$40 for HDTV converter boxes

[Joel Kolstad]

Joerg and others might find the last paragraph on this page interesting:
http://www.ncta.com/ContentView.aspx?contentId=4355 ...it seems that there's
been a program funded that'll give you a $40 voucer to help pay for your
ATSC->NTSC converter box, with households able to request up to two such
vouchers.

There are converter boxes now available for <$100 -- I suspect that somewhere
a bunch of Asian engineers are working feverishly to cram enough silicon into
a single chip on a cheap enough process that they'll be able to bring up a
$39.99 retail converter box sometime in 2008 still.

---Joel

 

[linnix]

Joerg and others might find the last paragraph on this page interesting:http://www.ncta.com/ContentView.aspx?contentId=4355...it seems that there's
been a program funded that'll give you a $40 voucer to help pay for your
ATSC->NTSC converter box, with households able to request up to two such
vouchers.

I also need a voucher for electricity. These boxes use 30W to 40W all
the time, even when we are sleeping. There is no way to put it in
standby, and it takes forever to reboot if unplugged.

 

[Joerg]

Joerg and others might find the last paragraph on this page interesting:
http://www.ncta.com/ContentView.aspx?contentId=4355 ...it seems that there's
been a program funded that'll give you a $40 voucer to help pay for your
ATSC->NTSC converter box, with households able to request up to two such
vouchers.

There are converter boxes now available for <$100 -- I suspect that somewhere
a bunch of Asian engineers are working feverishly to cram enough silicon into
a single chip on a cheap enough process that they'll be able to bring up a
$39.99 retail converter box sometime in 2008 still.

I haven't seen anything on shelves here. Sometimes I walk over to the
electronics aisle, especially when my wife can't stand my "Are we done
shopping now?" look.

Here's hoping that multipath doesn't render this whole area a digital
wasteland. I guess nobody cares to test. All I know is that if it
doesn't work there will be some phone lines starting to glow. You can
take a lot away from the masses but not football and TV.

 

[Joerg]

I also need a voucher for electricity. These boxes use 30W to 40W all
the time, even when we are sleeping. There is no way to put it in
standby, and it takes forever to reboot if unplugged.

Really? Wow. And whom will they flog for such a clear case of technical
incompetence?

 

[linnix]

Really? Wow. And whom will they flog for such a clear case of technical
incompetence?

Scientific Altanta for such design oversight, Cox cable for loading
on-demand junks, and regulators sleeping on the job, I guess.

 

[Martin Riddle]

I haven't seen anything on shelves here. Sometimes I walk over to the electronics aisle, especially when my wife can't
stand my "Are we done shopping now?" look.

Here's hoping that multipath doesn't render this whole area a digital wasteland. I guess nobody cares to test. All I know
is that if it doesn't work there will be some phone lines starting to glow. You can take a lot away from the masses but not
football and TV.

Wallmart has a RCA VHS/DVD recorder w/ATSC receiver. $2xx
I use a Happauge usb receiver, and it works well, I'm 50 miles east of the Empire State Building and get good recption with a
6' boom LPA and amp. Although there are some problems when there is a high moisture content in the air.

I really want to see some portables, to replace my little sony NTSC TV. But Rabbit ears arent going to work like with the
800mhz bands.


Cheers

 

[Robert Baer]

Joerg and others might find the last paragraph on this page interesting:
http://www.ncta.com/ContentView.aspx?contentId=4355 ...it seems that there's
been a program funded that'll give you a $40 voucer to help pay for your
ATSC->NTSC converter box, with households able to request up to two such
vouchers.

There are converter boxes now available for <$100 -- I suspect that somewhere
a bunch of Asian engineers are working feverishly to cram enough silicon into
a single chip on a cheap enough process that they'll be able to bring up a
$39.99 retail converter box sometime in 2008 still.

---Joel

Too bad that one cannot get cash for those stupid vouchers...

 

[Robert Baer]

I haven't seen anything on shelves here. Sometimes I walk over to the
electronics aisle, especially when my wife can't stand my "Are we done
shopping now?" look.

Here's hoping that multipath doesn't render this whole area a digital
wasteland. I guess nobody cares to test. All I know is that if it
doesn't work there will be some phone lines starting to glow. You can
take a lot away from the masses but not football and TV.

