Digital tv?

Thanks, I moved in Feb. I am a student and just got an old TV out of storage. I thought the deadline had totally passed. I have only watching TV online, now I don't have to.
I know this is dumb, but thanks again.

@Matt Peters: I guess I need to brush up on my grammar. Add the word "been" between only and watching.

I am 35, and I don't watch TV anymore, I can't stand the amount of ads, back in the day when I was little, ads were a brief interruption. This is a recent decision, as a matter of fact I just removed my external USB TV device from my computer this week, after I noticed I had not watch even the littlest bit of TV in like.... mmm... 3 months or so. Good ridance!

@Duckula22: Yes the ads and product placement are unbearable. Clearly piracy is to blame.

@Duckula22: I barely watch TV also except for the local news and occasional show. I just watch what I want on Hulu or keep loading up the Netflix queue. Cost doesn't bother me with Netflix since it means not dealing with commercials and can watch on my own time even if it means waiting a bit for something to come out.

@Duckula22:

I agree. Back when I was working full time and going to school, I used to watch TV more than I liked. Now that I'm unemployed, I lowered it down to watching House (which is funny because since I've been unemployed we've gotten cable), and since I haven't been awake to watch it, I haven't watched TV in months. I don't miss it at all.

However, I do enjoy renting the seasons of TV shows. No commercials, I get to watch what I want, however long I want, when I want to, and I get to pause it. Very convenient because I don't have to plan doing laundry around the show times.

I got 2 coupons long ago. Got 2 converters. Opened one and tested it (it worked). Put it away in the closet. Haven't even opened the other (no good if it's dead, anyway, since I bought both at Circuit City). Got more channels with the converter. Still nothing good to watch.

@Duckula22: I'm the same way. I am 30 years old, and I rarely watch tv except for shows I've rented or watch through Netflix via my Xbox.

@Duckula22: I got a converter box and an antenna, now I get 7 PBS stations (three from one local city, four from the next city over). I get Frontline, just saw "Unforgivable Blackness," lots of other great stuff commercial-free (and fee-free).

I have a TV with a digital tuner, so I don't need one of these. But I really wish I could put it toward the purchase of this: [www.dishnetwork.com]

It's technically a converter box. But it's so much more too.

@TCama:

OMG - I want that - I have been looking for a DVR that doesn't require a monthly fee. Several years ago, DVD recorder's also had a hard drive, so you could record to hard drive then burn to DVD to archive, but I can't find those any more. Other than Tivo, the only DVR's I've found are the ones that come with cable or dish, which I don't subscribe to.

I'll have to look into this - thanks for bringing it up.

I ordered coupons ages ago, and they still haven't shown up.

I guess I'm going to go order a new set?

@Wombatish: And yeah, before you ask, I tried their tracker several times. It was down for a few months, and when it came back up it never recognized my order or my mother's, and she ended up getting her coupons a month or two ago, finally.

@wrjohnston19283: i've done that through my computer with a USB adaptor. but it was nightmarishly slow and one two hour movie took up 4 discs.

@Duckula22: You must all be commies or something. :)

I ordered 2 long time ago and forgot to use them. So I ordered 2 once again and got two converter boxes online for a grand total of $4.xx (with shipping). I don't really need them but I figured it's nice to have them available just in case.

I bought one and it quit working within 2 weeks. Waste of time.

Mine expired before I could use it (apathy). Applied for another, will try again. Hard to get excited about TV.

DTV coupons have been available for almost a year. For eight months, public service announcements about getting a converter box outnumbered ads featuring Billy Mays, Anthony Sullivan and "You're Gonna Love My Nuts" Vince combined by about 20 to 1.

Anyone who waited this long to ask for a coupon scares me. It shows the same mentality as starting your Christmas shopping Walgreen's, 11 PM December 24th or thinking the best hurricane evacuation strategy is to wait for the Coast Guard to pluck you off your roof.

@Skaperen: Have you seen Frontline?

@takes_so_little: you should come to SC then if you love PBS. When I moved to the NC/SC border I canceled my cable because I don't like the cable co. in my area and I use a YAGI antenna and a dvd hdd/burner with a converter built in and get around 9 and sometimes if I adjust my antenna a tad bit I will get around 3-6 more. I'm like geez how many more do I need. Anyways glad for PBS though.

I've had mine for a couple of months. Now I have crystal clear reception on about four Spanish language channels but lost NBC completely, get ABC intermittently and the other channels often say "no signal." Not sure if this is a typical experience but my inner conspiracy theorist believes this was all a ploy to get us to buy cable.

@wrjohnston19283: re: DVD recorders with hard drives--

[www.world-import.com]

I've bought from them personally without any issues, and the company I work for buys from them for resale to our customers for installation in custom AV systems. The US factory warranty is void since they're imported from overseas, but if you really want one, they're out there.

A model that includes "NTSC" in the specs (most of them) will record and play back US video and audio through the line in/out jacks, but may lack the right kind of tuner for direct off-air recording, which may be what you're looking for. But if you want to record from a digital off-air converter box with separate video and audio connections, you should be fine. Give the recorder its own converter box, set it to the channel you want to record from, and set the timer in the recorder. Not as elegant as at Tivo but no fees and you can burn DVDs after the fact.

I'm sure the government will plow more money into the program and extend it another six months for the laggards who didn't pay attention in February and June can have another chance to ignore it.

@ProfessionalCritic: In addition to that, the slightest change in weather leaves me with "No signal" on every channel except PBS Kids. I hate DTV and I hate that as free as this nation is, we were still forced to switch.