Time running out for digital-TV transition — The West Ranch Beacon

Image not recoveredtvconverter-coupon.jpg

For those who haven’t yet found a way to reliably receive over-the-air digital television, the June 12 deadline for stations to switch from analog to digital broadcasts is less than two weeks away. At this point, if you haven’t signed up for the $40 coupons for DTV converter boxes at dtv2009.gov, or haven’t yet used the coupons you have, time is running out writes Steven Rosenberg in the Daily News.

I’ve gotten many calls and e-mails from viewers worried about buying the “wrong” DTV converter box.

If you don’t already have a digital-ready TV or a DTV box, my advice is to go to any major retailer – my favorites in this case are Target and Best Buy – and get one right now. Every DTV box I’ve seen at those two stores is good, so it’s hard to go wrong. The boxes are about $50, and worth buying even if you don’t have a coupon.

And if you can afford a new high-definition digital TV, I recommend getting one. While I’m very happy with the picture and sound quality for the stations I get with my two analog TVs equipped with RCA DTV converter boxes, everything really does look better in HD.

My problem – both for my own TVs and when it comes to giving advice to readers – is antennas.

There aren’t a whole lot of DTV-ready antennas in stores, and I have yet to find one that I can recommend.

Last week at Target, I bought a Philips SDV2730/27 amplified antenna ($29.99) for VHF and UHF. It has a couple rabbit-ears-type aerials sticking out from a book-sized box that contains a signal amplifier powered via a small AC adapter.

It works OK, but not better than the VHF-only, unamplified sub-$10 antennas I’ve had for years.

I continue to believe that the best first antenna for over-the-air digital television is the one you already have. See how that works – and do plenty of adjusting and repositioning – before you spend any more money.