You mean, overthrow the present dictatorship for something that more
closely represents a (hush) democracy?

 

[Robert Baer]

Wallmart has a RCA VHS/DVD recorder w/ATSC receiver. $2xx
I use a Happauge usb receiver, and it works well, I'm 50 miles east of the Empire State Building and get good recption with a
6' boom LPA and amp. Although there are some problems when there is a high moisture content in the air.

I really want to see some portables, to replace my little sony NTSC TV. But Rabbit ears arent going to work like with the
800mhz bands.


Cheers

Mouse ears?

 

[Kalman Rubinson]

I also need a voucher for electricity. These boxes use 30W to 40W all
the time, even when we are sleeping. There is no way to put it in
standby, and it takes forever to reboot if unplugged.

Put it on a clock so it turns on an hour before you need it. Works if
you have a regular schedule. Works for me in my weekend house. ;-)

Kal

 

[Gary Tait]

I also need a voucher for electricity. These boxes use 30W to 40W all
the time, even when we are sleeping. There is no way to put it in
standby, and it takes forever to reboot if unplugged.

One of the specs that these "Voucher" boxes must adhere to is a low power
standby mode.

In the real world, I doubt you'd find an actual basic level STB draw more
than 20W running anyhow.

 

[[email protected]]

57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com:




One of the specs that these "Voucher" boxes must adhere to is a low power
standby mode.

In the real world, I doubt you'd find an actual basic level STB draw more
than 20W running anyhow.

To save energy,we hv a 4.5W machine and with 'sleep' mode

 

[[email protected]]

Too bad that one cannot get cash for those stupid vouchers...

buy here with coupon sell to other countires use ATSC,you get cash

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

[snip]

Here's hoping that multipath doesn't render this whole area a digital
wasteland. I guess nobody cares to test. All I know is that if it
doesn't work there will be some phone lines starting to glow. You can
take a lot away from the masses but not football and TV.

It works great here in the land of multipath, the Pacific Northwest
(hills, trees, low flying aircraft). I've got an HDTV set and a VHS/DVD
recorder (both with ATSC tuner) and they work great with set top UHF
loops.

 

[Frank Raffaeli]

Joerg and others might find the last paragraph on this page interesting:http://www.ncta.com/ContentView.aspx?contentId=4355...it seems that there's
been a program funded that'll give you a $40 voucer to help pay for your
ATSC->NTSC converter box, with households able to request up to two such
vouchers.

There are converter boxes now available for <$100 -- I suspect that somewhere
a bunch of Asian engineers are working feverishly to cram enough silicon into
a single chip on a cheap enough process that they'll be able to bring up a
$39.99 retail converter box sometime in 2008 still.

---Joel

Why do you say "Asian" ;-)

Frank

 

[Glenn Gundlach]

Wallmart has a RCA VHS/DVD recorder w/ATSC receiver. $2xx
I use a Happauge usb receiver, and it works well, I'm 50 miles east

of the Empire State Building and get good recption with a

6' boom LPA and amp. Although there are some problems when there is

a high moisture content in the air.

I really want to see some portables, to replace my little sony NTSC

TV. But Rabbit ears arent going to work like with the

800mhz bands.

Cheers

After the analog turn off, there will be no OTA TV over 698 MHz

GG

 

[T]

of the Empire State Building and get good recption with a
a high moisture content in the air.
TV. But Rabbit ears arent going to work like with the

After the analog turn off, there will be no OTA TV over 698 MHz

GG

I have to wonder, what happens to the TV's without PLL tuners? They'll
be able to tune throughought the band and some cheap ass public
infastructure carrier will not protect their data streams.

This will be fun. Sort of like how UPS isn't using the segment of the
220MHz band they snatched from amateur radio since there are far too
many transmitters out there capable of interfering.

 

[Joel Koltner]

I have to wonder, what happens to the TV's without PLL tuners? They'll
be able to tune throughought the band and some cheap ass public
infastructure carrier will not protect their data streams.

Their data streams will be encrypted, I imagine, if they care.

This will be fun. Sort of like how UPS isn't using the segment of the
220MHz band they snatched from amateur radio since there are far too
many transmitters out there capable of interfering.

I had heard it was also due to how cheap cell phones were becoming (and that
coverage was becoming the vast majority of anywhere UPS was going anyway...
save the VHF for the guys who really were driving out into the boonies).