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BS: All TV Hi Def
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Subject: BS: All TV In US Hi Def by 09 From: Nick E Date: 17 Dec 07 - 10:26 PM Why? |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Sorcha Date: 17 Dec 07 - 10:29 PM Because they can. Money. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: C. Ham Date: 17 Dec 07 - 11:21 PM TV in the U.S. has to be converted to digital signals, not high definition. Big difference. All high definition is digital, but not all digital is high definition. That being said, high definition is great to look at. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: number 6 Date: 17 Dec 07 - 11:22 PM why not. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 17 Dec 07 - 11:34 PM All TV - DIGITAL - by ... sometime. Airwave broadcasting in analog mode will be terminated (by commercial broadcasters) in Feb 2009. Cable distributors can, and probably will, continue to offer analog services, at least for some "popular progams" (at least reality shows and infomercials, quite likely). This actually will only affect me and the two other people in the US who don't have cable - and rely on a bent up antenna in the back yard for the scant bit of trash we see. There is NO REQUIREMENT that I've heard of that anything must be "Hi Def," which is another thing to be foisted on us later. There are a number of reasons for this, including - Digital TV, being at significantly higher carrier frequencies, requires lower bandwidth (as a percentage of carrier frequency) than analog in the existing "channels." The government will be able to permit millions of new channels for which they can collect license/auction fees. The government will be able to collect separate fees for separate channels for these "off-license" uses. The bandwidth assigned for existing (UHF) TV channels is so excessive that most commercial TV broadcasters are able to side-band transmit at least two (sometimes as many as seven) "Muzak" or other "services" along with their "programming" (a euphemism for what's broadcast on the main part of the channel). Note that the ENTIRE spectrum for FM radio that the govt has available to license (and collect the fees for) is EXACTLY the ONE "TV channel" that was omitted between Channel 12 and the UHF band in the original (and existing) setup. New features, like 100% surveillance of what you watch, are much more easily implemented on (and in the gaps between) the higher frequency digital channels, and the DRM people have paid the politicos quite richly to force us to use a new system that makes it easier for them to track what we do for "advertising purposes." See paragraph above for government plans. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Desert Dancer Date: 18 Dec 07 - 02:14 PM Does this mean that low-budget non-cable users will have to invest in a brand new TV that does digital??? ~ Becky in Tucson |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Peace Date: 18 Dec 07 - 02:17 PM Wot's a TV? |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Bee Date: 18 Dec 07 - 02:43 PM John, how on earth did a techie-guru like yourself end up so far out in old-technology-land? Even I could get cable, (but not cable internet or telephone). I did not know most of what you just told us, and will further drive my friends nuts when they mention the issue and can tell 'em. I'm already known as the Queen of Useless Information, and you just made it worse! |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Joe Offer Date: 18 Dec 07 - 02:48 PM I understand that there will be digital tuners available for analog TVs, like a set-top box people use to connect to cable. You can buy a digital tuner for your computer for as little as $25. This page gives all sorts of information on digital television, and predicts that converter boxes will cost $50. And Uncle Sam will give you $40 coupons to defray the cost. I bought a digital television a year ago. I live on a ridge, and pick up digital signals from 75 miles away with a $50 indoor antenna. My analog reception was really crummy, bt the digital signals come in quite well. I used to get spotty reception on one of the public broadcasting stations, and now I get five to eight PBS channels with perfect reception, all three of the "Major" networks, and a variety of others. Who needs cable? -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: bobad Date: 18 Dec 07 - 03:25 PM I have heard that you will be able to receive the digital signals with an ordinary TV antenna. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Bill D Date: 18 Dec 07 - 04:01 PM The signals can be received, but they will not make sense to a non-digital set. That's why those who do not get a digital TV would have to buy a converter. I see little public service commercials now & then assuring everyone that my **Cable Company** will send a signal that will allow THEIR SUBSCRIBERS to continue to use their non-digital TVs...of which I have 4! |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Bill D Date: 18 Dec 07 - 04:03 PM I may, in the next couple years, get a digital TV...but there are other toys I crave more. