter box and an indoor antenna chances are you will be OK. If not, it may be time to look at installing an outdoor antenna or subscribing to cable TV.
If an outdoor antenna is required it is a good idea to do plenty of research and again enlist the help of neighbors. If your neighbor has an outdoor antenna that works great, ask what model it is. The more information you can gather about what works (and what doesn’t) in your area the better off you will be. Again, it is a good idea to install the new antenna well ahead of the conversion date. Be sure to scan the channels after the new antenna is installed, looking especially for those previously missing channels.
In some parts of the country even an outdoor antenna may not be enough, and those television viewers definitely have some choices to make. Cable television can be a good option, with its plethora of channels and choices, but it can be expensive. Those viewers who simply want to keep watching TV as they did before may want to ask their cable company about limited basic options. Each company will have a different name for this type of service, but most of the major carriers will have a bare bones package available for a bare bones price.
These basic packages are typically not widely advertised - for obvious reasons - but in many parts of the country they are nonetheless available. In the past this type of limited basic cable service was used by viewers who simply could not get good over the air reception, and this type of package will no doubt grow in popularity as TV owners test their sets and explore their options.
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About the Author:
Futuratty is a keen consumer electronics enthusiast and in reviewing the latest Televisions really liked some of the latest LCD TVs
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - When a Converter Box is Not Enough - Understanding Your DTV Options
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