DTV Switch Causing Drama

The DTV switch is coming and some confusion is coming with it. People without cable or satellite need an antenna to pull in the better picture of digital TV.

The News On 6's Emory Bryan reports there have been complaints about a buzzing sound and frozen pictures from people buying the digital converter boxes.        

An expert says there's likely a simple solution.

Collette Lemons decided to give digital television a try at the office, to keep up with the weather.

"I ride a motorcycle to work, so knowing what's coming ahead of time is a definite plus," said Lemons.

But she's been disappointed because the sound has a buzz in it and the picture freezes up.

"It pixilates all the time," said Lemons.

She blames her converter box, the second one she's had, and her complaint is not uncommon.

Viewers are buying converters with $40 coupons the government gives out.

"They're selling out everywhere, we can't seem to keep them in stock," said Josh Onley of Video Revolution.

At Video Revolution in Tulsa, employees are fielding lots of questions about the benefits of digital television and how it all works, or if not properly connected how it doesn't work.

The converter box can bring in the digital signal so you can watch on your old television, but it's important to make sure you're getting a good enough signal through your antenna.

"Getting a new antenna that's equipped to handle to UHF is going to help, because the digital channels come across on the UHF," said Onley.

Onley suggests starting with a good antenna, not rabbit ears, and having it mounted in the attic or outside is best.

As for the sound problems, that's a balance between adjusting the volume on the converter box and the TV, and the result should be sound and picture that's similar to the quality of a DVD.

"When it's not pixilating, the picture is awesome and I do get a lot more channels," said Lemons.

The salesman at Video Revolution said the boxes generally work fine with the right setup and the right antenna.

In fact, an antenna is the only way to get the highest quality HDTV signal from local broadcasters because cable and satellite both compress the signal, which lowers the quality.