Adventures in DTV

Well, my $40 coupons arrived on Wednesday and I could barely wait for the weekend to go and spend them. Technically, they aren't coupons, but work like credit or gift cards. My cashier had a little problem because these were the first coupons she processed, but they swiped, were verified and I was on my way.

A quick comparison of the recommended vendors revealed that, quality aside, the store cost of these boxes seem to run from $49 to $59 each, so they aren't going to be "free" regardless of where you purchase them.

My suspicion is that there is little difference in the boxes and that they all have minimal functionality, but that was just a quick impression from poking at the display models in each store. If you want full HD on a widescreen TV, this isn't going to be the solution for you. I'm not ready to replace every TV set and because I have cable for all but one of my current TV sets, my plan was to test this on the one TV that isn't connected to a cable signal. The set in question wasn't even plugged in to a power source, it was one of those hand-me-down sets you tend to pick up along the way, when friends or relatives move (or buy new TVs) so my installation was really from square one.

I had a rabbit ear antenna which came with the TV. If you don't, you will need to get an antenna at an additional cost, anywhere between $9 to $50 in the store I settled on, if you want to install an outdoor antenna it could run significantly more.

Despite the cautions I had heard about early models of these converters, the set up was very easy, even if you tend to start pushing buttons before reading directions as I do. Although not entirely intuitive it wasn't difficult to follow the on screen prompts and the set up went quickly.

In the end, I was able to receive over 50 channels, although many aren't ones I'd consider watching, the percentage seems to be about the same as it is for my cable selections. The best news of all for me is that for the first time I can now see all of WPBT's digital channels outside of my office at work.

Do you have questions? Start by checking here

I'm sure all experiences will be different and it is worth doing a little research in advance to make sure you end up with the experience you expect, but I'm feeling like the transition to digital, overall, has become a little less frightening for me and I think that with just a little knowledge it can be the same for you.