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: beardedbruce Date: 18 Dec 07 - 04:04 PM of course, if one uses DVDs and VHS tapes, there is no change at all- And I look forward to the "fire sale" of analog TVs that should occur over the next few years. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: gnu Date: 18 Dec 07 - 04:09 PM I just heard that Rogers in Canada will be moving entirely to HD next fall and will be giving (Rogers and GIVER in the same sentence??) it's subscribers the HD box in exchange for their old digital box. Purchase of the digital box is now $99 and the HD box is now $299. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Bill D Date: 18 Dec 07 - 04:20 PM The change from all black & white to color TV was as complex and expensive. Does anyone remember the plastic overlays someone offered before color TV was widely available? It had a bluish top area and a greenish bottom area...presumably to make 'standard' outdoor scenes look ,,,,ahem...'natural'. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 18 Dec 07 - 05:17 PM Shaw and Rogers probably will offer equivalent services (Canada). In addition to the 150 approx. regular channels, 32 HD channels are offered at the moment by Shaw Cable plus a bunch of digital music channels. I don't plan on getting the HD box until the changeover is made, so I haven't checked prices. The music channels are part of the basic package, and include Folk Roots to Jazz to Baroque to World. Shaw has tiers; something around 100 regular digital channels and the rest are extra charge. Charges for high-speed internet and digital TV are combined in what is called an 'entertainment bundle,' $87/mo for both inc. taxes. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Joe Offer Date: 18 Dec 07 - 05:28 PM Bobad brings up a good point. As I understand it, there is no such thing as an "HDTV Antenna." The antennas for digital and analog TV sets are the same, and labeling an antenna for HDTV is just a marketing ploy. But I wonder about that. I thought this digital TV band was a different frequency from the existing analog band, and that the analog band was going to be taken over by new licensees once analog broadcasting is discontinued. Whatever the case - my analog antenna works better on digital than it did on analog. What IS different is the type of signal that comes through the antenna. A digital signal is all zeroes and ones, and the TV either reads it perfectly, or not at all. There is a checkerboard pixellation that happens right at the point of the signal disapperaring - but in generall, digital signals are either all, or nothing at all. I do get more stations at different times of day and in different weather conditions, but I haven't been able to determine what are optimum weather conditions and the optimum time of day. It seems that sometimes I get more San Francisco stations, and sometimes more from Sacramento. Although San Francisco is farther away, I usually get better reception from San Francisco because there are mountains between me and the Sacramento stations. -Joe- Oregon Public Broadcasting (click) has a good Web page on digital broadcasts. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: bobad Date: 18 Dec 07 - 05:59 PM There is a site for information on the transition available here. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Anonny Mouse Date: 18 Dec 07 - 06:16 PM It was our two sons-both with HDTV's-that got us to make the switch. We decided on a 1080P (P=Progressive Scan, even though no one is using it--yet) LCD 42" TV. Best Buy was running them under 1k, with free delivery (we have no "Best Buy" here, so it was delivered from 45 miles away). Time-Warner immediately switched our Cable Box for free, but the TV also has its own built in HD tuner, so we'd get channel 2, and then channel 2.1 in HD. Gotta tell ya: it is fantastic. Discovery Channels and their associated channels broadcast in 1080i (interlaced)-and it's like looking out the freaking window! Football in HD? Amazing. The detail is stunning, and the tv has all sorts of audio eq's, a plethora of other menu options, blah blah. But the picture is nothing short of stunning-and we HAD (but sold) a 32" JVC "digital ready" CRT, so we weren't exactly watching on an el-cheapo monitor to start with! Once you get an LCD or Plasma, you'll wonder how much better it could get. If you DO buy an HDTV, make sure you're not getting a "bargain" 720i set-but the 1080P. It's the 720's that you can get on the "cheap" from Wally World, K-Mart, Rex, etc. