The Great Digital Conversion

So it's been over a year since the great Digital Conversion. How's that working out for you? Is it really better to be able to see pictures in greater, clearer detail? How about when the scene on the television freezes up, goes to colorful little squares like a Matisse collage, then fades to black and the words "no signal" pop up on the screen. Better quality is always something to strive for, but at least with analogue, a picture, fuzzy though it could be at times, was still there. We are on our second digital television antenna. Unfortunately, we had a horrific ice storm in January 2010 which took out our first one.


In March 2009, I sent the following letter to our public television station, revised for this blog to protect the innocent:


"Gentlepeople:


I heard a report on NPR the other morning about how peachy the digital conversion is going. It has not been peachy for us. 


We were as smug and snug as two bugs in a rug thinking we were ready. My husband began purchasing equipment to convert to digital television last summer. He read everything he could lay his hands on about converting to digital television. 


This is what we have purchased and installed, to the tune of over $800 so we could continue to receive “free“ television: 


1) An omni directional D-8 antennae advertised as HD ready; it is installed on our outside 50 foot pole. 


2) An HD-TV for our living room; 


3) A converter box for an older television in our family area. 


4) A television signal amplifier from Radio Shack to boost signal. 


We thought we were ready because we began receiving all these new stations and the original stations we had received before were coming in great. We were prepared for the “Great Conversion” and we looked down on the poor slobs that were waiting until the last moment to get ready for that wonderful thing called digital TV. We extolled its virtues to friends and family. 


February 17, 2009 came -- it was a bright, sunny day here in southwestern Oklahoma. We had no qualms because we were ready. However, when we sat down for our evening television viewing, the PBS station and the CBS affiliate, both broadcasting from Oklahoma City, 65 miles to our northeast,  were nowhere to be found.  We cannot then and cannot now pick them up. We have scanned ad nauseum. Do you know how long it takes to scan????? But we do it religiously every day in hopes that we will be able to pick up these stations. My husband goes out and adjusts our antenna -- admittedly with trepidation because we do not want to lose the stations we are receiving -- to see if today is the day we can perhaps pick up those stations. 


In 8 Mar 2009's Lawton Constitution, (yes, we still read a hard copy of the newspaper), there was an article about digital conversion and how individuals who live in rural areas are having difficulties picking up digital signals. We learned something new. At least one station -- the CBS affiliate -- had been broadcasting its digital signal from Channel 36 but when February 17 came, they switched to 9, losing quality in the signal.  Apparently that is why we are no longer able to pick  up that particular channel.  Perhaps this has happened with public television also?


Question: As average viewers, how are we supposed to keep up with what signal a television station is broadcasting from? This is ridiculous. 


We remember the days of the rabbit ears. We remember snow on the television screen. We remember test patterns. We miss those days because even if one had snow on the screen, one could still watch a television program. Now it's all or nothing, and I gotta tell you -- we feel screwed. 


We are NOT getting a satellite dish. We are NOT hooking up to cable. We are NOT watching television programs on our computer screen!!!   


Fortunately we like to read and we listen to public radio. We are playing more games of Scrabble. 


We remember the days of free television paid for by our sitting through intermittent advertising and we certainly are not going to pay a fee to watch cable and/or DishTV which also has advertising. I remember the days when cable first came out. Our neighbor came over and said, "We are getting cable. $12.00 a month. You know what is great? There are no commercials."  Well, now cable/satellite costs an arm and a leg and there are the same commercials on cable that are on regular broadcast "free television." 


We just wanted to let you guys know that not everything is going great with the transfer to digital.  Have a great DIGITAL day! 


Sincerely,"

* * * * * * * * * *

Fast forward to today, October 7, 2010.  I can say I like one thing about digital television. It's allowed television sets to become more compact and lightweight so they can be displayed on a wall. Hanging a television on a wall provides more floor space.  That's it.  That's the only thing about digital television that I like.