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After more than 60 years of broadcasting in analog, television stations across the nation made the switch to digital today -- following on an Obama-mandated six-month delay so that more outreach could be done for people likely to be most affected, namely the elderly and rural poor. But interestingly, Ryan Kim who writes for the Chron's Technology Chronicles, will also be affected because he decided recently to go cable-less. This seems ironic given the fact that the Tech Chronicles' tagline is "News and views from the digital frontier" (emphasis ours). Ryan apparently has some trouble seeing NBC from where he lives in the Inner Sunset, and must concentrate his technology coverage on the digital frontiers outside of the TV sphere -- also, he appears excited by the idea of getting digital TV streamed on his mobile phone via Qualcomm's FLO TV. Why not have it on a ful screen, Ryan?
Analog-to-Digital Switch Impacting Elderly, Poor and SFGate Technology Writer
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Did anyone else see this? This is shameful!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11
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Today I have half as many channels as yesterday. Glad I didn't buy a new tv to find this out. Strange that channel 7 was the strongest analog signal at my apartment and the digital signal worked fine until today. Now it doesn't show up when scanning, but KOFY does?
I got a converter box last year, and I have to say that despite the mishandling of this by W's adminstation and Congress and so on, it was really easy. I got my coupons, went to the Radio Shack, got a kick-ass Zenith box, and suddenly not only did I get WAY better picture and sound, I got a ton more channels too.
True some of 'em were a bit weird (Deutche Welle in Spanish? ZOMG!) but hey, it looked great and so did all my favorite networks.
Of course, the disinfo pumped out by the cable and satellite industries on this issue made things confusing, but if you just ignore them and get some good intel from Consumer Reports or something similarly smart and not lameass MSM, well you'll do fine.
Best part though is not getting cable and yet still having access to great programming online via Hulu, Netflix On Demand (Starz) and so on, all for the cost of my dsl-only line!
The analog channels are off but I still don't get audio on 7-1, 9-2, and 9-3. :-/
Using a directional antenna, and putting the antenna as high up as possible will give you much better results. Yagi antennas work best. Don't waste your money on "HDTV" antennas, because it's just marketing. An antenna is an antenna. The higher and more directional your antenna, the better your results. Remember it's your right as a US Citizen to mount a rooftop antenna according to the 1996 Federal Communications act. No landlord, home owners association, or local law can deny you of that right.
If you're getting KOFY but not channel 7, you're probably using an omni antenna, or you have your antenna poorly placed. DTV is very sensitive to signal reflections. Aim a directional rooftop antenna in the direction of Sutro and you should get a signal.
I live in Nob Hill/Chinatown and i could barely get any DTV before friday. Now that analog is off the air, TV stations are finally transmitting digital at full power, and they moved their frequencies around. I'm able to get about 1/2 of Sutro stations, and I can get San Jose and Sacrmento stations perfectly.
I'm a technology fan, and i'll never waste my money on subscription based commericial TV. Why pay comcast $1200 a year for crummy HD with 20 minutes of commericals every hour?
I find stories about people who still watch TV fascinating. It's like the people who still use dial-up for internet access or an undiscovered amazonian tribe that never made contact anyone else.