So - it's DTV day! Did anyone pick up any new channels they didn't get before?

[ndavies]

you can still get the Pumas

i lost channel 2, channel 50 evidently moved to 14 [[it still comes up on 50 - its "virtual" station, but i noticed flicking through the stations that it came up, first time, as 14) channel 4 is now worse than before.

Rescan, Channel 2 moved from it's temporary UHF channel down to where analog channel 7 used to be. Also make sure your antenna can get VHF channels. Otherwise it won't get channel 2. Fox 2 is now the only Detroit VHF station. There are more VHF stations in Toledo and other neighboring cities.

All the channels are now virtual. None of them broadcast on their old analog channels. They are all remapped. Channel 50 digital has always been on channel 14. The box remaps the channels it to their old designations.

[ndavies]

Please don't spend a shitload of money for a digital antenna. The type of antenna needed has not changed. A good old analog antenna will work as well as any of the new overpriced "digital antennas". There is no such thing as a digital antenna. The base frequency carrier waves are still analog. Only the encoding on the carrier waves has changed.

If you can't get a picture on a pair of rabbit ears, you need to start thinking about a roof antenna. The rabbit ears are the VHF receptors, the small attached loop is UHF. I get the best reception off a small bowtie and a couple of pieces of wire down in Monroe county. [[we don't have the multipath issues that mess up of the reception in the city.)

Speeking of multipath. If you live between Southfield and downtown Detroit, you need a directional antenna. The signals bouncing off the downtown buildings confuse the box.

What has changed is where the old analog signal gradually fades away into snow, The digital signal fails when the error rate gets too high. Digital is an all or nothing proposition. You either get a great picture or macroblocking and nothingness.

[daven]

These converters are baloney as far as I am concerned.Being FORCED to cooperate is not my sense of freedom. Even with coupons some are such junk its nuts. Just another way our NEW government is doing what they want and to heck with anyone else. They should have offered free scanners, one brand that actually works, to anyone who needs one, especially now. I wonder how many were made in China? Most don't work and no options for replacement other than more $$$ . Just like Obama killed the car industry and ruined lives by closing at will successful dealerships. Yes this is a much smaller issue but again it puts people in financial hardship who can't afford it. Next thing you know come winter the government will require green furnaces and to hell with anyone who can't afford one. We better watch out or we'll all be wearing those furry big hat come winter afraid to speak our mind. They already search the web for un-kind words against Obama. You know who you are. I know I am already on the LIST! I am just waiting for the knock on the door. Till then I am going for a walk while I still can, WITHOUT asking someone for permission first.

I think this TV thing all happened before Obama. Are you saying he could have stopped it??

[texorama]

Making sure your TV and the converter box are both set to channel 3 [[or 4) is also an important and easily overlooked step.

I'm pleased overall--I'm getting more stations that I did, and the picture on the ones I now get is astronomically better. Just wondering if I will ever hear the well-modulated tones of Huel Perkins and Monica Gayle again.

[Stosh]

Making sure your TV and the converter box are both set to channel 3 [[or 4) is also an important and easily overlooked step.

I'm pleased overall--I'm getting more stations that I did, and the picture on the ones I now get is astronomically better. Just wondering if I will ever hear the well-modulated tones of Huel Perkins and Monica Gayle again.

It may help if you connect with the RCA jacks in the rear of the TV versus the cable line. I do that with mine and sound is OK. Just have to remember to change from the video or auxillary [[I think) kind of like using a DVD player, I suppose. I use that up north, so there's no way to look at how it works. I think that 9 will pass through if you leave the line for the antenna in.

[Locke09]

Okay...Fox2 provided some advice on their 6pm news show and I believe they will post it on their website and run it again at 10pm. They advised scanning without the antenna to clear your "database". Then put the antenna in and scan again. I did this for my portable TV which is already digital and so doesn't require a converter. After about 5 attempts, including moving the antenna in different locations and standing near different windows, I finally have all the channels I was getting before [[including those extras for HD bc my portable is HD.

