navigation
search denity.com

Personal Productivity

Install a better life. Synchronize and effectively manage the things you do with the all the things you own.

Personal & Home Entertainment

Enjoy your life at home and on the road. Choose the right home theater and personal devices for you and your family.

Home & Small Office

Work the right way. Give yourself and your business the tools and environment to be more productive.

« Should You Potty Train Your New HDTV? | Main | My First Embrace »

The Truth About Your Uncle

DateThursday, February 12, 2009 at 11:56PM

I’m a hardcore watcher and listener (via XM) of CNBC. Everyday I hear more and more about your Uncle Sam trying to borrow money when he already owes a bunch of people money. I have an Uncle like yours so I won’t judge you. I also hear a lot about the Digital Television (DTV) conversion being mandated by your Uncle Sam. Some of  you believe that he’s just trying to con you into spending a bunch of money on an expensive High Definition TV (HDTV). He has done a lot of things that could legitimately be classified as a hustle or scam but this isn’t one of them.

First, DTV doesn’t automatically mean HDTV. Just like pasta doesn’t automatically mean spaghetti. HDTV (spaghetti) is a form of DTV (pasta). That means that you DON’T have to purchase an HDTV.  You just need a way to feed your TV “pasta”. If you have cable or satellite TV service on a TV, you only have to do one thing to be ready: Pay your bill! If you have done, and continue to do, that, you can keep doing what you have been doing (*see my note at the bottom).

If you only have an antenna (or coat hanger; I’m not judging you) connected to your TV, you will have some issues when they hit the switch. Here’s what you can do:

  1. Buy a TV that likes pasta, not necessarily spaghetti. In other words, buy a TV that has an ATSC digital tuner. It will say “DTV” so don’t worry about what it means. As I said before, it doesn’t have to be an HDTV. You will also need an antenna connected to the TV or on your roof. I won’t get into the specifics on what type to buy. All I’ll say is that there is no such thing as an “HDTV antenna.” Go to antennaweb.org.
  2. Keep your antenna (or coat hanger) and get a digital-to-analog converter box. Your Uncle Sam will give you $40 (of your money) to buy one or $80 (of your money) to buy two.
  3. Come out of your pockets and buy a sexy widescreen HDTV (spaghetti). There are a lot of good options. Choose one. You will still need an antenna connected to the TV or on your roof (see #1).

The DTV conversion is a good thing. your Uncle is not trying to scam you.

Your TV just needs a hug!

---

denity... a premier techlife concierge

subscribe and follow on twitter (@TechHugger)

for when you need to choose & usesm technology

www.denity.com

serving the washington, dc metro area

---

Related Podcast::
TechStuff Podcast (HowStuffWorks)

----

*Analog cable subscribers who plug the coaxial cable directly into the back of the TV without using a set-top cable box will be affected, though. The FCC requires cable companies to provide analog signals for local stations that have switched to digital signals as long as they offer analog feeds for any other channel. If you’re concerned that your TV will go dark, you should contact your cable provider. (How Stuff
Works: electronics.howstuffworks.com/digital-converter-box.htm)

Authorterrance | CommentPost a Comment | |
tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | in , | Print ArticlePrint Article

Reader Comments

There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>

Notify me of follow-up comments via email.