Are YOU ready for the DTV switch?

[Bill Hutchinson]

Hi guys, I know it's been a while since I posted anything here, and yes, I'm still alive. :-) The next virtual round is on me...

I happen to be in the television broadcast business, and tonight we conducted a small test for the benefit of the viewing audience. All of the stations in the market (Minneapolis/St. Paul) participated in interrupting the analog signal for 5 minutes to run a message that their televisions were not DTV ready. If viewers were watching the digital signal, they experienced no such interruption.

It sounded like a noble enough idea, and it went off without a hitch. We had anticipted some phone calls from folks wondering where the heck was "Seinfeld", and we were standing by to take those calls and answer the multitude of questions we were anticipating from the concerned public.

Not one phone call came in.

We checked the email inbox as well...nothing.

Which poses the question - is the world REALLY ready for the DTV switch-over? I gotta think that there are still a few folks out there that aren't, such as some elderly people, or a host of procrastinators.

I don't quite know what to think about this. Maybe a 5 minute interruption wasn't enough to get the message through.

Bill

[Ron Ramirez]

Good to hear from you again, Bill!

I read about that test in our local rag, the Courier & Depressed. The TV stations in the Evansville market were also supposed to participate in that test tonight. I didn't bother turning on the TV to see the message, however; I was busy with other things around here...like fixing radios for people.

Can't speak for anyone else but I am ready...two converter boxes and an antenna in the attic feeding two TV sets which are both old-school CRT analog sets; a 27 inch RCA in the bedroom and a 36 inch Toshiba in the living room. I have no plans to run out and purchase a new HDTV anytime soon. I do not have cable TV, and seldom watch TV anyhow. Most of my viewing consists of the occasional old movie, and that's about it.

[Texasrocker]

I heard about our local TV stations doing the same test via my latest restoration of a customers Radiola 18! I bit the bullet and have already purchased 2 new HDTVs. Both on sale @ Sams. I purchased a Samsung 42" LCD 1080 mp for my living room, & a 32" Samsung LCD for the den area. Both have awesome pictures via my DirectTV dish.
To get true "hi-def", guess the DirectTV guys will have to switch-out & upgrade my "standard" dish outside in the near future? The Wife & Daughter love it!...however, just as Ron, I never watch much TV these days anyways except NFL games when I have time. I would be just as happy with a vintage Philco predicta B &W set, just as long as it works!
Thanks to the FCC!!!.... ( my favrite guvmnt agency) to have to spend extra dollars , cause wallyworld, Bestbuy,etc. sells out of converter-boxes before they even get them restocked here locally. Randal

[Steve Davis]

Just don't buy a plasma. It will wipe out out the entire AM band!
Steve

[Guest]

Hi, We got the converter boxs months ago. Hooked them up with new ant., rotor and cable. Wonderful . 2 stations that lose the signal or freeze up. Back to analog until its gone. My son has a new TV and can't even pick up the local station. We called the help line on the converter box and what a joke. Their answer was I Don't Know. I guess we'll just watch old movies on video. Don

[Michael Dennis]

I've been ready since last July. I got my converter box at a thrift store for $2.50, an Insignia. We've had a few of the tests where the screen is green if you're good to go, red if your tv ain't ready. We've been green, with no apologies to Al Gore, (a total nutjob), since last summer and the box works perfectly. Even got a new tv at another thrift store for $50 which also works perfectly.