On Jan 7, 11:33*am, Robert Neville wrote:
Mike wrote:
I am curious about
the programming information that I can access from the converter box.
I hit the Guide button on the remote and it shows me what is playing,
and what show is on next. *I didn't expect to have this kind of
information without cable TV.

Don't know specifically what box you have, but there are two ways of getting
cable/sat type guide data over the air...

The ATSC (Digital TV) specification makes provisions for each station to
broadcast program information. Many newer TVs and converter boxes will display
this information if you press the appropriate button on the remote. Around here,
the availability and quality of that data has been somewhat sporadic.

There is an older system called TV Guide On Screeen (TVGOS) that was designed
for analog TV. That system uses data transmitted over the blanking interval on
one channel (usually the PBS affiliate) to transmit guide data for all channels
in the area. Certain TV models could decode that data and display it along with
thumbnail ads in a grid format. TVGOS is supposedly migrating over to digital
channels, with the data mostly being sent over the local CBS affiliate.

If TVGOS is the guide that appears on a single channel and provides a
scrolling grid with no user control, then I'd almost rather do
without.

I'm used to the on-screen guide provided by TW Digital Cable which
allows me to pick the time and channel I want to see info about, even
days ahead, all the while still watching the channel I started at. I
can search by date, time, theme, title, etc. and never miss a minute
of a show or game.

I was at my Mom's house in MA over the holidays and had to put up with
the single-channel scrolling grid. To even find out what channel ESPN
was on (never mind what show was on at what time) I had to leave the
bowl game I was watching and sit there reading the scrolling grid
until ESPN came around. I missed the winning touchdown drive of the
game trying to find out what other bowl games were on that day.

Heck, after a while, I got so frustrated I turned off the TV and
started talking to my Mom. ;-)