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: PoppaGator Date: 18 Dec 07 - 06:28 PM HD television signals are being broadcast NOW. Like everyone else around here who got flooded, I have digital "HD-ready" television sets (a big widescreen set in the living room and a little square flatscreen box in the kitchen). I have digital-cable tv and cable internet, but am NOT paying extra for the cable company to send an HD signal. I am not doing this yet, but I know that it can be done, and know people who are doing it: It is possible, and supposedly fairly simple, to disable cable when you want to watch a local station (network afiliate or independent), and use an antenna to pick up the over-the-air broadcast signal in High Def. (You would use cable only to watch cable channels not available over the air.) An outdoor antenna on the roof is NOT necessary ~ a simple pair of "rabbit ears" will do the trick perfectly well. It was explained to me yesterday that HD video, as broadcast over the air, is "binary" ~ either "on' or "off," with no low-quality "in-between." If you get any picture at all, it'll be perfect (well, near-perfect). That's why indoor rabbit-ears do just as good a job as an outdoor antenna. You might have to adjust ("aim") the antenna toward the transmitter, but there will be no need nor opportunity to "fine-tune" with minute adjustments. Once you're well enough aligned to get any signal at all, it will provide fully high-def video and audio. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 08 Jan 08 - 06:18 AM People in the US who do not subscribe to a cable service can now apply for the Federal "Rebate Coupons" to help pay for a converter box. For now, the limit is two coupons per household. The coupon is for $40 toward purchase of a converter box. Coverters are expected to cost from $50 to $70 when they become available, although none of the manufacturers are quoting prices yet. Coupons will not be mailed until late February or early March, since converters are not expected to be available until then. The coupons expire 90 days after issue. Order coupons at https://www.dtv2009.gov/ or by calling a 24-hour "hotline" at 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009) The website was reportedly scheduled to go online "Tuesday" and was running at 05:00 AM CDT Tuesday 08 JAN 2008. (I didn't try the phone number.) The first 22 million coupons reportedly will go to anyone who requests them, on a "word of honor" basis. Additional evidence that you actually have a non-digital TV and need a converter may be demanded after (if) the first batch have been issued. Estimates of the number of coupons to be issued range as high as 26 x 106, although some expect "not more than 10 million, since most people will buy new TV sets." John |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Rapparee Date: 08 Jan 08 - 09:04 AM I'd get all excited about this if there was anything worth watching. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Keith A of Hertford Date: 08 Jan 08 - 09:39 AM Digital TV is being phased in in UK too. You need a similar strength signal as for analogue, so rabbit ears only work close to the transmitter. Maybe 20 mile depending on terrain. I just got a neat little box for just a bit more than a basic digital converter. It can record about 60 hours on its hard drive, record two channels at once or record while playing back another. You can just click up a programme list and then click on anything you want to record. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Amos Date: 08 Jan 08 - 12:49 PM An analog signal is a series of minute amplitude values, everyone of which is important. To interpret it, you have to receive all the values correctly or your picture goes wonky to slight or great degree. A digital signal, once it is synchronized, is a series of either high or low values, and the difference between them is relatively dramatic (for example the difference between 1 volt and 4 volts). This means that it is much easier for the receiver to decode the signal correctly if it can do it fast enough to catch all the bits. In addition, digital transmissions can and do include handshaking and error-checking routines to ensure the digital stream is correct as received, but an analog system has very little in the way of error correction. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Donuel Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:21 PM my new HD radio is the best I ever had. No stereo drop outs no hiss. Even AM has a great sound similar to FM. DLP TVs are like a candle. Every time you use it a certain amount of life from the bulb melts away. DLP LCD are forever but they don't appear as even from top to bottom. Plasma uses LOTS of energy and can burn images in rare cases. LCD HD TV is the best for any TV under 52 inches. IF you want a big LCD they are pricey so sizes like 67 and up are usually projection. The Sony WEGA looks so good you won't believe it but after a couple months the screen starts to yellow in the corners and the picture goes foggy. As long as an HD image looks good as close as 2 feet you will be happy for a long time with an LCD. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: SINSULL Date: 08 Jan 08 - 04:42 PM So I am going to have to get rid of my TV/VHJS 13" combo portable? It doesn't accept DVDs. Now it won't even accept TV programs? I can still watch videos. