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US analog TV switch-off in 2009
BBC ^ | 2/2/06 | n/a

Posted on 02/02/2006 11:01:53 AM PST by kiriath_jearim

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To: festus
And on Friday Western Union officially quit handling telegrams.

Sigh!!!

In the seventies, I worked for a company where the union rules were so tight that they were prohibited from calling us during our vacations to tell us when to come in on our first day back, so they sent telegrams. In those days, the local office just handed them to cab driver. I guess the whole messenger boy career choice dried up before that.

121 posted on 02/02/2006 5:37:05 PM PST by ArmstedFragg
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To: Peach
I'm technologically deficient; what does this mean for the average consumer?

Digitized liberal pablum instead of the analog variety.

122 posted on 02/02/2006 5:42:24 PM PST by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
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To: ArmstedFragg
I am familiar with the process. Private industry has not been forced to do any such thing. The frequencies private industry uses could easily be worked out within the market. How long do you think a microwave company would be in business if the microwave they produced picked up Fox-TV? Consumers drive the market. They will choose the product that provides the best solution. You would not have overlap of frequencies simply because the standard would be set by the consumers.

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.

There it is. By law. What gives the national government the right to interfere within the free market? Perhaps you could point that specific power out to me in the Constitution? Of course, I realize you will look to the interstate trade clause, but the Framers envisioned a loose overview of such trade, not laws enforcing government regulations to the point of interfering with the free market.

So, we're talking about five percent of viewers, and they'll get a free converter.

No, they'll get a converter paid for by the taxpayers, the citizens of the respective states. Nothing is free. But that's A-OK with 'conservatives' I suppose..

123 posted on 02/02/2006 5:58:09 PM PST by billbears (Deo Vindice)
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To: ArmstedFragg

No! All the pre unleaded gas engines I have still run.


124 posted on 02/02/2006 9:59:06 PM PST by quietolong
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To: kiriath_jearim
The US Congress has approved plans to force broadcasters to switch off their analogue television signals by 2009.

The broadcasters were only too happy to take the extra bandwidth allocated for them back in 1997.

125 posted on 02/02/2006 10:04:13 PM PST by Mojave
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To: Gaffer

You really don’t think it will be free for long. Do you?

Get out a old VCR tape, of some movie, play it, When the FBI copyright comes on, See
if you can fast forward and skip thought it. Can you?

Now get a DVD and try the same thing. Will it let you?

Just think when the xmiter can “talk” to your TV.

Can you say PPV.

A 512 TV that’s peaked properly will give just as good of picture anyway.

Besides. Monday nights going to CBS anyway. And I have always hated there coverage.

ipods for the kids hell. It will me a D 42 martin for me.

Have working TVs now don't see why I need to spend a penney on this new junk.


126 posted on 02/03/2006 12:54:12 AM PST by quietolong
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To: PAR35
See post 28 to me, where another poster points out that proposed copy protection schemes may render the current generation of digital sets obsolete.

What copy protection schemes?

But if you can afford one now, don't care about paying extra for hardware inside the set that will be worthless in a few months (the analog tuner), and are willing to accept the risks, go for it. You'll certainly be able to enjoy the benefits of the new format several years before I do.

TV builders have to put both in because no one knows what will happen and they still want to sell TV's. I rather doubt the FCC is going to obsolete everyone's TV's without a lot of warning.

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.).

That's a big concern for me. A salesman said the TV's have an option of how they fit a regular aspect ration signal in a wide screen. Some stretch the picture so everyone looks fat, others do fills on the side. Maybe there is an option to crop the top and bottom too.

127 posted on 02/03/2006 5:04:32 AM PST by countorlock (But thy strong Hours indignant work'd their wills, And beat me down and marr'd and wasted me,)
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To: Pondman88
What about those with Dish systems? Does the current box convert?

Technically, all dish systems are already Digital which is why you get little square drop outs (instead of snow) during bad weather or when a swaying tree branch interrupts the signal.

