Digital TV

When you first purchase a television, many people do not realize the capabilities unless something is going to be removed, such as the analog signal. The best place to go to check on your television, would be to the manufacturer’s website. Digital tuner’s have been part of every *new* television since it was required of them in 2004. In 1998, they were starting to be installed in every new television until it was required for every television after 2004.

If you’re more hands on with your television, you could always check to see if you have an input connection labeled “digital input” or “ATSC.” In any case, you will likely have tried to see if you get a signal without anything, getting the answer you were originally looking for. Good luck in your quest to find out if you television has a digital converter already or not.

With new signals come new coverage area’s. New technology is being used and tested on a day-to-day basis, all for the digital transition. If you are someone that lives on the outskirts of a major city, and only use the rabbit ears, there are many area’s that will start getting coverage, as well as other area’s that will actually stop receiving any coverage.

Throughout the next few weeks, all the channels will be undergoing many different changes if you’re receiving the analog signal. During these next few weeks, it will be more and more clear as to whether or not you will be able to receive the channels. I am providing you a link to a list of states of what changes in coverage you will have.

DTV Markets

I had someone ask me about every single change that will take place because of the conversion, and it was brought up about how the V-Chip would be affected. Many people do not realize the signals embedded in the signal that your television gets, and how progressive television technology has become. The signal that the V-chip receives in order to determine what rating it is, is automatically embedded in the signal itself.

Once the V-chip was developed, many companies that make televisions were required to provide the option in the menu of the television. The exact quote from this FCC website states “half of all new television models 13 inches or larger manufactured after July 1, 1999, and all sets 13 inches or larger manufactured after January 1, 2000 must have V-Chip technology.”

Needless to say, the V-Chip will not be affected in any way when the conversion or transition takes place. In many cases, if you subscribe to a local cable company and have one of their digital boxes already, they should have some sort of parental control feature already. I hope this helps you parents!

For some time, many of us have been aware of the digital transition taking place on February 17, 2009. The transition from analog to digital television was initiated from our government. The government also understands that forcing people to purchase a new piece of technology that changes how many people live their daily life, is not in the best interest of the average American. In an effort to compensate the general public for this digital transition change, the government is providing two coupons worth $40 that can only apply towards the converter box. These coupons are available between January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009.

Here are the different avenues of retrieving the coupons that the government is providing.

• Call 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009)
• Fax 1-877-DTV-4ME2 (1-877-388-4632)
• Apply Online
• Print This Application  and mail to:

 
Digital Converter Coupon
P.O. Box 2000
Portland, OR 97208-2000

Don’t let the grind of your daily life get you down. Stay Strong, and have fun!

As you go about your daily life, keep your mind on the things that make you happy. Without being happy with who and what you are, you are setting yourself up for failure in your endeavors through life.

Throughout the years, everyone gets caught up in one thing or another that will always drag them down. The point to this blog is to emphasize the point on relaxing. Television does provide an outlet to relax, but, everyone needs to find the one thing that makes them truly happy, and spend the time necessary to be happy about themselves. So, relax, poor yourself a cold drink, and enjoy yourself!

With the advancement of technology, many things we take for granted are advancing as time presses on. In the interest of advancement, many companies are starting to provide their own form of phone service through the internet. The method used by the phone company is called VOIP phone service.

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. To make it somewhat simpler, it turns the your voice into something digital, and sends it really really fast to the person on the other end, allowing the two way communication that a normal analog phone provides.

To give my readers some piece of mind, the digital transition that will take place on February 17, will not affect your digital phone and has nothing to do with the signal being transmitted.

     When I started work today, I never realized the intense day I would have until after I spoke with five different customers about one major issue that is affecting many people local to me. I learned how in-depth the contracts are between a provider for a show and the company that someone pays to provide.  On a more recent, specific note, Viacom and Time Warner Cable are currently undergoing contract negotiations to allow channels to air.  Viacom is pulling out all the stops to get the message across that those channels are in limbo, and the cable companies are working with their customers to assure them that they will be updated as to the outcome of the negotiations.

       To be more specific about the Viacom/Time Warner situation, Viacom wants to increase what they charge for having those channels with Time Warner, but, Time Warner does not want to lose money, thereby forwarding the cost to the subscriber.  Time Warner does not want to increase anybody’s bill, so, they are in dispute of a 22% - 36% increase that Viacom is requesting.  Viacom does not deny the small percentage increase.

      Needless to say, everyone is not informed as to the intricate details into getting contracts re-negotiated, and there are over 100 contracts that are re-negotiated throughout the year without customers being aware.  It’s unfortunate that the falling economy may affect how some of us watch tv. 

Update: An agreement was made between Viacom and Time Warner. At midnight, there was an agreement to extend the contract talks. Soon after the extension, there was an agreement made. In the next few days, the details are going to be hammered out between the two companies. In the meantime, customers will still be able to watch their regular programming. This is fortunate since in the past, Viacom has done this with EchoStar Communications (Dish Network) back in March 9, 2004 for a similar disagreement. The difference is that the channels were/are still available with Time Warner. 

Many companies offer Question and Answer pages on their websites in an effort to stem calls that they receive on their Customer Service line.  As time goes on, people are utilizing more online ways to get the information they want, and I wanted to bring it to your attention.  Many different companies that offer television are already offering Question and Answer options in order to resolve many issues that come up with a television.  

Whenever you are looking into a company to provide you with television entertainment or phone service, you always want to see if there is a way that they can help you online first. The number of companies that offer technicians to go to your house for free are becoming less and less. It’s unfortunate that things are getting to this point, but, in today’s economy, I just want you to be informed.

     When dealing with people on the phone about their phone, I have realized that many people do not understand the different fee’s involved with much of what they do.  More importantly, I want to address the idea of getting numbers from 411.  In the past, it was free for people to retrieve their number from 411.    I will provide other means of retrieving information from the phone without worrying about being charged for it.

      The first number I found was the number 1-800-Goog-411 (1-800-4664-411).  It is almost exactly like the regular 411 but since it’s a 1-800 number, you should not get charged at all.  Google is the company that provides that information.  Here is the link to the website pertaining to the free information number - Google 411.

      The second number I found was 1-800-Free-411 (1-800-3733-411).  The differences between the regular 411 and this 411 is that you will not get charged at all for dialing it.  Here is the link for more information on this number - Free 411

      The final method that anyone can utilize to get information for free is going to the website White Pages website. 

Hello and happy holidays to all my readers. Since it is Christmas I have come up with a fun poem as a gift to all of you. Remeber to have a safe and happy Christmas.   Twas the morning after Christmas, and all through the house,The presents were opened with paper is strown about the floor.In the biggest of the boxes was the gift you have adored -A 48 Inch Plasma Hi Defenition TV!With the picture so bright, and so crisp and so clear, Your heart was filled with intense Christmas Cheer! You can finally watch the game, with reason to shout Because the ball really was in, even though the ref said it was out.Nothing can make things betterExcept maybe a 64 inch LCD TV!