[TheChairGuy]

We have 3 TV's in the house (we're not a video crowd here)...only one of which has expanded cable service.  We simply don't want the cost incurred in hooking up the other two with cable (especially premium channels, on demand, etc).  $72 a month for Comcast is plenty enough to spend for our television viewing pleasure 

So, we're good candidates for these digital set top converter boxes today...yesterday, $40 coupons provided by the US government for the purchase of such devices, I bought the Best Buy Insignia box for $59.99 (it gets mostly rave reviews on their site by consumers).  $20 + tax for the box.

Previously we got only about 8 channels and half of those grainy, the other half about the quality of cable television (we're right across the water from Sutro tower in San Francisco, the main tower for TV and Radio broadcasts....so we only have/need amplified rabbit ears as an antenna for each TV).

This is about the best $20 ever spent for video I can remember.  We now get 30 stations.....many digital broadcasts already exist in San Francisco (for free) that we never knew existed.  Especially cool is a 24 hour Jazz TV station (audio only) with terrific sound quality. Old time jazz, not just the often obnoxious easy listening jazz that many stations in many markets play today 

The Insignia is compact, doesn't get too hot and if you don't want to read elaborate set up procedures...has everything right there online to set it up in the beginning. Situating the box, plugging cables in and doing the set up online (it has to seek and find the new stations once in the beginning) took 10 minutes max.

Not only did our channel count quadruple, but the quality of all stations received is now leaps and bounds better than cable broadcast.  Absolutely fabulous 

So, if any of you have older TV's (one of mine is a 24" Sony from 2001...so it's not ancient by any means) and are thinking of getting one of these set top converters 'one-day'...go get your $40 coupon (https://www.dtv2009.gov/) and enjoy the startlingly good broadcast quality of DTV and all the extra channels you'll receive - for free.

Note- every broadcast market is different so your benefit in channels and broadcast quality may vary.  But, based on what I've read, everybody in every market ends up with a few more channels of viewing pleasure 

John

[Bob in St. Louis]

John, thanks for the information on the boxes. I've been wondering (very casually) about their overall picture quality and channel lineup. As a sat customer, I have no need for one of them, but thought about nixing the DirecTv in my HT room depending on what channels I'll be able to receive with one of these units.
Tell me, is there somewhere a fellow can go to find what channels are available for a given geographic location? Or did you simply plug it in and what you get is what you get?

Thanks you for the review John. You're "The Man of the Day"! 

Bob

[TheChairGuy]

Bob-o,

The pic is startlingly good, actually, way better than broadcast and a bit better than cable.

I literally just hooked it up last nite and watched slack-jawed for about an hour    I didn't pay attention to the stations, but there were ones I don't remember hitting on the cable-equipped TV downstairs.

I'm just 5 miles across from the main TV towers in San Fran...so my results may be better than those in smaller markets or further afield from town.

John

[Bob in St. Louis]

Cool John-o. 
I think I'll have to do a little more digging into this. You've peaked my interest.  aa

Bob

[art]

I ran across a site that has that sort of inf, but I can not remember it. It had to do with antenna selection, if that helps any.

It did not list all the channels in my area. It did, however, tell me how large of an antenna I would need. (You enter in your street address, and it calculates how far you are from the TV transmitters.)

As for the quality............as a buddy who spent years at a local TV station says:

"You basically get broadcast-quality video in your house. Big deal."

Not a big deal to him, as he never watched TV at home! Big deal if all you have ever seen is over-the-air NTSC.

Pat

[Don_S]

EDTI   Tell me, is there somewhere a fellow can go to find what channels are available for a given geographic location? Or did you simply plug it in and what you get is what you get? Bob

Give this a try and let us know how it works for your area.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

For my ZIP code it listed many stations that I never knew existed. When I added the Zenith 901 converter box and the Dish Network DTVPal (two different systems) I still could NOT receive the extra stations.  Reception was very good for the stations I already received but I did not find any buried treasure.

[WGH]

As for the quality............as a buddy who spent years at a local TV station says:

"You basically get broadcast-quality video in your house. Big deal."

I guess 1080i is not a big deal to your buddy anymore.
And no more ghost images, everything is crystal clear.
And I have read less compression than cable so the quality is better.

Most of the cheap boxes just output 480i and an analog stereo signal. Great for a regular TV hookup. Pay more and you can have 1080i and a digital output for true 5/1 Dolby digital.

Wayne

[ebag4]

As for the quality............as a buddy who spent years at a local TV station says:

"You basically get broadcast-quality video in your house. Big deal."

I guess 1080i is not a big deal to your buddy anymore.
And no more ghost images, everything is crystal clear.
And I have read less compression than cable so the quality is better.

Most of the cheap boxes just output 480i and an analog stereo signal. Great for a regular TV hookup. Pay more and you can have 1080i and a digital output for true 5/1 Dolby digital.

