Digital TV Reception Guide (1)

Use of Digital TV Converter Boxes

To enjoy Digital TV programming, you need a TV with a digital TV tuner, also referred to as ATSC tuner. Yet it is still possible to save your old analog TV from a premature death once the DTV transition is complete after February 2009. All you have to do is invest in an inexpensive digital TV converter box.

Learn more about DTV converter boxes and related connectivity requirements. See also how you can have an almost 'free' converter box thanks to the present system of DTV coupons.

Zenith DTT900 Set-top Box

Reception of DTV:
What do you need to receive Digital TV?

To receive over-the-air digital TV broadcasts, your television set should have an ATSC tuner.

If your TV set is one of the millions of analog sets still in use in many households, then you would need to buy a small digital TV converter box.

The DTV set-top box converts the digital TV signals into signals that an analog TV understands.

You would need one set-top box per TV since this is serving as the digital TV tuner for your analog television.

Hooking up a Digital TV Converter Box

Installing your DTV converter box is a relatively simple process. It is somewhat similar to connecting an old VCR to your TV.

These boxes have all the connections you need to feed your old analog TV with the new digital TV signals. These include:

An antenna input which connects to an indoor or outdoor antenna, an RF out for use with TVs which do not support a composite video input, and the standard yellow, red and white composite video/stereo audio outputs. Some digital TV converter boxes also support an S-video connection for a higher quality video feed to your TV.

These DTV set-top boxes come with all the required connection cables and an installation manual which will guide you through the setup process; the latter covers both the hook-up and the automatic tuning process.

A handy easy-to-follow digital TV converter box installation and set-up guide (in PDF format), has also been prepared by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). You can download this handy guide from here.

A few points about Digital TV Converter Boxes

DTV converters will help extend the lifetime of your analog TV beyond the analog TV cut-off date (February 17, 2009),  but there are a few implications worth taking note of:

		Your TV will be rendered nothing more than a monitor in that to change channels, you will have to use the DTV converter box remote. Nothing serious in that this is nothing more than a nuisance, yet it may take you some time till you get used to running around with two remotes.
		While an analog TV set connected to a digital TV converter box will be able to display available free over-the-air DTV broadcasts in your area, yet the displayed image on your old TV need not necessarily be in its full original quality. This depends on the picture quality of your old TV.
		If you have a sufficient reception signal, you will get a picture that is clearer than what you are used to with your old analog connection, but it will not be HDTV. To watch free over-the air high definition TV content, you need a new digital TV; this will have the required digital tuner built-in and a screen with a high enough native pixel resolution to support high definition programming.
		If you wish to continue watching analog low power TV broadcasts, Class A, or TV translator stations, you should purchase a converter box with 'analog pass-through'  capability. This feature allows RF analog broadcast signals to pass through the digital TV converter box, to be tuned by your analog TV. Without analog pass-through, you may have to connect an antenna switch or a signal 'splitter' to bypass the box to view low-power analog TV broadcasts. Coupon-eligible converter boxes with analog pass-through have been certified by the NTIA (National Telecoms and Information Administration) accordingly. A list of approved boxes is available on-line here. Converter box models that have analog pass-through capability are noted on the list with an asterisk next to them.

 

---

DTV Coupons: How to get hold of your almost 'FREE' Digital TV Converter Box

DTV converter boxes are relatively inexpensive. At present, these boxes are selling at anything between $50 and $60, but prices are expected to fall later in the year.

Still, in order to minimize the burden of the DTV transition on the consumer, the FCC has come up with a subsidization scheme whereby each household is entitled for two coupons. Each of these coupons is worth $40 towards the purchase of approved digital TV converter boxes from a number of retailers. A list of such approved boxes is mailed together with the digital TV converter box coupons. Major retailers include Best Buy, Circuit City, RadioShack, and Wal-Mart. But there are many others. A full list of approved retailers is available in PDF format here.

To get hold of these TV converter box coupons, either call 888-DTV-2009 to provide the relevant information, or go to www.dtv2009.gov to apply on-line. The coupons will be sent to your address. It can take anything between six to eight weeks to have your coupons mailed to you via standard mail. To get a better idea of how long it takes to get a coupon, check out the government's 'Where's My Coupon?' page; there you can also check your application status. Once you receive these coupons, you will need to visit an approved retail store; most of the approved retailers would not accept these TV converter box coupons for on-line purchases.

Should you get your DTV Coupons now?

These DTV coupons expire within three months from the date they are mailed. So there arise the issue of whether to apply now or latter. Why?

None of the present digital TV converters are available at $40. At the time of this write-up, the least expensive digital TV converter boxes we have seen are selling at close to $50 while the average box is selling at $60. This means that at present, you will have to fork out at least a further $10 to $20 to add to your $40 coupon to get hold of a DTV set-top box.