And the digital conversion started with the Bush administration. The Obama administration actually delayed it from Feb til June and everyone criticized them for it at the time because they thought only "poor" people who couldn't afford the 10 bucks extra for a converter and "stupid" people who wouldn't send in for the coupon would be affected [[not my words, just various comments I read when it was delayed). Now we see how much inconvenience and extra money beyond the 10 bucks it will cause all of us until they get things stabilized and built out properly.

[Bigb23]

Anyone else experience problems with their converters? Not sure what we are going to do now...new televisions are not in the budget.

Some good tips above.
The two converters I have now are two different models, and I wish I had the best features of both, rolled into one.
I have a Philco and a Venturer. The Philco has a better electronic program guide, and freeze frame. But the Venturer has better signal strength, time function, scanning and channel reception. My reception was more reliable with the cold winter air, but my reception varies even with identical weather on certain days recently. I was hoping for boosted signals last Friday.
It was tough finding any boxes last summer, I'd hate to think what is was like the past few weeks.

[reddog289]

I don't like that it has come to this either, but I will try to get the tv up and running with the least amount of $$$ thrown at it. I will try to build bigb23"s antena and give it a try.I get less channels and have yet to try to get channel 9 but that is pointless now hockey is over.

[jcole]

Canada is not going digital until 2010 or 11, so you're converter box needs an analog pass-through to get channel 9

[rb336]

Rescan, Channel 2 moved from it's temporary UHF channel down to where analog channel 7 used to be. Also make sure your antenna can get VHF channels. Otherwise it won't get channel 2. Fox 2 is now the only Detroit VHF station. There are more VHF stations in Toledo and other neighboring cities.

All the channels are now virtual. None of them broadcast on their old analog channels. They are all remapped. Channel 50 digital has always been on channel 14. The box remaps the channels it to their old designations.

done the rescan. i have yet to find anywhere where i can place my antenna and get channel 2. they suggested lowering the rabbit ears to horizontal and shrinking them down to 16 inches each side. when I tried that, I lost reception on most of my other channels, so i did not bother to scan.

[Bigb23]

I will try to build bigb23"s antenna and give it a try.

Reddog - there are pics of mine on the old site. Generally, if you plot out your TV viewing, I rarely have to move my light weight antennas more than a few feet in any direction, and mostly from my Laz-e-boy.

[Locke09]

done the rescan. i have yet to find anywhere where i can place my antenna and get channel 2. they suggested lowering the rabbit ears to horizontal and shrinking them down to 16 inches each side. when I tried that, I lost reception on most of my other channels, so i did not bother to scan.

I think that the loss of reception is exactly what they want for the first rescan. The idea is that it will clear out your converter's database. Then you raise the antennas and extend them all the way and you get a fresh scan that is not trying to remember where everything was before.

Like I said, I had to do it several times before it worked.

[lizaanne]

I promise that I won't devote too much time to this rant, but one of the things I most hate, on internet fora, is the bit where a post begins with "Uh," "Ummh," or another similar noise which is followed by an obnoxious, insulting, down-talking tone, especially irritating when the intoner is speaking out of their rectum.
313WX, find some fuckin' manners. Lizaanne's inquiry was 100% sensible, given the fact that numerous local broadcast outlets repeatedly urged viewers to re-scan, after June 12th, because new channels may become available.
She didn't find any new ones [[and neither did I,) but she did not appear to be in Oh My God What Just Happened? Mode and, most likely, did not require your explanation of the event, nor did she deserve your snotty-ass air of condescension.

Ravine - I love you!

[Hypestyles]

hmm... RTV has universal-studios reruns all day.. This Detroit I haven't figured out yet.. I like PBS 56.3, they seem to have lots of food shows..

[Maxine1958]

hmm... RTV has universal-studios reruns all day.. This Detroit I haven't figured out yet.. I like PBS 56.3, they seem to have lots of food shows..

