"Can't get any TV" related question
 

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:03:00 +0000, Barbara wrote:

Didn't want to highjack the ongoing thread.

Does each individual analog TV inside a residence need it's own
converter?

For all practical purposes, yes. However, you could use one with 2 or more
TV's if you want to watch the same thing on all of them.

I live about 45 miles from strong transmitting towers, and my house has
big UHF/VHF antenna outside on the roof which brings in analog stations
very well. I'll never subscribe to cable or any DTV offering.

Good for you. I never have either.

But, the antenna cable is split, outdoors, before it even comes into the
house. One line, closest to the antenna, goes straight through into a
lower level den (tri-level house). I'm pretty sure the 27" Sony
Trinitron analog TV there will need it's own converter.

Yes.

Then it gets complicated. The other cable comes into the house from the
outside splitter, up the outside wall and into an upper level bedroom.
(I didn't wire this!) There used to be a TV there, but not currently.
However the inline amplifier that boosted the signal from the long cable
run from the antenna is still there. Then the cable dives into the
walls, trots across the attic heading south and ends up as far as it
could possibly go to a mid-level office, living room wall terminating
connector.

From that that terminating connector there lives yet another in-line
amplifier and another splitter (visualize a "Y" output) which feeds a 2
yr. old, small 15" Sharp LED EDTV in an office, and a larger old analog
TV in the living room. I don't think the Sharp EDTV has HD tuner or
capability.

Now to review: That's three TVs sucking the life out of one large
antenna, but it works with the amplifiers positioned as described!

I've got mine feeding 9 with only one amp. Works fine.

Do I need three converters? Or could one converter be placed at the
lower level (Den, Sony 27" etc.) and a second placed BEFORE the second
distant "Y" split, thus feeding the final two TVs? I have two coupons,
but haven't purchased yet.

I'm sure you'll want one converter box per TV. That's really what they are
designed for.




--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

In article ,
says...

Old TV disposal is an added cost to the consumer and the environment as a
result of the digital transition.

Why is that? Just get a converter.

Ideally, yes. But a lot of people will opt for new sets; others will get rid
of their old ones when they stop working and won't bother with converters.
I've met a LOT of people who are doing one or both. Where I live you have to
pay to recycle the set. The old sets will end up being dumped or in garages
and basements, to be dumped years later. Old TV replacement has always been
happening to some extent over the last 60 years, but it will happen much more
now.

whosbest54
--
The flamewars are over...if you want it.

Unofficial rec.audio.opinion Usenet Group Brief User Guide:
http://www.geocities.com/whosbest54/

Unofficial rec.music.beatles Usenet Group Brief User Guide:
http://www.geocities.com/whosbest54/rmb.html

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

Like the others said, each tv will need it's own converter box.
It might be wise to do a little rewiring. Amplify the signal as close
to the source (antenna) as you can, then use one, three-way splitter.
Or, use an amplifier that has three outputs.

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:40:42 -0500, whosbest54 wrote:

In article ,
says...


On 15 Apr 2008 18:03:14 GMT Barbara
wrote:

| Sometimes I wish the gov had just issued "recycle" coupons for old |
analog units, since you have to pay to get rid of them. Eventually |
we'll have the old TVs *and* the converters to recycle.

That might be worth a letter and telephone call (both) to your 2
senators and your district representative (all three). Inform them
"after the transition, they need to have a program to take all the old
dead TVs for free".

This is a real difficult issue and a reason that cable should be made to
keep a basic analog tier for a longer time than 3 years. The sets can't
go to landfills because they contain toxic metals like lead.

AFAIK, they don't have to keep analog feeds at all. All they have to do is
provide a way that the customer can watch TV with their old set. They can
do that with an STB. The government shouldn't be sticking their nose into
closed systems like cable.

Old TV disposal is an added cost to the consumer and the environement as
a result of the digital transition. The government gets the windfall of
billions auctioning off the vacated spectrum and the consumers get
caught with the costs of converters, new TVs and disposal of the old
ones. Only the converters are subsidized at this time.

Give me a break. There's no reason to get a new TV if you don't want one.
I switched to all digital about 4 years ago without having a single TV
with a built in digital tuner. The old TV's work fine behind an ATSC
receiver. No ones going to throw away a perfectly good TV because of the
digital transition unless they are idiots.

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
My Tivo Experience http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/tivo.htm
Tivo HD/S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm
AMD cpu help http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:26:19 UTC, Jerome Zelinske
wrote:

Like the others said, each tv will need it's own converter box.
It might be wise to do a little rewiring. Amplify the signal as close
to the source (antenna) as you can, then use one, three-way splitter.
Or, use an amplifier that has three outputs.

Thanks. I've thought about using one amp at the antenna and will have
to do some research on which would work best in my situation. The
ones I have now are puny little indoor types which would not work up
on the roof.

--
Barbara

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

Jerome Zelinske wrote in
:

Like the others said, each tv

and each VCR you may have.
(if you want to record a different channel than you are watching)

will need it's own converter box.

It might be wise to do a little rewiring. Amplify the signal as close
to the source (antenna) as you can, then use one, three-way splitter.
Or, use an amplifier that has three outputs.



--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

Wes Newell wrote:
On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:40:42 -0500, whosbest54 wrote:

In article ,
says...

On 15 Apr 2008 18:03:14 GMT Barbara
wrote:

| Sometimes I wish the gov had just issued "recycle" coupons for old |
analog units, since you have to pay to get rid of them. Eventually |
we'll have the old TVs *and* the converters to recycle.

That might be worth a letter and telephone call (both) to your 2
senators and your district representative (all three). Inform them
"after the transition, they need to have a program to take all the old
dead TVs for free".

