My experiences with digital TV

A LONG time ago, I bought a digital TV board for my computer -- the Telemann HiPix DTV200. The software was shaky and the user interface so-so, and you really needed two monitors to use it effectively. And getting reception was fiddly. But when it worked, the picture was gorgeous, though there wasn't much to watch in those early days.

Now that the digital television mandate is coming (analog broadcasts will stop in less than a year), DTV is mainstream. Getting a new HDTV isn't in the budget this year, but buying one of the inexpensive converters is, especially with the $40 coupons that you can get from the government. (patrissimo can tune out now :) I applied for our coupons shortly after New Year's, and they showed up last week. So I did a bit of internet research on the few models that are available locally so far, and concluded that the one I wanted was the Zenith DTT900, which is supposed to be available at Radio Shack and Circuit City.

First I visited the neighborhood Radio Shack. No sign of converters. But it's not a very well stocked store, so no surprise there. I had some shopping to do at South Bay anyway (Shop and Shop and Home Depot), so off to Circuit City. First I looked around for a while; nothing found on the floor. Then I talked to an employee, who thought they didn't sell them. He looked on their web site and didn't find anything. So I looked on their site with different search terms (disclosure; I had already looked them up online before going to the store, so I KNEW what would work) and found the converter; he then looked it up in the store database and discovered that they actually DID have 8 of them, and managed to find them (on the floor, but in a dark corner) after a few minutes. Obviously they're not trying very hard to sell the things; I'm sure they would much rather sell a shiny new HDTV set.

But the good news; the converter works really well. No, it won't magically turn your old TV set into a high-definition set, but it will give you clear, ghost-free reception and access to multicast content. (That is, some stations broadcast more than one program at the same time on their digital channels. Channel 44 has four: Kids, Create, World, plus whatever is on analog channel 44 at the time. Channel 68 also has four, but they're all terrible. Channel 7 has full-time news and weather on a second channel.) As a bonus, it also gives access to closed captions; our bedroom television is JUST old enough to lack a caption decoder.

The DTT900 just does the basics. No S-video output (fancier options like component or VGA outputs aren't allowed in coupon-eligible converters), no smart antenna support, and only a basic electronic program guide (some other converters have a more complete EPG). But it makes up for that with excellent tuner performance; it receives the digital signals with much less antenna fuss than my old computer board needs, and successfully pulls in WUTF-DT (Telefutura) which the computer board never could manage. The UI is simple, including dedicated buttons on the remote for zoom (to deal with programming in different aspect ratios), secondary audio, and closed captions. Channel changes are fast; a major problem with some digital tuners. A lot of aspects of our A/V setup fail the Marian test (that is, it's too much button pushing for her to want to deal with -- maybe I'll fix that some day with a properly programmed Harmony Remote), but this one passes with flying colors.

For a mere $20 after the coupon, this is a cheap way to keep your old TV going a little longer. Thumbs up from me.

(Edited to add that you don't need one of these if you get your TV from cable, satellite, or FIOS; it's for over-the-air reception. And yes, that fine reception is with a simple pair of amplified rabbit ears, though it helps that it is currently winter - no leaves. We'll probably put up a modest outdoor antenna once the weather cooperates.)