One step forward, 14 steps back

So you may or may not have heard, but there's this thing called the "digital TV transition" that went down around here a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, the goal was to switch our signals over from analog to digital so our beloved boob tube experience could become that much more magical. And in my case, that process instead involved destroying said boob tube experience. Let me 'splain.

No, we're not morons who forgot to get a converter box and then decided to start complaining now about how "they never warned us." When my wife and I bought a TV two years ago, we decided to obey the Best Buy salesman when he told us to make sure we got one that receives both analog and digital signals. We don't get cable or satellite--just rabbit ears--so for one year and eleven months, that's exactly what we got. Five analog stations came in, along with two digital signals from stations (CBS and PBS affiliates) that had started high-powered digital transmission early. I could watch football and March Madness, and the better half had her Bachelor. Life was good.

The first station in our area to switch completely to digital was our NBC affiliate in December. That went fine--we just rescanned and got the new digital station with great reception. Then out of nowhere at the end of January, that channel went dark. OK, whatever--we watched The Office online, anyway. Then came Feb. 17, when our ABC, CBS and PBS were going to make their switch--no problem with the latter two, since we had been getting those digital signals for two years, right? Yeah, no. When we rescanned, the only digital channel that came in was ABC. No matter how many times we rescanned, CBS and PBS were gone, as was NBC. If you're keeping track at home, that means we're down to two channels--ABC (which is spotty) and our still-analog Fox. And in two weeks that also means three of the scariest words in the English language: No March Madness.

In conclusion, what the crap? The day after the transition, this AP article says, nearly half of the 25,320 calls into the FCC were about this one issue. TV stations responded to this flood of phone calls by frantically putting together stories telling viewers that "Oh, by the way, not only do you need a converter box, but you also need a new antenna." First off, why were we not told this during this $1.2 billion advertising campaign? How could we put such a ridiculous amount of resources into public education for this transition and not figure out that once people converted their TVs to digital signals, they still couldn't receive them? Oh wait, a research firm did figure this out--but they were shouted down and called scaremongers by the FCC and the broadcasting industry.

Second, I don't need a new antenna--or least I shouldn't. My situation is different--and arguably more frustrating-- than all the people in that AP article. I know my antenna is capable of receiving every single one of the digital signals in my area. Why? Because my antenna actually already got all these digital signals. That is, until the "transition." It took my perfect capable hardware and actually rendered it useless. So much for progress.

So, um, anybody want to let me over to their place to watch March Madness?