Philo T Farnsworth
I finished getting HDTV reception over the air set up this week since I got my $40 rebate card.
I went to Target to buy a converter since Radio Shack was out of stock. I got a GE 22729 which was complete junk. Changing channels was slow, the video quality was bad, and it stopped working after less than a week. I exchanged it for a Venturer STB7766G which works well. It doesn't have an electric program guide like some of the other DTV boxes but total cash cost was around $14 with the rebate so it was a good deal for the price.
TV reception using rabbit ears in my ground floor living room didn't get most of the channels, so I had to run a cable to an antenna in my attic. It turned out that it was a lot less work than I was expecting because I reused the old antenna and cable TV wiring that was left behind by a previous owner. All I had to do was disconnect the cable TV hookup, splice back into the antenna, and put a terminator on the end of the cable running outside.
It is nice to get clearer reception and more channels in widescreen, but this reminds me why I rarely watch TV. Getting everything set up was more interesting than watching shows. TV does make for a decent background while working on some things, though. Restoring some vacuum tube radios from the 1920's that I have will probably be one of my next projects.
I am 4 chapters into reading The Boy Who Invented Television, and so far I would recommend it if you are interested in inventors or the history of technology.
I went to Target to buy a converter since Radio Shack was out of stock. I got a GE 22729 which was complete junk. Changing channels was slow, the video quality was bad, and it stopped working after less than a week. I exchanged it for a Venturer STB7766G which works well. It doesn't have an electric program guide like some of the other DTV boxes but total cash cost was around $14 with the rebate so it was a good deal for the price.
TV reception using rabbit ears in my ground floor living room didn't get most of the channels, so I had to run a cable to an antenna in my attic. It turned out that it was a lot less work than I was expecting because I reused the old antenna and cable TV wiring that was left behind by a previous owner. All I had to do was disconnect the cable TV hookup, splice back into the antenna, and put a terminator on the end of the cable running outside.
It is nice to get clearer reception and more channels in widescreen, but this reminds me why I rarely watch TV. Getting everything set up was more interesting than watching shows. TV does make for a decent background while working on some things, though. Restoring some vacuum tube radios from the 1920's that I have will probably be one of my next projects.
I am 4 chapters into reading The Boy Who Invented Television, and so far I would recommend it if you are interested in inventors or the history of technology.