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 08 Jan 08 - 06:23 PM Sinsull - The digital converter box will receive and decode the digital signal, and should provide an analog output that can be fed into your TV/VHJS 13" combo portable. The converter may be as big as the portable in this case, but with a suitable converter any existing analog TV is supposed to be able to get the new broadcasts. A separate converter is required for each TV that needs the conversion though, at least as reported thus far. Old setups that connect more than one analog TV to a single antenna may be able to connect more than one TV to a single converter, but I haven't seen any reliable info on that - yet. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Donuel Date: 08 Jan 08 - 09:51 PM BIG NEWS Comcast will begin to release a high speed cable in limited areas which cna down load an HD movie in 6 minutes instead of 5 hours. Satillite TV is going to become less competative as a result. This speed is what was promised 10 years ago. It will rival the Japanese high speed internet cable which is fasster than you would believe. the last broadcast analog tv signal i believe will be in 2012. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Bonecruncher Date: 08 Jan 08 - 11:49 PM Here in UK we are "going digital", the transmissions being phased in with different areas over about four years. Certainly the existing analogue aerial will also receive digital signals. A set-top box (aka digibox), about 250mm x 150mm x 50mm, needs to be inserted into the cabling between the ariel and the TV. Any old TV will then be able to be used. The layout most people use is aerial-digibox-VCR/DVD recorder-TV. However, most DVD recorders seem to record only the channel one is watching, unless one purchases what they call a "two-channel" recorder at an extraordinarily high price. The two-channel recorder will allow you to watch one programme while recording another, which is the reason for which most people own a VCR or DVD recorder. Otherwise, the UK seems to have changed from a perfectly adequate system to one with built-in problems and little benefit to the public, other than to lumber us with excessive cost for conversion. The UK government does not give any form of voucher to help defray the cost to individuals. Other than a few additional channels which in the main show nothing but repeats, the service is highly subject to electrical interference from outside. the picture break-up is appalling, rendering much of the reception unwatchable. When the picture can be watched it is very annoying as lip-synchronisation is non-existent. It is as bad as watching an old black-and-white film over which the voices have been poorly dubbed. On top of this we still have to pay a compulsory licence fee of over £100 ($200) for a poorer service. Colyn. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 09 Jan 08 - 01:30 AM Bonecruncher, Australia is going a similar path - no mention yet of any vouchers - the cutover was to be 2008. Teh ABC went HD a while ago - 'ABC2'. Channel 10 has only JUST this week started a HD service. Actually just trying to get any program info in the local paper about what is on HD is just as hard as trying to find out what is on the local 'Community' channel - Bris31 (which looks like it is unlikely EVER to go HD - as they have not yet been 'allocated' a HD channel). Not heard much about SBS yet. $35 and up boxes - one per TV (or at least any particular channel watched simultaeneously) needed. Expensive boxes with DVD or Hard Disk recorders have been available for some time - I'm still waiting... Over the years I have acquired a couple of sets - a big one in the lounge (26"), and a smaller portable with CD/DVD player inbuilt (with which I am currently listening to "The Cambridge Buskers" collected 'musical ingenuity') in the 'computer room'. I can't see that I will be buying HD set for some time, even though economists are forecasting that about 9 million sets will be bought in the next couple of years... I didn't acquire a COLOUR TV of my own AT ALL till 1993... :-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 09 Jan 08 - 01:33 AM At least the license fee was killed years ago! |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 09 Jan 08 - 02:16 AM Donuel - which cna down load an HD movie in 6 minutes instead of 5 hours. I'm sort of wondering just what kind of hardware you've got on the receiving end to make use of that high speed download. To be of any use, the download has to be saved somewhere on your computer before you can play it back. (Streaming at that speed wouldn't let you enjoy the movie much.) A recent backup (straight-across copy between hard drives) of my "created documents" - about the fastest file transfer I can do, took a little over 2.5 hours for the 50.8 GB of blatherings I've written since I cleaned things out. That's about 3.6 DVDs at the "full size" of around 14 GB per HD disk. So my computer couldn't write one DVD to a file in less than about 40 minutes per movie - if the transmission is perfect and nothing has to be repeated, which would be pretty unusual. Do you plan on adding 20 GB of fast RAM to your home computer? You may want to check your BIOS and see if it can even address that much. The current "fast standard" of 5 hours per movie pretty well pushes the receive/store capability of most home computers. A faster line isn't going to change the download times by a lot, until much faster large storage gets to be a lot more common. You can speed up the innards of your computer quite a bit, but you could buy a lot of DVDs down at the corner store for what the superguts will set you back. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 10 Jan 08 - 04:54 PM It appears that the "HiDef" issue has been clarified. The change in TV broadcasting in the US is to "All Digital" which is something a little different than all "Hi Definition." [Thread Drift] For those interested more specifically in Hi-Definition TV, there remains a question of which "Hi-Def DVD" format will eventually prevail. Sony owns, and has been pushing the format usually called "Blu-Ray" while Toshiba is the sponsor for the competing "HD-DVD." Various suppliers and entire "industries" have made selections, favoring one or the other of these two. Warner has been about the only "producer" distributing most products in both formats, so that individual purchasers could make their own selection. Warner Bros.' announced its decision last week to exclusively support Blu-ray, and discontinue releases in HD-DVD format. This is being seen by some as significantly "tilting" the choice between the two formats in favor of Blu-ray' but it can't be taken as "deciding" which format will eventually be the more common one. A recent "discussion" of some differences between the two formats and where they stand in an "important" Multimedia industry is at Porn Providers Rethinking Next-Gen DVD Plans1 1 If you can ignore the mild bit of "sniggering" in the attempts at humor the article does contain some interesting info on the two formats. Remember that magazine writers and editors are required to exhibit the moral sophistication of a pre-teen to meet "political correctness" strictures. (The also apparently are required to learn and use pre-teen vocabulary, as most of them - at this publisher - profess to find Vista usable.) Significant format differences implied in the article are that Blu-Ray royalty fees are significantly higher than for HD-DVD, meaning that Blu-Ray disks will likely be slightly more expensive than HD-DVD disks. Be aware that the royalty fees here are for using the format and are in addition to any royalties that must be paid for using the content put on a DVD. A second implied restriction is that the Blu-Ray license prohibits using the Blu-Ray format on a commercial DVD that is NOT COPY PROTECTED. HD-DVD allows the producer to decide whether to include or omit DRM features. While there are players (and burners) that claim to handle either/both formats, field reports do not support the claim that they can be used in a "fully interchangeable" manner. Stay tuned to your favorite news sources until - probably in the year 2020 - the format battle may be resolved. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Grab Date: 11 Jan 08 - 11:39 AM Colyn, if your digital reception is bad, get yourself an aerial booster. Usually that's a symptom of being in an area (or using an aerial) which gave you pretty crappy analogue TV reception to begin with. As has been said previously, where analogue TV got interference but you could still make out the picture, digital TV is an all-or-nothing exercise. What do we get out of digital TV? More channels, not all of which are repeats - and even the repeats are often handy for giving you a second chance at a programme which you missed first time around. And those extra channels occupy less electromagnetic spectrum, leaving room free for other stuff - internet over mobile phones at decent speeds, for one. Graham. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 11 Jan 08 - 06:54 PM "It was explained to me yesterday that HD video, as broadcast over the air, is "binary" ~ either "on' or "off," with no low-quality "in-between." " I'm not sure if that is 100% true. IF the digital information being sent to your TV or decoder is interupted, the monitor usually freezes on the last bit of information it receives. You might see a picture that suddenly freezes, or lots of little pixels freezing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 23 Jan 08 - 03:27 AM Comment on the on-going battle over high definition DVD recording formats continues. At With hi-def war, it's 1975 all over again there's some additional discussion. Modern-day HD DVD vs. Blu-ray fight harkens back to VHS vs. Betamax By Suzanne Choney, Contributing editor MSNBC updated 3:32 p.m. CT, Tues., Jan. 22, 2008 Since there's not much new there, I'll leave to those who might think they want to play movies on their digital TV to follow the link. An additional well known but little mentioned glitch comes from the fact that the requirement for "all TV broadcasters to switch to digital" is NOT QUITE TRUE. Only FULL-POWER BROADCASTERS are required to make the switch. The stations