Now don't confuse digital with high def. High def is all digital (whatever the brocast medium: OTA, Cable or Sat) whereas the signal from sat, unless it from the HD sat, is still a NTSC formatted signal.

Switching to digital gives the broadcasters more bandwidth to play with. This is why when you recieve OTA HD broadcasts you can get 3 channels for a particular station say 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3.

Clear as mud?

128 posted on 02/03/2006 5:56:22 AM PST by AFreeBird (your mileage may vary)
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To: quietolong
A 512 TV that’s peaked properly will give just as good of picture anyway

No, it won't, plain and simple. And, I don't see why the makeup of the protocols for DVDs has anything to do with HDTV. Now, if the "HDTVs" start talking back , then I'd be worried. BTW, on Monday nights, it's "24" for me and it looks great on true 16:9 HDTV format from the "local" station.

129 posted on 02/03/2006 6:17:55 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: Gaffer

Then you’ve not seen a old 512 set tweaked to perfection. I have yet to see a HD picture match one. There’s no way to tweak out the small mismatches & imperfections in the new sets. Try doing a convergence. The knobs are no longer even there! Granted you need the equipment & skill to do this. ( which I have) And the chips do a good job of processing. But there not perfect.


Your set will “talk” to you. It will say “ Wave you right forearm by the set”


130 posted on 02/07/2006 1:08:22 AM PST by quietolong
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To: kiriath_jearim
There's a great deal of confusion over HDTV and Joe Six Pack still can't buy an affordable HDTV with a tuner built-in. When it shows up at Wal-mart, let me know. I'll upgrade when its time.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

131 posted on 02/07/2006 1:14:14 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: longtermmemmory
The price will come down long before then. Computers used to cost a fortune. I acquired a P4 laptop off Ebay for $500. Don't worry, by then Ebay will have it for less than a freaking grand - I mean HDTV.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

132 posted on 02/07/2006 1:17:37 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: quietolong

You may think it's better but it's not. I've seen perfectly aligned analog TVs and the resolution just isn't there, and you have the S/N problem from OTA to deal with that your not going to get the same response on the bench with a sig/pat generator. Your argument just doesn't hold water, because it isn't practical nor does it make any sense.


133 posted on 02/07/2006 6:57:30 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: Gaffer
If the current product (picture) is filling the customers needs then why change?

The new converter boxes are made in China! The only new hardware made in the U.S. will be some of the station equiptment until those manufacturers move that offshore.

I bought a used Direct TV digital box and it won't work without a valid registered card even for over the air reception so that was a waste of money! Present converters are $200 and up not about $50 as one poster guessed.

By the way I have numerous 5 inch sets for emergencies,camping,kitchen,etc.Some color and some b/w.And portables and not so portable up to 27".27" was a thrift store item but has lots of jacks for stereo and aux inputs/outputs.Good analog color sets are about $100 for 19" and excellent size for many modest of means or housing. The longer I have been on Free Republic the more I see it becoming the haven of those wealthy party operatives disdainful of frugality and those who practice it through necessity.Not everyone can be at the top of the company.Spitting on those who share basic conservative values just because they cannot afford your level of luxuries IS mean spirited,AND counter-productive.I dare say some freepers cheer for Scrooge and disparage Bob Cratchett for not getting a better job.

How many people are now comfortable with the idea that everything you do or watch should generate a perpetual revenue stream for the originator? Once upon a time, Americans owned their homes,but now they must pay annual license fees to the local gov't in order to live there .When you bought furniture did you anticipate paying a fee everytime you opened the drawer to get socks? If I buy a book for $19.95 and a month or a year later sit down to read it again must I pay a second (or third) time?

That, my friends ,is where all this digital encoding is headed;the "artists" supposedly deserve to be paid for every time you sample their works. This is absurd. Do you continue to pay the carpenter who built your house another fee every time you enter a room? The MPAA, RIAA,and SPA are demanding that intellectual work is inherently more valuable than productive labor,not just equal in value. The world might be less colorful without madonna,KISS,Dave Matthews ,etc, but a pretty miserable without farmers,plumbers,carpenters,mechanics,doctors,and other tradespeople, who get paid once for their work and go on to produce more. But it is the above acronym groups who demand radios,tvs, recorders and computers be changed so the device owner can be controlled.

