Is Anyone Else Disappointed with Reception of Digital Television?

[dishdude19]

Hey folks, I love digital television for the quality and think it's great. However, I am disappointed since the final transition. I'm a guy who enjoyed "dx-ing" seeing what signals my antenna would pull late at night. Since the revolution, I only get locals for the most part (and even then the local reception goes in and out, no matter which way I point the antenna...very frustrating) even though I have a powerful antenna. It just seems to me that before the full transition when stations were both analog and digital that it was easier to pick up distant digital signals (e-skip) late at night. Now, I find one of my favorite hobbies has become obsolete. Does any one else who enjoys "dx-ing" (I hope that's the correct term) find this to be true in their over-the-air digital experience?

[matt]

I just hate how it is all or nothing basically. I used to could pull in distant stations, now it has to be a real strong signal. :(

[Davenlr]

I dont know how you are DX-ing, but I have logged more stations since the digital transition than I ever did in the analog era, since now, it can lock on the PSIP call sign info in a few seconds, vs watching and hoping the skip didnt fade out at the top of the hour when the station would send its call letters. Even in this period of really low tropo skip, here in Central Arkansas, I have logged stations on digital as far away as Houston,Texas. Having a good antenna is a must, but you also have to change the way you DX. A receiver with the ability to manually tune any channel (i.e. one without only a channel scan) is a must. I use a Pansat 9200HD, and a Dish network TR40 converter box. You can step channel by channel, and when you see a signal, you can turn the antenna to peak it, and scan in the PSIP.
Check out http://www.wtfda.info/index.php for tips and info, as well as prediction charts.
also http:www.rabbitears.info.

Dont give up on DX'ing, just change your methods for doing it.

BTW, E-Skip DXing hasnt changed. Most Mexican and Canadian e-skip logs are analog on channels 2-6. US DX is mainly a result of tropo dx.

[n3ntj]

I used to also love to TV DX too but it's certainly not fun with digital as it used to be..

[gfrang]

I don't miss the analog days at all and i like sub channels.Directv boxes don't work for DXing for that i use my Zenith converter box in the kitchen.I just took down my vhf antenna because of wind load so i don't do to good on vhf high.

[thedonn]

Here in mid Los Angeles area, closer to LAX airport, I get all the stations except FOX. And Ive been a OTA watcher with my dual ATSC tuners in my computer since early 2005. Only since the switch earlier this year did FOX all of a sudden started dropping for me. Its like I have to turn my antenna 30 degrees to get fox where all the other stations come from another direction.

[cvos34]

I live in Wichita KS and can not get every channel now. Ch 8,12 and 43 are the worst. Ch 12 a CBS station had to do something with the FCC soon after the change over, not sure what they did but it did not help. And it does not help that there transmitter is 40 mi from Wichita.

[billsharpe]

Not here. Picture through converter box is much clearer than analog. I also can receive more stations. It's a 40-year-old rooftop antenna, only upgrade is replacing twin lead with coax a couple years ago. There are also a couple splitters to send FM signals to stereo box and OTA HD to HD TV set.

Of course we hardly ever watch this old set anymore...