I had the bar set pretty low for my digital TV conversion. I waited and waited to buy the box and then I waited and waited to actually hook it up - moving that entertainment center away from the wall just didn't seem worth it. But the other night I actually had a free half-hour at home when the baby wasn't needing to be held and all the kids were in bed and Elizabeth was out. So I decided to go for it.
Previously, we received about 10 channels analog on our $10 rabbit ears from Target. A couple came in pretty good if the antenna was set right - KUSA-9 and KWGN-7. Denver's CBS affiliate, KCNC-4, could get no better than fuzzy even if you spent 15 minutes tweaking the rabbit ears. That pretty much ended my fandom of Survivor and gave me another reason to avoid Broncos games (besides their awful play of the past two years). And KWGN-2 usually didn't come in at all unless the weather conditions outside were just right.
I really didn't expect much to change with the installation of the converter box. The way everyone talked, the only difference was going to be that your TV wouldn't go black when they finally turned off the analog signals (if the Democrats ever let them). I thought it would still be crappy reception - maybe slightly less crappy if we were lucky.
So it's quite a set up - rabbit ears hooked into the converter box, converter box to the VCR, VCR to the TV. But one it was done - WOW! Suddenly all the channels were crystal clear! (Or as crystal as you can get with rabbit ears and an 8-year old TV). Once again I could behold Jeff Probst's handsome studliness in all of its glory. Although Channel 4 seems prone to that weird digital twitching all the time. And I could even watch Channel 2 - not that there is anything on there, but still. And also, there were several bonus channels! Some sort of weather channel, a couple more PBS-related channels, maybe even an extra Spanish channel!
I think what my oldest son said upon seeing our new reception was, "Oh, we have THIS kind of TV now."
Previously, we received about 10 channels analog on our $10 rabbit ears from Target. A couple came in pretty good if the antenna was set right - KUSA-9 and KWGN-7. Denver's CBS affiliate, KCNC-4, could get no better than fuzzy even if you spent 15 minutes tweaking the rabbit ears. That pretty much ended my fandom of Survivor and gave me another reason to avoid Broncos games (besides their awful play of the past two years). And KWGN-2 usually didn't come in at all unless the weather conditions outside were just right.
I really didn't expect much to change with the installation of the converter box. The way everyone talked, the only difference was going to be that your TV wouldn't go black when they finally turned off the analog signals (if the Democrats ever let them). I thought it would still be crappy reception - maybe slightly less crappy if we were lucky.
So it's quite a set up - rabbit ears hooked into the converter box, converter box to the VCR, VCR to the TV. But one it was done - WOW! Suddenly all the channels were crystal clear! (Or as crystal as you can get with rabbit ears and an 8-year old TV). Once again I could behold Jeff Probst's handsome studliness in all of its glory. Although Channel 4 seems prone to that weird digital twitching all the time. And I could even watch Channel 2 - not that there is anything on there, but still. And also, there were several bonus channels! Some sort of weather channel, a couple more PBS-related channels, maybe even an extra Spanish channel!
I think what my oldest son said upon seeing our new reception was, "Oh, we have THIS kind of TV now."
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