But prices are expected to fall close to the $40 mark later in the year. EchoStar is planning on releasing a $40 DTV box - labeled TR-40, offering full EPG. Unfortunately, no release date has been announced so far for the EchoStar box but at this price tag, your DTV box will be 'FREE'. And once the $40 EchoStar digital TV converter box is out, it is only logical to expect that the present available models will be forced to sell at close to $40.

So whether to apply now for your TV converter box coupon or later depends on when you want to start enjoying DTV reception. There is only one drawback though...

The government has set aside a fixed number of coupons for the purpose of making this DTV transition less of a burden on those still using analogue TV sets. In total, there are 33.5 million coupons, but 11.25 million of these will be available only once the first lot is used and only to those households that solely use analog over-the-air TV. Up to the first week of April, there were already a total of 10 million digital TV converter box coupon requests though only a very small portion of these have so far been redeemed. The reality is that many manufactures have still to roll out their DTV boxes - meaning that at present, choice is very much limited. Whether these coupons will suffice is not clear, yet it will surely take a couple of months before all these coupons will run out. At the same time, if you are preoccupied that you may not get a DTV coupon at all, your best bet will be to sign up now. 

Which Digital TV Converter Box to Buy?

Your DTV coupon will have to be used against one of the 70 or so approved boxes. As stated earlier on, quite a number of these boxes are not available yet, so if you want a specific model, it may be that you will have to wait.

Still, there are already a couple of interesting boxes at a number of approved retail stores like Best Buy, Crutchfield, Circuit City and Wal-Mart. Remember, if you want to redeem your DTV coupon, in most cases, you will need to present it in person at one of the approved outlets. Among the few on-line retailers that accept to redeem your DTV coupons on-line, there is FreeDTVshop.

Featured DTV Converter Boxes:

	The Insignia NS-DXA1, presently available for purchase 'in-store' at Best Buy for $59.99 and on-line through FreeDTVShop for $69.99 before the coupon discount, has one of the best video quality and good tuner sensitivity.
It is also characterized by a signal level indicator, quick easy setup, big button remote, volume control on box, and digital close caption controls.

On the negative side, it do lack a few of the features found on other boxes like no factory reset button, no S-Video and no analog pass-through. There is also a delay of about 5 seconds for the image to appear on power up.

The Zenith DTT900 digital TV converter box is essentially the same product as the Insignia but under a different brand name. In fact, both models share the same tuner and application chips inside a different cover, and have the same features and characteristics.

The DTT900 is presently available for in-store purchase at Circuit City for $59.99, HHGregg for $49.97, and RadioShack for $59.99. And like the Insignia, it is also available for on-line purchase at FreeDTVShop for $69.99.

The RCA DTA800B is surely one of the best digital TV converter boxes. It is available for in-store purchase at Wal-Mart and also online via FreeDTVShop FOR $59.99.

It delivers excellent video quality. It also has an excellent remote with large-size buttons, a basic electronic program guide, digital close caption controls, and is one of the few digital TV converter boxes that come with smart antenna support.

On the other hand, the DTA800B receiver sensitivity is not as good as the Insignia or the Zenith referred to earlier on. It also lacks a few features such as manual channel change controls and analog pass-through.

Another DTV converter box that includes Smart Antenna support is the TIVAX STB-T9. In addition, it includes an auto set-up function, a basic EPG, parental control support, closed caption controls, and Dolby Digital audio out.

The STB-T9 is not available from any national retailer but instead is available from a number of on-line stores including the Consumer Electronics Group for $49.99 and FreeDTVShop for $59.99.

And What about your 'FREE' Digital TV Converter Box?

DTV converter boxes are relatively inexpensive, yet it is possible to get your digital TV converter box for free (after the DTV coupon discount).

All you have to do is to wait till the EchoStar TR-40 is released. As expressed earlier on, the TR-40 is expected to sell at just $40 and should feature a signal strength meter, VCR timer, full EPG with eight days of program guide data, and double conversion tuning. However, it will lack close caption controls. The real problem with the TR-40 is that no release date has been announced so far by EchoStar.

The EchoStar TR-40 and DISH Network DTVPal Confusion Story!

Well, the EchoStar TR-40 was originally announced at CES 2008. Then, it appears to have been renamed as DTVPal, and now the latest story is that Dish Network DTVPal and EchoStar TR-40 are actually separate products.

The Dish Network DTVPal digital-to-analog converter is available from the official website at $59.99; the EchoStar TR-40 is coming in the future, but there aren't any additional details.

However, Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen hinted on his TV show 'Charlie Chat' that the TR-40 will have an MSRP of $40 despite that at this price tag, DISH Network will be selling it below cost. It should not be surprising if the EchoStar TR-40 will feature some sort of advertising to compensate for this lower price-tag.

But... why selling it at a loss? It appears that the EchoStar aim with the TR-40 is to get onboard new customers for its satellite TV services while pushing away more customers from cable TV companies.

 Copyright © - Practical-Home-Theater-Guide.com  All rights reserved.