Posted on 02/02/2006 11:01:53 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
US analogue TV switch-off in 2009
The US Congress has approved plans to force broadcasters to switch off their analogue television signals by 2009.
Setting a date of 17 February 2009 was called a "great technical revolution" by Republican politician Joe Barton, a main advocate for the change.
Congress has allocated $1.5bn (£844m) to ensure Americans can convert their TV sets to receive digital signals.
The analogue television switch-off in the UK is set to take place gradually from 2008-2012.
The US measures, which were part of budget legislation, were passed in December, but Democrats in the Senate forced technical changes to the bill.
Entitled
Moves to bring about the end of analogue broadcasting in the US have been under way for years.
Under existing law, broadcasters would be required to cease analogue transmissions when digital TV reaches 85% of the population, but this is a threshold which is not expected to be reached.
About 16% of US viewers rely on over-the-air transmissions, while more TV sets use only an aerial to watch TV programmes.
Under the new digital conversion programme, each family will be entitled to $80 (£45) towards the cost of a set-top box.
In the UK, BBC Two is to become the first station to go fully digital ahead of a full switch-off of analogue signals.
More than 60% of households already watch digital TV, while government help has been pledged for those aged over 75 and with disabilities towards the cost of conversion.
Satellite is already completely digital I think.
It and most cable are digital. IIRC, the converter box, whether cable or satellite, "converts" the signal to analog so older sets can use it. Or a "Cable ready tuner" in the newer TV's does it.
HDTV requires an HDTV tuner in the set or a different converter box from the cable or satellite provider.
The gaffers I worked with were definition two, though I'm now a "one". The big buyers in this whole conversion thing are obviously the broadcasters. In the antenna area, I suspect there'll be a lot of new 'sticks' sold to VHF-ers. Have you run across any info on how that market's doing?
FWIW, for those broadcasters who decide to use the extra space for HD, there'll be a sizable amount of product for tv syndication. We were doing HD alternate assemblys on programs over ten years ago, and a lot of series going back to the late eighties matched their original film negatives against their video masters, then transferred them to a high-definition format, so there's a whole lot of product sitting on studio shelves ready to go.
Cable ready tuners do no digital conversion. Cable systems have an alternate group of frequencies not used for over the air broadcast, and cable ready tuners receive those frequencies.
It'll take a digital tuner to get the new broadcasts.
An antenna is an antenna, the one I installed is one from Radio Shack that has been sold for 20+ years. Unless the polarization changes (like they did in England in the 70s) or the frequency band drastically changes, there's really not much difference (the HDTV ready antennas are what they've always been, ready --- the same type of antennas sold under a "new label" or packaged differently with maybe an in-line amp) The biggest mistake homeowners make with LP antennas is that they point them in the wrong direction (180 degrees out) because in their minds it just seems natural that the " wings " are swept back in the direction of the signal. I don't know how many times I've stopped at houses and had to explain it to them.....
I agree that users can get by just fine with anything in the way of an antenna that provides decent reception of UHF signals, but I was thinking about broadcasters, i.e. TV station owners. Most of them'll be going from VHF to UHF, and you can't use the old VHF arrays, so there's going to be money made by those antenna vendors.
Personally, the whole thing reminds me of UHF introduction in the 60's. They're phasing it in well, by the time the shutoff occurs, most viewers who have bought a set since '06 will have the capability, and the converters will get everybody who needs one over the hump. I came up through the analog world, and I still prefer it for some aspects of sound production, but to me, digital for video is absolutely the way to go.
Yeah, let's just have everyone broadcasting using whatever standard they want on whatever frequency they desire. That will be better.
SD
The satellite transmissions are digital. The purpose of a satellite TV box is to convert this signal into one usable for your TV. This is to analog (coax or RCS plugs or S video) for most people. Unless you specifically have a digital TV and a digital hookup.
People who get free TV over the air now will get subsidized to buy a converter box to convert the free over-the-air digital broadcasts into analog to work with their existing TVs. Then the standard TV signal will disappear.
It's not the end of the world.
SD
Once freed from TV transmission, curtrent TV bandwidth can be used for other commercial purposes and bring in billions of dollars.
Yes, it's called free enterprise. The market would work it out.
As to wide format screens, I happened to be eating in a reastaurant a few weeks ago, where I could see two screens in the bar. One was a large conventionally formatted tube, the other was a flat widescreen. Both had the same football game. I noticed that the widescreen filled the width by chopping off the top and bottom of the picture. So if you are a sportsfan, you may not get to view all of the televised action. (I would have thought that they would have chopped the sides off the picture for the conventional format, but it worked the other way.).
Actually, the market has worked it out. Those VHF frequencies (which we own) are a lot more valuable than those UHF frequencies (which we also own), so they're going to be put to their highest and best use.
My picture improved. The old tube was shot.
By a bill forcing private industry to use specific frequencies therefore requiring the citizens of the respective states to purchase new televisions to still watch television. Yes, some free market there. It's government intrusion plain and simple
You had me scratching my head for a moment there, but.... that's the effect you'd see with a game that was being broadcast in standard definition that was being received to on a wide screen set that was in the wrong mode. In the right mode, you'd just see black bars on the left and right sides. Some folks actually do that intentionally because of a tendency of early high-def sets to develop dark areas on the sides if you watch too much standard def stuff on them. That problem's pretty much gone now. So, either the owner didn't understand his set, or he intentionally had it set up wrong. There's nothing about the new broadcast standards that would produce that result.
Are you familiar with the licensing process? Private industry has ALWAYS been forced to use specific frequencies, otherwise you'd be picking up Fox-TV on your microwave.
As far as forcing people to buy new TV sets, somewhere around 85 percent of U.S. television owners get their signal from cable or satellite. There will be no change for them. Another ten percent or so will, in the normal course of events, buy a new TV in the next three years. By law, those new TV's will have digital tuners. So, we're talking about five percent of viewers, and they'll get a free converter.
I was gonna ask the same question! I also use it during hurricances and when the power goes out.
If this goes into effect in 2009, neither of our little battery powered tv's will work.
And on Friday Western Union officially quit handling telegrams.
Man the times are changing.....
(If you ordered a telegram they just faxed it recently).
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