with full-power (sometimes also called "high power") licenses are only a little less than half of the "stations" currently on the air. There are many low-power, local, special-interest broadcasters who target "niche" audiences who are NOT REQUIRED TO SWITCH. There are also, in some parts of the US, many "translator" stations that re-broadcast programs from larger stations to get coverage in remote areas too far from the big ones for useful reception. In many areas these translators, which largely will remain analog, are the only thing that can be received. (In my area, three major "high-power" broadcasters who will switch to digital are the feeds for about 20 "translator stations" who will be affected.) Most of the converters expected to be offered will allow receiving either digital or analog, but not both (without disconnecting and/or reconnecting the converter to change modes). Three approved models (thus far) are expected to be available with "analog pass-through" capability so that both broadcast modes can be viewed, but with an estimated 14+ million sets needing converters, it's unlikely that they'll be available in all areas where people might want them. Low power broadcasters have petitioned for a requirement that all "certified" converters include pass through capability, but the response from those in charge is something that rhymes with "rough snit." There's a pretty much non-tech commentary on "the other broadcasters" at Glitch could leave some TV screens blank for anyone concerned. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 12 Apr 08 - 07:21 PM The LIES have begun to be identified for the conversion to "all Digital" broadcast TV, and perhaps an update will be of interest. Some of the LIES have been discussed previously, but perhaps bear repeating. LIE NUMBER ONE: On February 17, 2009 all analog TV broadcasting in the US will end. FALSE: All TV broadcasters with Full Power Licenses will be required to cease broadcasting analog signals on that date. Low power stations may continue to broadcast analog signals. Stations with low power (local broadcast) licenses include many, if not a majority of, PBS channels. Many local areas, especially in "rural" parts of the US, have numerous low power licensed "local interest" channels that serve as "alternate newspapers" for people. In some areas there are large numbers of "ethnic" broadcasters, including (in my area) "Latino" channels that may, and likely will, continue to broadcast analog. LIE NUMBER TWO: People receiving cable TV are not affected. LARGELY FALSE: Cable broadcasters are "required" to continue analog service to subscribers who currently use analog-only TV sets, however the regulation allows the cable services to "opt out" of the requirement and many appear to intend to do so. Those who "opt out" and go to digital-only signals are required to provide appropriate "converters" to customers who need them but are permitted to charge whatever they wish for the converters. (A case at the link cites a 75% increase in cable charges to continue "the same service" with a cable provider that has made the switch.) LIE NUMBER THREE: If you use an antenna to receive TV now, all you need to do is plug in a converter. FALSE: I have a new converter. It scans and identifies, intermittently, three, five, or six local channels currently broadcasting digitally. It receives NONE OF THEM. A new antenna with immensely higher amplification than the one I've used for several years got the "intermittent maximum" number of channels identified from five to six, but remains unable to display any channel in my area. The local PBS channel, which is 90% of what I watch due to "nothing but paid commercial announcements" on regular commercial channels, is not broadcasting digitally and most likely will be unable to finance the new transmitter equipment to do so any time in the foreseeable future. If nothing changes, I'll have NO TV when analog goes off the air. Local sources inform me that there is NO AVAILABLE ANTENNA short of a minimum 100 foot tower (illegal due to airport/airspace proximity limits and under local ordinances) that is better than what I have now. COMMENT ON FCC's PUBLICITY: When I called each of the local distributors identified on the "offset coupon" as sellers of converters eligible for the "reimbursement" coupon issued by the Fed, NONE OF THEM were able to tell me whether or not local channels in my area are currently broadcasting digitally. The exception was the one who said "all of them have been digital for years" - who obviously didn't know anything more than the others, but may have "heard rumors." Some of the local channels have had digital signals for a while, but I've identified at least three in my area who do not have digital capability now, and likely will not go digital. I did attempt to find a seller of one of the "passthrough capable" converters listed as eligible, but was informed that NONE ARE AVAILABLE and none are expected to be available before the coupons expire - 90 days after mailing whether you can get a box by then or not. