Miss BeeBee writes:
I view your news daily and it was stated that the DTV 2009, coupons were never sent to over 2 million customers such as I who has waited from Oct, 12, 2008. How can we who wait with reference numbers get things moving?
If you’ve been waiting since October, you may have a problem. The website dtv2009.gov will let you track the status of your coupons if you have those confirmation numbers. If that doesn’t help, the only solution may be to find a friend or relative who has not yet ordered coupons who can do so for you. They’re not tied to the name or address that orders them, so they could just give them to you to use. If you try to order again with your address, you may be rejected since there’s a limit of two per address.
Tim writes:
I just hooked up my converter box to my tv and dvd recorder but I can’t find out how to record anywhere. I know I can’t tape to the vcr but I want to make sure I record correctly.
Hi Tim,
So just to confirm that you do not have cable or satellite and use only an antenna to receive tv signals?
If your DVD recorder is DTV-ready, you could just plug the antenna straight in and record. But it’s probably not DTV compatible.
Otherwise, you’ll need to plug the converter box into your DVD recorder and then plug the DVD recorder into your TV. You’ll view the converter box by watching through the DVD recorder. It will be able to record whatever channel the converter box is tuned to.
Alternatively, you could hook up both the DVD and TV to the converter box by using the A/V cables for one and the coaxial cable for the other.
Sorry it’s a little confusing, but hope that helps.
Doris in Chestertown writes:
When will WBAL switch over to DTV? I remember hearing something about something in January.
Hi Doris,
The transition to all-digital broadcasting happens at midnight the eveing of February 17th.
Other related events include a mid-January power reduction on our analog signal so we can prepare for the switch. Some viewers still watching on analog will see a degraded picture after that point.
Also, our news programming will move to our new high definition studio and control room in January.
Stephone in Glen Burnie writes:
I have two portable BW TV’s, will I be able to use the digital converter for my small 5 inch TV sets?
Unfortunately, the answer to your question is “probably not.”
If these TV’s have an input where you could plug in an external antenna, there may be hope. But even then, you’d have to lug around a digital converter with the TV. Portable, battery operated converter boxes are said to be coming to market but to my knowledge they’re not available yet.
I’ve seen portable digital TV’s available for around $200. You may be able to do better by shopping around.
Ron writes:
I got a DTV converter box, but it just says NO SIGNAL, although I currently get analog signals fine with the help of a signal booster. I’ve even tried a different converter box but still “no signal found”.
Hi Ron,
Sorry you’re having some trouble. Two things come to mind as possible reasons for your problem
The easiest to fix is this. These digital boxes often have to be “autoscanned” before they can find the local TV stations. If you haven’t done this, just go into the on-screen menu and look for a function called “autoscan” or “autoprogram.” After you press that, the box will take a minute or so to scan through all the TV channels to see which ones it can receive. When it’s finished, the channels will be available.
If that doesn’t work, look in the menu system for a “signal strength meter. If you tune to a major local station and that shows no signal strength at all, there may be a problem with how the cables are connected to the box. If there is a reading, but it’s “low,” you may need to reorient or upgrade your antenna to receive a strong enough signal to establish the digital picture.