134 posted on 02/10/2006 5:56:31 PM PST by hoosierham (Waddaya mean Freedom isn't free ?;will you take a creditcard?)
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To: hoosierham
Spitting on those who share basic conservative values just because they cannot afford your level of luxuries IS mean spirited,AND counter-productive.I dare say some freepers cheer for Scrooge and disparage Bob Cratchett for not getting a better job.

Whew! where did you get all this from? I don't recall that I "spit" on anyone's values or castigated them because they don't have the means to convert. I was simply having an argument with someone who could-not/would-not get it into his head, regardless of the monetary or social implications, HDTV when presented in TRUE HDTV signal to an HDTV is a BETTER picture than an analog TV by far, and on this there is no rational argument. I did not comment on his lack of ability or wherewithall to move to the new format at all. I was responding to his ignorance and stubborn attitude about why he shouldn't have to migrate. Additionally, the technical merits of the new format doesn't have a tinker's damn to do with whether the convertors will come from China or the US. It's true, many people are satisfied with what they have, but you also have to realize that the RF bandwidth the analog TV channels can be used for other applications that in the end will benefit us all (ala the loss of the higher UHF channels to Cellular use). And, I don't agree with your supposition that 'somehow' continuing revenue from the consumer will be required because it's 'digital.' I certainly haven't experienced that and I've been watching OTA HDTV for over a year. If you're gonna tell me "just wait," then I remind you that 'network' TV has always been free for those with the cojones enough to endure the regular commercials and I don't see that changing anytime soon. You can pooh-pooh technology all you want and be as Luddite as you can be, but the next time you go to the hospital or take one of your loved ones there, don't get offended if they use a digitally controlled MRI, CATSCAN, EKG, EEG, or like device...I don't think you'd like the alternative without them.

135 posted on 02/11/2006 9:29:42 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: Gaffer
Luddite,HA!

I'll have you know my wooden shoes last practically forever.Although scripting these messages in cuniform on clay is easy enough finding a card reader was a pain.

I was one of the first to buy a Radio Shack TRS-80 ,one of the first to have a digital watch and calculator ,alhough I still drive fossil-fuel vehicles. I just don't like having my soul stripped away by the transporter beam.

I believe the appropiate technology people are correct and doubt any "one size fits all" solution. (Interesting,I have recently noted labels stating"one sze fits most").I hate to see the bar constantly raised so that it becomes harder to pull oneself up.

136 posted on 02/12/2006 6:32:34 AM PST by hoosierham (Waddaya mean Freedom isn't free ?;will you take a creditcard?)
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To: hoosierham

I responded to you because you accused me of spitting on the other person's values when it was actually something technical we were discussing. Regardless of what you think, the technology will be installed and used. You don't have to buy a convertor, or watch TV at all for that matter. The rest of your ramblings I don't understand. You really shouldn't be drinking when you type....


137 posted on 02/12/2006 8:24:31 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: kiriath_jearim

That $844 million will come in handy when congress has to buy a digital TV for all who don't have one.

Does one think that it is broadcasters or the cable networks who are behind this? It is the cable network who needs all accesss to TV signals to be digital so they can encode them to protect their property from "free" use.


138 posted on 02/12/2006 8:30:53 AM PST by Final Authority
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To: savedbygrace

What am I not getting in the HD Cable that I am paying for and watching on my LCD Hi-Def TV? Its pretty good, what should it be and how do I get it?


139 posted on 02/12/2006 8:54:21 AM PST by buckeyesailor
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To: PAR35

"It's one of the biggest scams that's been put over on the American people this century."

And if you throw in "TV on Demand" I'm sure they'll charge you for every channel you view... man will they love channel-surfers.


140 posted on 05/29/2006 1:02:17 PM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.)
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