I got sucked into a cheesy horror movie in This Detroit last night. Based on the station promos, it wants to be a 'B' movie station. Promising all the great old 'bad' movies. Some time this week they are airing "Mars Needs Women".

The one last night was "The Attack of the Puppet People".

[Hypestyles]

ah... neat.. I'll have to pay closer attention to their schedule..

[Andrew in Windsor]

I lost CH 2 as well, and I still can't pick up ch 4 in WIndsor, although the analog 4 would come in...

[Gsgeorge]

I lost Fox [[2) after the switch. Everything was working fine before.

[jcole]

Go to Fox 2's website and it explains why you can't get them and how to fix it.

[Bigb23]

Based on the station promos, it wants to be a 'B' movie station. Promising all the great old 'bad' movies.

They also have the good old movies and classics, including The Taking of Pelham 123 and Platoon is coming up. Beats Jerry Springer and Maury for me ! I wish PBS would only keep one kid/tot channel though. They used to have documentaries and Histories Detectives on in the afternoon.

[softailrider]

Canada is not going digital until 2010 or 11, so you're converter box needs an analog pass-through to get channel 9

Now that the Hockey season has ended and Lord Layton is dead who the hell cares about channel 9?

[texorama]

Further developments on my end: after getting everything except Fox 2 with my new flat RCA antenna, I hooked up my old rabbit ears. Sure enough, they pull in channel 2 just fine after rescanning, but they're terrible on the other channels. My theory--the new antennas are not very good in the VHF band, while the rabbit ears are no good on UHF [[all the other channels, even 4 and 7, are now broadcasting on UHF channels). So I guess I'm just going to hook up the rabbit ears when I want to watch Fox 2 [[not very often).

Both antennas work much better when put in the window and faced toward the station involved. And moving them even a few inches seems to make a big difference. There is a distinct "sweet spot."

[Bigb23]

This morning I totally lost the signal for Channel 4.1 and 4.2 on both boxes and antennas at both ends of the house. I ran several scans, and moved the antennas. This is the first time this has happened in the year I have owned and used the boxes. Is this the improvement we are stuck with now ? Oh - and channel 50 has come in with no problem for the first time in months.

There should be a single local website where all of the Detroit stations can explain the problems they might be having. That would give us a break from even trying to capture their signal if need be.
Just my opinion.

[philm]

Can you really be serious? Do you really think the Obama government came up with all of this since January? Are you really that lame?
Engineering of this transition started in Bush senior's administration. The transition started in November of 1998 [[Blame Clinton if you must have a Democrat to blame...seems to be a lot of that going around these days, despite the absolute shitstorm of problems that we are now in because of the Republicans). This is simply the END of the transition. You've had over ten years to deal with it, and for your information, the turn off date of February 17 of this year was deferred to June by guess who? Obama, who felt that because supplies of converters had depleted, the date had to be extended until everyone that needed them would have access.

As for reception problems. That may have been politics, but of a different nature. The Engineering scheme that won out is simply one that doesn't work as well as some of the alternatives that were proposed. Obama didn't choose it, nor did Bush Jr, nor Bush Sr., nor Clinton.

Who did you blame when W was in office....oh that's right, anybody but the ones actually responsible.

These converters are baloney as far as I am concerned.Being FORCED to cooperate is not my sense of freedom. Even with coupons some are such junk its nuts. Just another way our NEW government is doing what they want and to heck with anyone else. They should have offered free scanners, one brand that actually works, to anyone who needs one, especially now. I wonder how many were made in China? Most don't work and no options for replacement other than more $$$ . Just like Obama killed the car industry and ruined lives by closing at will successful dealerships. Yes this is a much smaller issue but again it puts people in financial hardship who can't afford it. Next thing you know come winter the government will require green furnaces and to hell with anyone who can't afford one. We better watch out or we'll all be wearing those furry big hat come winter afraid to speak our mind. They already search the web for un-kind words against Obama. You know who you are. I know I am already on the LIST! I am just waiting for the knock on the door. Till then I am going for a walk while I still can, WITHOUT asking someone for permission first.