[mythtv-users] Obama Recommends Delay in Digital TV Switch

[John Finlay]

Jeff Walther wrote:
>> Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:54:31 -0700
>> From: Brian Wood <beww at beww.org>
>>
>> Allen Edwards wrote:
>>     
>>> Since this digital
>>> transition started we have been watching DTV.   The picture is great.
>>>  Switching back to analog I now find the signals have so much noise they
>>> are basically unwatchable.
>>>       
>
>   
>> So in your particular case things got better. This will not be the case
>> for everyone.
>>     
>
> Here in Austin, I can pick up the digital version of all the analog
> stations, plus three more new digital stations added by the original
> broadcasting stations (weather'y station; extra PBS--cooking all the time,
> it seems; and a cool retro station with old "Bold Ones" and "Suspense
> Theater" and such).
>
> However, Fox and CW just drop out.   They have episodes where the digital
> converter box reports that there is no signal.   I can be going along
> watching (box says about 65% signal strength, whatever that means) and
> suddenly there's no signal.
>
> Sometimes the signal drops to zero just long enough to miss key action or
> dialog and sometimes it drops out for a minute or more at a time.
>
> There drop outs seem to come in clusters.
>
> Because I don't know what that 65% signal strength indication is actually
> measuring, I don't know if that means that the station is having technical
> problems and the carrier is actually stopping, or if the digital box is
> just failing to synch to the digital signal for some reason.
>
> Either way, when it is bad, it makes the show unwatchable.   Reception on
> Analog is fine.
>
> My antenna is in the attic so it's not getting blown around in the wind,
> or something like that.  I suppose a tree outside could be blowing around
> and somehow affecting things, but that seems farfetched.
>
>   
Having your antenna in the attic can greatly reduce the signal strength 
and quality. If reception is still a problem after the transition you 
might consider relocating it outside.

John