I just bought my converter box?

Question

Will it make a difference on the tv if i plug it in now?

Or it will look better after Febuary 27, 2009. ABC, FOX, NBC, and CBS dont have very good picture, and th antenna doesnt work

Answer 1

You should hook it up right away and see how well it works.

All major cities already have digital broadcasts.

The converters were rushed onto the market and some of them have had a high failure rate. Most only have a 90 warranty. You should use it a lot during the warranty period so that if it suffers from "infant mortality", you can exchange it.

It connects between your TV antenna and your TV. If you don't have good analog reception now it's likely that you will need a better antenna for digital reception.

Right now all the major TV stations in Phoenix are UHF, however after 2/17/09 FOX, NBC, and PBS will be changing to VHF (real) channels 10, 12, and 8.

If you go shopping for a new antenna, ignore any marketing buzz words like "digital" and  "HDTV". Make sure it covers both UHF and VHF- high channels.

If you are going to ask another question about what TV antenna would work best, the important information to include with your question is:

Distance to TV transmitters, what is between your antenna and the transmitters, what kind of antenna have you tried and what was the result.

Answer 2

The antenna is the key. The weak signal causes freeze frame blotchy picture or no picture. Roof antennas offer best reception with a signal amplifier 30 db gain. I have a roof antenna in a 60 unit building fed to a splitter switch and indoor antenna. (25 ft cable on it) The signal spot of best reception always seems to change.

Answer 3

Actually, you should use the period between now and next Feb to get all the kinks worked out.

There will be some changes and increases in power with a few stations after next February, however many stations are in their final configuration now.  I'm not sure what you mean by your antenna doesn't work.  There are differences in the quality of the set top boxes, too.  You may have to experiment with antennas and / or a different brand of box for the best results.

Also, make sure you have your antenna aimed properly and it's of the proper type.  http://www.antennaweb.org is a good resource.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

the picture won't get any better after the change, but you should get extra channels now.  And you should probably get better pictures than you do now.