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Joe Offer Date: 13 Apr 08 - 12:01 AM I'm on a ridge overlooking the Central Valley of California, so I have line-of-sight reception over a large area. I just got a fairly modest television antenna, and I get excellent reception of over 25 digital channels - many of which are high-definition. Your experience may vary. But anyhow, I had a different question: Analog reception in our area is really awful, but my stepson loves to watch his fuzzy recordings of analog shows. What can I get to replace his beloved VCR, so he can record digital programs? I have a thousand-dollar computer that will do it, but I don't know that I want to sacrifice my computer to his television habits. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: iancarterb Date: 13 Apr 08 - 12:20 AM TIVO really does work, tho' the HD version is 300 bucks at the best price I know of. The single stream version of TIVO is selling in many places for $100. I believe - NOT sure, but a webcheck will tell you- it will still be useful for a single stream recording or live viewing as a DTV tuner for old sets or HD capable sets. If I'm wrong about that I hope someone will post the correction. Of course the TIVO service costs a monthly or annual fee. You are in a favored location, because off-air reception of DTV is WAY better than what the cable systems have to do to the signal to get all that bandwidth through that little bitty pipe! Carter B |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 13 Apr 08 - 12:35 AM I'll have to admit that I'm in sort of a "black hole" for reception. The Radio Shack down the street has a "guide to choosing an antenna" with a map of the city, and my house has a big purple circle around it with a notation "there ain't any antenna that will work here." I brought a big ($145.00 beam) antenna with me from the previous home, where it was needed due to 20 or 30 mile distances (not line of sight) to several towers in the area. Here, I'm about 12 miles from the three or four big-channel xmtrs, and still got "mostly fuzz" - on analog. When the ice storm dropped a 12-foot1 elm twig on the outdoor antenna, an indoor "super rabbit" with 20 dB amplifier actually got almost identical reception to what I had with the outdoor one at it's best. A new 60 dB amped "super antenna" got "recognition" for an additional DTV channel, but no reception. Instructions are "adjust your antenna," but with digital there's no picture if you're "off". Move the antenna, there's still no picture. Move it again, and there's still no picture. Change the gain - no picture. I'm having difficulty figuring out what to adjust next, since I can't tell which "no picture" is the best no picture. 1 That was a 12 foot long twig, not 12 foot diameter as we sometimes measure things here. The part that bent the beam was only about 9 inches in diameter. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: Joe Offer Date: 13 Apr 08 - 12:35 AM Hi, Carter - That's the problem. I don't want to pay the TIVO fee. I want what TIVO does, but I'm happy with just the broadcast channels. My computer will do the job, but I'll be damned if I'm going to give up my computer so my stepson can watch Numbers and Battlestar Galactica. I already gave up the TV to him. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: GUEST,iancarterb Date: 13 Apr 08 - 01:11 AM My daughter has scored my Tivo as well and run off to the big city with it.:) If I had line of sight to to 2 channels for HD I wouldn't have the cable. 25, w/ a bunch of PBS stations, is great. Carter |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: open mike Date: 13 Apr 08 - 02:55 AM So does anyone know of Satellite t.v. (Direct T.V. and/or Dish Network) will be able to be received with out adding special equipment? The DTV has started broadcasting Hi Def programming, but i do not know if they have digital shows. I do not intend on getting a new t.v. so i hope I can keep the old one and use it. Will I need the converter box? I have a dvd player/recorder that has HDTV capability...i think that is somewhere between lo def and hi def?? maybe it depends on the lines per inch as soon as we all have one type of technology, they will invent a new "flavor" such as blue ray.... i am into video production, and the change from VHS to DVD was quite recent, and now there will be other changes. Some videographers had to go out of business rather than to try to re-equip with new technology. |
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Subject: RE: BS: All TV Hi Def From: JohnInKansas Date: 13 Apr 08 - 01:27 PM open mike - The link at my next-to-last post (12 Apr 08 - 07:21 PM), at "Largely False" states: (Satellite customers, except in rare instances, aren't affected. Subscribers to Verizon's Fios TV system aren't affected unless they have secondary televisions that are not digitally equipped.) Most reports have said satellite customers will not be affected. This report says "except in rare instances" and "unless they have ..." which I take to mean "who knows?" or something like that. John |
