Posted on 04/25/2005 12:46:41 PM PDT by Crazieman
The end of analog TV Will America’s favorite technology really go dark next year?
By Michael Rogers Columnist Special to MSNBC Updated: 5:16 p.m. ET April 24, 2005
Depending on the outcome of discussions in Congress, television as we know it may end at exactly midnight Dec. 31, 2006.
That’s the date Congress targeted, a decade ago, for the end of analog television broadcasting and a full cutover to a digital format. If enforced, that means that overnight, somewhere around 70 million television sets now connected to rabbit ears or roof-top antennas will suddenly and forever go blank, unless their owners purchase a special converter box. Back when the legislation was written, New Year’s Eve 2006 probably looked as safely distant as the dark side of the moon. But now that date is right around the corner and Congress and the FCC are struggling mightily to figure out what to do.
Congress, however, left itself a loophole in the 1996 legislation, and could actually let the cut-off date slide by. But powerful lobbyists now are pressing legislators to set a “date certain” for the analog lights-out. The debate over when to throw the switch is a strange brew of big money, high technology, homeland security and a single, unanswerable question: just how angry are the couch potatoes going to be? It’s also a textbook example of why the future almost never happens as fast as technologists promise.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
In addition to our 1950's vintage autos, the Cubans will soon have our 1990's vintage TVs.
Why would the government regulate this and not let the market choose?
Do you have a digital antenna? Our cable provider only has one local affiliate in their HD lineup, and I've seen no moves to add more.
Uhm.. Basical digital cable is under $50, and NBC/CBS/FOX offer free high def.
Follow the money. They want to sell those frequencies to expanding cellular phone companies.
basical=basic
standardization. I think they are hoping to avoid the problems that we had in the cell phone industry.
Kind of what I was wondering.
However, there are immense benefits outlined on page 3.
Killing off analog TV would free up entire frequencies for emergency personnel, companies wanting to implement nationwide wireless broadband, and other highest bidder frequency selloffs that could generate billions.
Where I live you have to subscribe to cable, then digital cable, then HDTV. It all adds up to about $120. Then throw internet on top of that and I'd be paying $175/month
Our Republican Congress did this...led by Newt. I mean, hey you've got a ton of people here that will tell you that the FCC should be in the business of being in business...(including what can be said, when it can be said, etc, etc, etc).
>>Depending on the outcome of discussions in Congress, television as we know it may end at exactly midnight Dec. 31, 2006.
Ain't gonna happen.
Cablevision offers free HDTV. If you subscribe to premium channels you get their HD versions as well. Totally worth it.
I watched Ghost in the Shell 2 on HD ppv ($6.95) the other day . Whoa. :)
Maybe someone can educate me...
The television channels will broadcast a digital signal, which some already do. And if I have digital cable service, which Comcast de-scrambles with their computers at their head end, sends the digital signal through the cable wire to my set top digital box, which unscrambles the digital signal and plays it on my analog tv, WHY do I need a digital tv?
I know what you mean and I've been pretty happy with the OTA reception, but Discovery/HD is too beautiful to pass up.
You don't and nobody is saying that you do.
INHD is nice, too.
Won't this effect only those pulling signals off the air. Cable and dish will still be broadcasting pertty much the same way.
Unless the number of HDTV programs escalates dramatically in the next months, I don't see the necessity of the cut off date.
If my TV which never gets turned on won't pick up anything will I notice?
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