Comments on: Are you ready for 2/17/2009? http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/04/03/are_you_ready_for_2172009/ Gadget reviews and news by Julie Strietelmeier and friends since 1997 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:27:19 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Rob Tillotson http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/04/03/are_you_ready_for_2172009/comment-page-1/#comment-26670 Rob Tillotson Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:54:56 +0000 #comment-26670 <p>Also I'd like to mention that the coupons expire, so for anyone out there who hasn't gotten theirs yet and isn't in a hurry, it might be worth waiting a while to see if more and better models of converter boxes appear later in the year.</p> Also I’d like to mention that the coupons expire, so for anyone out there who hasn’t gotten theirs yet and isn’t in a hurry, it might be worth waiting a while to see if more and better models of converter boxes appear later in the year.

]]> By: Rob Tillotson http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/04/03/are_you_ready_for_2172009/comment-page-1/#comment-26669 Rob Tillotson Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:53:36 +0000 #comment-26669 <p>I haven't actually used any of the boxes they're selling now, but I have used an ATSC USB stick for my Mac, and I'm pretty impressed with the range and quality of ATSC compared to analog. I live in a somewhat rural area, and most analog locals are pretty much unwatchable without an outdoor antenna, and even then a couple of them are quite weak. But with an ATSC tuner and a non-amplified antenna in a window, I get all but two of them (the ones which are on the highest frequencies) without signal loss. Since you already have an outdoor antenna, I predict pretty good results for you.</p> <p>I'd expect the quality to be comparable to digital cable or satellite. On my LCD, programs in 480p are actually a bit better than my dish, but I'm not sure you'd see the difference on a typical analog CRT TV.</p> <p>One side benefit of this, too, is that some of the locals are already running multiple streams. Most of them just use the second stream for weather coverage or something like that, but the local PBS station actually runs different programming on their second stream so, for example, they can have kids programming all day while still running a full schedule of HD.</p> I haven’t actually used any of the boxes they’re selling now, but I have used an ATSC USB stick for my Mac, and I’m pretty impressed with the range and quality of ATSC compared to analog. I live in a somewhat rural area, and most analog locals are pretty much unwatchable without an outdoor antenna, and even then a couple of them are quite weak. But with an ATSC tuner and a non-amplified antenna in a window, I get all but two of them (the ones which are on the highest frequencies) without signal loss. Since you already have an outdoor antenna, I predict pretty good results for you.

I’d expect the quality to be comparable to digital cable or satellite. On my LCD, programs in 480p are actually a bit better than my dish, but I’m not sure you’d see the difference on a typical analog CRT TV.

One side benefit of this, too, is that some of the locals are already running multiple streams. Most of them just use the second stream for weather coverage or something like that, but the local PBS station actually runs different programming on their second stream so, for example, they can have kids programming all day while still running a full schedule of HD.

]]> By: obscurestooge http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/04/03/are_you_ready_for_2172009/comment-page-1/#comment-26668 obscurestooge Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:16:12 +0000 #comment-26668 <p>My coupons (actually more like a gift card) from the gubmint came in the mail just the other day. Has anybody actually bought one of the converter boxes yet? I'm curious how they work. I want to pick one up one to see how well it works with my roof-top antenna, before I invest in a new HDTV set.</p> My coupons (actually more like a gift card) from the gubmint came in the mail just the other day. Has anybody actually bought one of the converter boxes yet? I’m curious how they work. I want to pick one up one to see how well it works with my roof-top antenna, before I invest in a new HDTV set.

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