DTV2009

I have been struggling with getting decent TV reception in my garage. I was looking forward to the DirecTV HD upgrade so I could move my old dish to the Garage roof. The big tree in my front year has prohibited that, so I was still stuck with funky rabit ears and a battle between the Snow storm and the Ghost storm on the TV. That has all changed.

In February 2009, the 2 - 13 range of your TV dial will go away in favor of a much higher quality digital signals spread across the UHF band. This frees up a boat load of frequencies that were recently auctioned off to private enterprise. That auction netted 19.6 billion dollars, a portion of which is funding the TV Converter Box Coupon Program.

I applied from my coupons a while ago at dtv20009.com. Each residence is entitled to two $40.00 coupons to be used on FEC approved Digital TV boxes. Boxes average about $60.00, so it is a significant savings. I picked mine up a couple weeks ago, and oh what a difference. Crystal clear reception, no ghosts or snow storms. I do get some intermittent pixelization that those with satellite TV experience from time to time, but that is very rare.

So no more standing in the garage looking funny as I hold the tip of my antenna. The Pictures are as good as anything you get via Cable or satellite, and I get all those extra channels you here about. There are 5 Channel 17s, Channel 5 has a second channel for all news and weather, and all in crystal clear quality. The added bonus is there is even a built in TV guide to the box.

There is a set limit of Coupons available, so apply now. And the beauty of it is, no tax dollars are being used. This is all funded from a small portion of the auction receipts. Now that is efficient government, no matter what Norquist says.

Flash