Wayne

Wayne,
Do you have any specifics on the models that will do HD?  Are the coupons good for any of these units?

Thanks,
Ed

[Bob in St. Louis]

Give this a try and let us know how it works for your area.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

Thanks for the link Don!

It won't let me link to the "results" page, so here's a cut and paste:
{The cut and paste is semi chopped up, as it disorganises the column and row alignment during the paste}
=======================================================

Stations
 
Address Location Results
The address you entered was located at the Street level.
 
Stations and Antenna Types

 
TV reception is determined by the size and type of antenna and the direction in which it is pointed. To determine the right antenna, use the color coded Antenna Type to select the channels that you wish to view. Antenna types are color coded according to the size and type of antenna needed for reception. The list is arranged in order of ease of reception, with the stations requiring the smallest multidirectional antenna at the top, to those requiring the largest directional antennas at the bottom.

Use the "Compass Orientation" listed below to point your antenna or rotor system for the channels you wish to receive. Please note that "Compass Orientation" is referenced to magnetic North.

The "Frequency Assignment" column is provided to facilitate custom antenna design for special circumstances. 

 red
uhf KNLC 24 FMN ST. LOUIS, MO  173° 2.0 24
* red
uhf KNLC-DT 24.1 FMN ST. LOUIS, MO  171° 2.0 14
 red
uhf WRBU 46 MNT EAST ST. LOUIS, IL  92° 3.6 46
 blue
vhf KMOV 4 CBS ST. LOUIS, MO  55° 16.8 4
* blue
uhf WRBU-DT 46.1 MNT E. ST. LOUIS, IL Feb 17, 2009 (post-transition) 92° 3.6 47
 blue
vhf KETC 9 PBS ST. LOUIS, MO  53° 10.6 9
 blue
vhf KPLR 11 CW ST. LOUIS, MO  55° 16.8 11
 blue
vhf KTVI 2 FOX ST. LOUIS, MO  45° 14.0 2
 blue
vhf KSDK 5 NBC ST. LOUIS, MO  45° 17.2 5
* violet
uhf WRBU-DT 46.1 MNT E. ST. LOUIS, IL  92° 3.6 47
Note:
The above listing is a conservative prediction of stations received. Depending on the specifics of your installation, you may be able to receive stations that do not appear in this list.
 

[art]

Give this a try and let us know how it works for your area.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

That's it. Glad your memory is better than mine.

Pat

[WGH]

Wayne,
Do you have any specifics on the models that will do HD?  Are the coupons good for any of these units?

Thanks,
Ed

I was hoping nobody would ask me that. Generally speaking, no the coupons do not work for the better units. Here is the current list of eligible converter boxes.

All the big box stores have 1080i Dolby digital HDTV tuners. Samsung is a good brand for about $180.

I usually get a tuner on on eBay. My fave so far is the Samsung SIR-TS360.
Even though this is sold as a Direct TV receiver, it works perfectly fine without a Direct TV account, it then just receives terrestrial OTA programs.
***NOTE: This receiver will not work without a Direct TV card, all new unopened boxes should have a card (usually hidden under the bottom flap)***
I know, it's counter-intuituve, why do you need the Direct TV card if you are not using Direct TV? You just do, that's how the box works.

A buddy has a perfectly good 1080i rear projection TV, but it only has a NTSC tuner. His upsampling DVD player works fine but TV programs looked like crap, so I set him up with the SIR-TS360. The most important thing is his wife is happy because she is addicted to  "24" and now it comes in clearly. A bonus feature is the SIR-TS360 will upsample any video input, such as a standard DVD player or even a VCR. You can now record your "soaps" on the VCR and watch them back in hi-def.

Wayne

[ebag4]

I was hoping nobody would ask me that.

Sorry about that Wayne  .

Thanks for the additional info.

Ed

[TheChairGuy]

Cool info...I'm apparently 8.2 miles away from most of the TV stations in San Fran from here (not 5 miles as I earlier indicated) 

But, it's across a clear expanse of water (not hills, buildings or other things in the way).  Odd that I don't have much RFI issues here for the most part given the proximity to many transmitters.

I was 300 yards away from the main TV/Radio towers living in Washington DC for 7+ years...man did I ever need shielded cables there (even fully shielded LAT INternational loudspeaker cables were needed  )

John 

[TheChairGuy]

Hey, I just looked more in depth at what I have now.

Something around 25-30 channels and 6 of them are HD 

So this little Insignia unit at Best Buy ($59.99 less the $40 coupon) picks up HD 

Absolutely stunning picture on an 7 year old 24" Sony (not the XBR series, the one under than In Sony's line back then)

A fabulous and surprising purchase this one was  (phenominally clearer audio, too, on a few of the channels...HD and DTV)

This one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8854527&st=converter+box&lp=3&type=product&cp=1&id=1209166340855

John