This is a real difficult issue and a reason that cable should be made to
keep a basic analog tier for a longer time than 3 years. The sets can't
go to landfills because they contain toxic metals like lead.

AFAIK, they don't have to keep analog feeds at all. All they have to do is
provide a way that the customer can watch TV with their old set. They can
do that with an STB. The government shouldn't be sticking their nose into
closed systems like cable.

Old TV disposal is an added cost to the consumer and the environement as
a result of the digital transition. The government gets the windfall of
billions auctioning off the vacated spectrum and the consumers get
caught with the costs of converters, new TVs and disposal of the old
ones. Only the converters are subsidized at this time.

Give me a break. There's no reason to get a new TV if you don't want one.
I switched to all digital about 4 years ago without having a single TV
with a built in digital tuner. The old TV's work fine behind an ATSC
receiver. No ones going to throw away a perfectly good TV because of the
digital transition unless they are idiots.



Wes, you seem to be forgetting that some people decide to replace a
perfectly good TV simply because the old one uses analog technology, and
the replacement TV uses newer digital technology. A strong benefit of
replacement is improved images and sound. To me, this doesn't seem to
make them idiots, rather it makes them someone who is capable of taking
advantage of an opportunity for something they consider an improvement,
while at the same time, not allowing themselves to accept a government
subsidy expected to keep them trapped in a yesteryear paradigm.

Perhaps you prefer everyone follow the old paradigm by staying with
stone knives and bearskin rugs. According to you, why improve that,
they work. A buggy whip worked, why replace that? A small personal
watercraft fashioned from a fallen tree worked, why replace it? The ax
was useful for obtaining food for the family worked, why replace that?

--
jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:26:06 GMT, Wes Newell
wrote:

The government shouldn't be sticking their nose into
closed systems like cable.
But then, how would they (local government) be able to charge the huge
"Franchise" fees they get around here?? How would they mandate what (not
*If*), public access programming?
I manage to avoid the local "Utility users Tax" as it applies to TV because I
don't use Cable or Satellite (taxed along with DSL and Cellular
communications).
Zip 94306

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:18:12 -0500, whosbest54
wrote:

In article ,
says...

Old TV disposal is an added cost to the consumer and the environment as a
result of the digital transition.

Why is that? Just get a converter.

Ideally, yes. But a lot of people will opt for new sets; others will get rid
of their old ones when they stop working and won't bother with converters.
I've met a LOT of people who are doing one or both. Where I live you have to
pay to recycle the set. The old sets will end up being dumped or in garages
and basements, to be dumped years later. Old TV replacement has always been
happening to some extent over the last 60 years, but it will happen much more
now.

whosbest54

It's not the government's fault if people decide to junk their tv
instead of getting a converter.
Thumper

"Can't get any TV" related question
 

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:40:42 -0500 whosbest54 wrote:
| In article , says...
|
|
|On 15 Apr 2008 18:03:14 GMT Barbara wrote:
|
|| Sometimes I wish the gov had just issued "recycle" coupons for old
|| analog units, since you have to pay to get rid of them. Eventually
|| we'll have the old TVs *and* the converters to recycle.
|
|That might be worth a letter and telephone call (both) to your 2 senators and
|your district representative (all three). Inform them "after the transition,
|they need to have a program to take all the old dead TVs for free".
|
| This is a real difficult issue and a reason that cable should be made to keep a
| basic analog tier for a longer time than 3 years. The sets can't go to
| landfills because they contain toxic metals like lead.

I don't agree with the requirement to keep a basic analog tier.

I do believe cable companies should provide some analog video connectivity,
and at zero cost for basic service for up to two TVs (e.g. if you subscribe
to the basic tier, you get up to two boxes on loan as part of the basic cost).
If you subscribe to a higher tier, then this obligation would exist for ONE
box and that box won't have to deliver more channels than the basic service
(e.g. to feed your 2nd TV that you only want basic channels on). I also
believe this should be provided out to 2018. If such a box has ONLY RF out,
that would comply with the idea of compatibility for older TVs.

The cable company could provide the compatibility by having analog running
on their cable. But I believe they would be doing a better service to change
the whole distribution to all digital and provide those boxes, provided that
the next requirement is also met:

I also believe the cable companies should provide all over the air TV channels
they carry in their complete form, including PSIP data, NOT encrypted, with all
subchannels intact. So if the over the air station is carried at all, it must
work with a DIGITAL CABLE READY (e.g. QAM) TV, without the need for a cable
company provided box. Local access channels should be provided the same way.
In other words, the basic tier of a cable system that has converted to digital
entirely should work without a box on a digital tuner that is cable ready.
This includes all subchannels of the TV stations that go over the air. They
can make a deal with the same stations to have even more subchannels provided
that are not over the air, and treat them like any other private source of
content. But whatever does go over the air must remain free to access even
if the station delivers it to the cable provider by another means, such as a
fiber optic link (an OC-3 link can deliver what amounts to almost 8 ATSC/8VSB
channels of content).


| Old TV disposal is an added cost to the consumer and the environement as a
| result of the digital transition. The government gets the windfall of billions
| auctioning off the vacated spectrum and the consumers get caught with the costs
| of converters, new TVs and disposal of the old ones. Only the converters are
| subsidized at this time.

If we put off the need to phase out old TVs for as long as most old TVs will
continue to function, then at least we can argue that the transition itself
is not the cause of additional disposal demand. I believe my above suggestion
would do that (as well as address other access rights issues).

--
|WARNING: Due to extreme spam, I no longer see any articles originating from |
| Google Groups. If you want your postings to be seen by more readers |
| you will need to find a different place to post on Usenet. |
| Phil Howard KA9WGN (email for humans: first name in lower case at ipal.net) |