So I seldom blog – if ever other than to post photos and videos of our kids. But tonight I discovered the WordPress app for iPhone, which I am writing on as as speak.
A bit about the DTV Transition…
•May 25, 2009 • 2 CommentsSo over the last few weeks I’ve gotten our house ready for DTV…..
Ok, we were already ready for DTV because we had cable and now have satellite. But in any event, I still got ready for DTV. In part because DirecTV (who in general I am really happy with) doesn’t carry a couple local sub-channels and they don’t carry PBS and My Pittsburgh TV in High-definition.
First, some history. When we first moved in, before we got cable, and I tried getting tradition over-the-air broadcasts and had little or no luck. I was able to get CBS (2.1) and if I was really lucky Fox (53.1 and 53.2). This is in part because we’re in a rough spot for over-the-air broadcasts. I’m in a townhouse and not on the end facing the right direction. I’ve also got a ton of high buildings, trees, and hills in the way as well.
But with some work I can report that I receive all the major Pittburgh channels with only minor challenges on one network who by their own admission does not transmit well where I am . But in the process I’ve learned a lot about Digital TV in general.
But first…. why this silly transition anyway? Isn’t this just the government bowing to telecommunications companies who wanted to force us to buy new TVs and converter boxes and the like? Actually no, this transition has caused numerous headaches for broadcasting companies and believe me they are far better at lobbying Washington than the people who make TVs and converter boxes.
The advantages to digital are numerous actually. The first is that under analog, each channel had to be on a separate frequency. Under digital this is no longer the case as multiple channels can be put on the same frequency. This is why under digital you’ll see channels like 13.1, 13.2, 13.3. This allows traditional broadcast stations to take advantage of multiple channels – something that is normally exclusively the territory of cable stations like ESPN (who has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, etc.).
The second advantage is in picture and audio quality. The new digital standard allows for stations to transmit much higher quality transmissions than they can under analog – and this isn’t exclusively the territory of HD telecasts. With analog your signal quality can vary between 0% (basically no signal) and 100% and everywhere in between. Now, very very seldom would an analog telecast reach 100% – there was always some fuzz in the telecast. Plus, you often had to rotate your antenna to get a slightly better signal, etc.
With digital there are two options: (1) No signal at all (2) A perfect signal. Under the digital format you’re getting data – so you either got it or you didn’t. What this means is that if you can find a good alignment for your antenna that gets most of your stations you can just leave it.
Ok, that being said – here’s some of my advice.
- Your antenna is king – and get your antenna outside. In working on DTV I owned five different antennas but ended up using a RCA exterior antenna. I’m not at all convinced its the best antenna at the price point, but it does an acceptable job for me.
- If you are lucky enough to be able to use an indoor antenna, you may want to try a multi-directional antenna. These are flat and attractive looking and help you avoid the need to aim and re-aim your antenna.
- Don’t skimp on your antenna – if there’s one area not to skimp cost-wise its your antenna. The quality of the signal is entirely dependent on how good the signal is coming from your antenna.
- I don’t recommend buying antennas online actually, since you can’t return them if they don’t work. After I found the antenna I ended up using I bought another, more expensive and in theory better antenna, but it was actually worse than the cheaper one. While reviews on places like Amazon.com are helpful I prefer to be able to purchase, try, and return.
- Powered antennas, that include built-in amplifiers are especially helpful if you’re in a difficult area.
- Even though I had a decent antenna, I still was getting very little. So I looked for a signal amplifier. These are both great and awful – because if your signal is bad to start with amplifying it won’t help in the least. But, if you’ve got a weak signal that is good an amplifier can give you a new lease on life. I highly recommend this one (Motorola Signal Booster) This was a complete game-changer for me – before I was struggling to get much more than two channels. As soon as I added it in I was in great shape, even getting WTAE most of the time (which is 24 miles away and notoriously difficult to get). There are other signal boosters on Amazon.com including a multi-port version of the one that I am raving about. (see the whole list here)
- The key to using a signal booster is to put it as close to your antenna as possible. Don’t use other splitters first – that will only allow the signal to degrade more and more.
- Cables matter, but not neccessarily more expensive. I bought one really expensive 25 foot Radioshack Gold-Edition cable for my DTV set-up and that was the cable that runs from my antenna outside into my house. I chose it because it had weather protection built-in etc. Other than that I went with generic RG6 cable. (Note, not RG59. For whatever reason when I used the RG59 cable that came with my antenna I had terrible results. Monoprice.com has outstanding prices on RG6 cable and I highly recommend them.
