Tuesday, June 09, 2009
More On The Digital Television Transition
(following up on an earlier post)
Digital Television Transition is June 12th. If you have a television on Neebish Island, this applies to you unless you get satellite TV.
In preparation, I read reviews then purchased an Insignia Analog-To-Digital converter (http://insigniaproducts.com/products/dvd-players-recorders/NS-DXA1-APT.html). I bought it mainly because it offers an RF-bypass mode when powered-off. (what this means is you can still watch analog Canadian stations which haven’t made the digital switch yet).
I plugged it in, tuned the TV to channel 3 per directions, and was on my way to auto-tuning the digital channels. The Insignia located ABC (WGTQ), FOX (W64CG), and CBS (WWUP). But here’s the bad news – no NBC. The NBC tower is near Cheboygan and it appears that their signal will not reach Neebish Island.
This is not surprising as digital signals do not propagate as well analog signals (See: Digital TV Goes Dark For Some Rural Viewers), but it is surprising that WTOM would stop broadcasting NBC to the Alpena and Sault Ste. Marie markets. I don't think the advertisers on TV 7&4 will be happy about this.
However, the antenna I am using is old (from the 1970’s I believe) and in a cardboard box in the attic. So I am not getting great antenna reception but the above-mentioned three stations all broadcast from near Goetzville so the antenna does not matter too much.
If I have any hope of getting NBC and PBS digital channels I’ll need a new antenna.
I’ve read at HDTVPrimer.com that VHF (channels 2-13) and UHF (channel 14 and above) antennas are not interchangeable (See: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html). And it is important to note that there is mo such thing as an HDTV antenna.
The Winegard brand antennas seem to do fairly well according to HDTVPrimer.
You can order an antenna from amazon.com
The web site antennaweb.org has more information on what helping find what antenna to buy.
But, to get NBC I’d need to put up an outdoor tower and get a large antenna with an amplifier and still not sure I could pick it up. I think I'll try making a digital antenna out of coat hangers and see if it works.
But what if it doesn't work? I am not one who goes to Neebish Island to watch television. Yet there are times in the evening when I wouldn’t mind catching something on the broadcast networks; or tuning in to a baseball game. But I don’t want to pay for satellite television nor possibly waste money on a tower and external antenna.
One option would be satellite radio. It has the advantages of being less expensive than satellite television, the receivers are portable, and Sirius/XM carries all the major sports leagues.
Another option is a smartphone. AT&T has recently expanded coverage in the eastern U.P. and my wife’s iPhone worked just fine to send/receive mail and browse web sites. The iPhone can also play videos from NBC Mobile and PBS has a YouTube channel. And Sirius/XM is launching an app for the iPhone so in theory this amazing device will be able to provide all the entertainment I need.
So perhaps, in the end, a phone will replace the television.
To review what I have found, here are the Networks - Stations - Channels I can receive without too much hassle:
ABC - WGTQ - 8
CBS - WWUP - 10.1
FOX - W64CG - 10.2
Maps of television stations and more information can be found at these links:
www.antennaweb.org/aw/Stations.aspx
www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/
www.fcc.gov/dtv/markets/maps_report1/Traverse_City-Cadillac_MI.pdf
www.michiguide.com/dials/up.html
Digital Television Transition is June 12th. If you have a television on Neebish Island, this applies to you unless you get satellite TV.
In preparation, I read reviews then purchased an Insignia Analog-To-Digital converter (http://insigniaproducts.com/products/dvd-players-recorders/NS-DXA1-APT.html). I bought it mainly because it offers an RF-bypass mode when powered-off. (what this means is you can still watch analog Canadian stations which haven’t made the digital switch yet).
I plugged it in, tuned the TV to channel 3 per directions, and was on my way to auto-tuning the digital channels. The Insignia located ABC (WGTQ), FOX (W64CG), and CBS (WWUP). But here’s the bad news – no NBC. The NBC tower is near Cheboygan and it appears that their signal will not reach Neebish Island.
This is not surprising as digital signals do not propagate as well analog signals (See: Digital TV Goes Dark For Some Rural Viewers), but it is surprising that WTOM would stop broadcasting NBC to the Alpena and Sault Ste. Marie markets. I don't think the advertisers on TV 7&4 will be happy about this.
However, the antenna I am using is old (from the 1970’s I believe) and in a cardboard box in the attic. So I am not getting great antenna reception but the above-mentioned three stations all broadcast from near Goetzville so the antenna does not matter too much.
If I have any hope of getting NBC and PBS digital channels I’ll need a new antenna.
I’ve read at HDTVPrimer.com that VHF (channels 2-13) and UHF (channel 14 and above) antennas are not interchangeable (See: http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ANTENNAS/comparing.html). And it is important to note that there is mo such thing as an HDTV antenna.
The Winegard brand antennas seem to do fairly well according to HDTVPrimer.
You can order an antenna from amazon.com
The web site antennaweb.org has more information on what helping find what antenna to buy.
But, to get NBC I’d need to put up an outdoor tower and get a large antenna with an amplifier and still not sure I could pick it up. I think I'll try making a digital antenna out of coat hangers and see if it works.
But what if it doesn't work? I am not one who goes to Neebish Island to watch television. Yet there are times in the evening when I wouldn’t mind catching something on the broadcast networks; or tuning in to a baseball game. But I don’t want to pay for satellite television nor possibly waste money on a tower and external antenna.
One option would be satellite radio. It has the advantages of being less expensive than satellite television, the receivers are portable, and Sirius/XM carries all the major sports leagues.
Another option is a smartphone. AT&T has recently expanded coverage in the eastern U.P. and my wife’s iPhone worked just fine to send/receive mail and browse web sites. The iPhone can also play videos from NBC Mobile and PBS has a YouTube channel. And Sirius/XM is launching an app for the iPhone so in theory this amazing device will be able to provide all the entertainment I need.
So perhaps, in the end, a phone will replace the television.
To review what I have found, here are the Networks - Stations - Channels I can receive without too much hassle:
ABC - WGTQ - 8
CBS - WWUP - 10.1
FOX - W64CG - 10.2
Maps of television stations and more information can be found at these links:
www.antennaweb.org/aw/Stations.aspx
www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/maps/
www.fcc.gov/dtv/markets/maps_report1/Traverse_City-Cadillac_MI.pdf
www.michiguide.com/dials/up.html