- Find out where your channels are coming from. Antennaweb.org is helpful for this. Put in your address and it’ll show you a map that will help you aim your antenna. In my case I am lucky because all of my channels are coming from the south so I set my antenna facing south.
That’s a little of what I’ve learned!
Photos of our Kids!
•May 24, 2009 • 1 CommentYou can now find photos of Andrew and Meredith at http://gallery.me.com/wallacekids
Andrew and Bubbles
•April 22, 2009 • Leave a CommentSo some of our friends from church got Andrew Elmo bubbles…
Andrew and the Bubbles (High-Definition)
Andrew on the All-Church Retreat
•April 7, 2009 • Leave a CommentIt’s been a while but we finally got some cute footage of Andrew while on our most recent All-Church Retreat.
Andrew on Retreat (High-Definition)
Andrew on Retreat (DVD-Quality)
Guest apperances in this video include our friends Anne and Mark from church, and their son Luke.
MSG HD and NHL Center Ice Petition
•February 14, 2009 • 1 Comment(This may seem a little off for this blog)
I am a subscriber to DirecTV and purchased the NHL Center Ice Package. Like many others I had hoped to enjoy the high-definition feeds of my beloved Buffalo Sabres, broadcast by MSG in HD. No sooner had I purchased the package then I discovered that those HD feeds would no longer be available on Center Ice because of a dispute between the NHL and MSG. Enraged, I wrote a series of not very nice e-mails to the NHL and MSG and believe it or not, I actually got somewhere.
As a way to show the demand for these feeds in high definition I started a petition that I encourage you to sign:
A bit about virginity pledges…
•January 20, 2009 • Leave a CommentA few weeks ago there was a bit to-do over articles like this:
Virginity Pledges Doesn’t Stop Teen Sex
Then there are articles that get beyond the “ha ha you stupid Christians, we told you so…” and actually look at what the studies say
Seven Factors that Foster Teen Virginity, Pledge or No Pledge
I personally am a big fan of virginity pledges, in spite of the evidence that says that they typically don’t hold. I should say though, I choose not to have my youth group go to big events where they encourage kids to make pledges, etc. But I do make it a point in my ministry to talk about sex and why I think sex (including oral sex) should be delayed until marriage. However, I’m still a fan of doing abstinence-only education in the same vein as the virginity pledge movement. Why? Those who take pledges (1) typically engage in less risky sex practices (2) Typically lose their virginity much later than their peers.
What I think people misunderstand about the idea of virginity pledges is that ultimately (for me) it’s not about helping kids avoid sexual sin in their lives. If it were about that then yes, the fact that pledgers typically don’t hold that pledge would be a loss. (And we’d have to give the boys blindfolds in youth group and tell them to wear them all the time) But here’s the most important stat (see the US News article). Those who pledge typically delay intercourse until 21, as opposed to 17 for their peers. To me, those four years are critical.
The “problem” with sexual intercourse before marriage ultimately has to do with the responsibility that comes with it – notably the responsibility to the other person as well as the child that is a possible outcome of sexual intercourse. Taking on this responsibility at 21 rather than 17 to me is a win.
My personal opinion is that our society should not be encouraging high school kids to have sex. Too much “abstience-only” education is caught up in religious langauge (and in some setting it should be). But the truth is, that encouraging teens, faith or no faith, to delay sexual intercourse is a good thing for our society in general. I know of no one who things teenagers getting pregnant is a good idea and although we educate our kids on birth control, it continues to happen. As far as I’m concerned, the teen pregnancy rate in this country shows the failings of sex ed about as much as these studies that show virginity pledges don’t work. The problem, I think, is that we talk about sex as if that’s what its really about, and it’s not. Sex is about marriage and family. At 17 most kids in the United States are not ready for that responsibility. As much as I dislike the show, at the end of “The Secret Life of the American Teeanger” there’s an infomercial that says “Teen Pregnancy if 100% Preventable”. And that’s true.
We (society) focus too much of our efforts talking about sex itself, instead of the myriad of issues that surround it. The way we talk to teenagers about sex mirrors our underestimation of them in general. We treat them like we expect them to act rather than treating them like the yong adults they are and presenting them with the whole story. When we keep the bar so low “just don’t get pregnant” (our basic message to teens) we miss an opportunity.
Andrew Rocks Out!
•December 20, 2008 • Leave a CommentAndrew has always loved music – and lately he has started to dance to music, and we managed to catch Andrew dancing on video. Enjoy!
Andrew Rocks Out (High Definition)
Andrew’s New Toys
•November 22, 2008 • Leave a CommentAndrew recently discovered two new toys… a broom, and a fake computer.
