Posted on 02/09/2006 3:33:18 PM PST by Calpernia
WASHINGTON -- Legislation requiring U.S. broadcasters to abandon their analog spectrum, opening up the "beachfront" spectrum to next-generation wireless services and emergency response agencies, is headed to U.S. President George Bush to be signed into law.
Late Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a large budget reconciliation bill that included a deadline of February 17, 2009, for broadcasters to stop broadcasting analog signals and move to digital television (DTV).
The House approval came after the U.S. Senate in December amended other parts of the House-approved budget reconciliation bill conference report. The final bill includes up to $1.5 billion in funding to provide two $40 vouchers per household to use toward the purchase of digital-to-analog set-top converter boxes. TV owners receiving over-the-air analog signals on older TV sets will need the converter boxes.
The legislation directs the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to begin an auction of the cleared airwaves by January 28, 2008. The High Tech DTV Coalition, made up of 18 IT companies and trade groups, pushed for a DTV transition deadline to free up the spectrum for new services such as mobile broadband, mobile video and WiMax.
Part of the spectrum will also go to help public safety agencies better communicate with each other.
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"nstead of one tower per station as it is now, they all plan on having their DTV antenna's on one tower. But, of course, and environmentalist group is preventing that from happening."
That means the some people will get all of the stations and other will get none of them. It also means one terroist strike or power outage will take out all of the stations. That is a very bad ideal. It should not be allowed.
The power outage won't affect it. Most stations run on backup power at the transmitter sites. But I agree, one "act of God" or terrorist strike would knock all of them off the air simultaneously. Just like what happend at the WTC.
I must be the poorest darn freeper ,I can't afford another $70 or so a month to watch commercials.$50 plus taxes and fees for DSL probably more than I should spend but dialup at $20 kept the phone busy.
Do I get a free satellite dish and free monthly access?Or can I even buy a $100 dish antenna and basic receiver and then watch the free channels? How does that work when taking a tv to the picnic table in the back yard,or to a park shelter,or a beach? THAT would be comparable to the over the air tv I and millions grew up with and still rely? on. Cable tv should never have been part of housing assistance ,if it even is! And yes,since the airwaves are a public resource I and you should have an absolute right to listen to free broadcasts without being forced by the gov't to pay more fees. Americans fought socialism and tyranny in the 20th century and now embrace it.
Dammit! I am angry! Broadcast TV was not free,it is a profitable use of the rf which served and still serves a purpose.
And if 4 or 5 signals can be squeezed onto one existing rf channel then I say one of the VHF allocation blocks ought be used to send HDTV over the air to rural areas. There are 12 VHF tv channels.If 4 of the 480 line signals can be put on each channels then a block of three like the present 2,3,and 4 could carry a dozen programs,matching the pre DTV systems. Even if the entire channel 7 through 13 block is used for wireless internet that is only a 72 mhz bandwidth,which is tiny compared to the bandwidths avalable on Ghz frequencies.
Incidentally Ch 12 here BRIEFLY offered a internet booster service where your dial-up acted as your upload and downloading was via a special receiver and antenna using the "excess" capability of the HDTV transmitter.I think it lasted less time than the TeleLink service of about 1980(which was another info service piggybacked on the analog TV signal.) Spectrum auctions are a dishonest way of justifying the selling of a renewable resource to pay for bloated gov't;there will never be enough money for gov't. It must be restrained or it will consume all.
There is nothing I watch on tv other than Jeopardy, The History Channel, The Military Channel, Fox News, and M*A*S*H. All the rest is stooopid crap.
Makes me no never mind if you decide to live in the stone age. :)
With the higher gain ,and thus more directional , antenna needed to asure digital reception placing the broadcast antennas on one tower makes a great deal of sense. Having all the analog broadcast on the Twin Towers was done to improve coverage. If you have broadcast antennas in several location people will have to re-orient the receiving antenna as they change channels.horrors!Well,at least the people who live in the intermediate area.For distant viewers ,towers spaced a mile apart are no big deal.
Ah, different, but related, subject. Much of the time, the quality of the video on well-encoded and authored DVD titles is not objectionable to my eye. Very good. Not always, but often.
Then we'll have to agree to disagree.
NTSC == Never The Same Color
ATSC == Another Thing Soaking Consumers
Well if these transmitting towers are going to be highly directional then that really sucks for those who are on the back side. Not only is it not wise to put all brodcasting capacity at one site durring a possible time of emergency, but it also makes it a heck of a lot more attractive terrorist target. Imagine being able to knock out TV to a whole city like Denver from one small point.
It is also possible that the best transmitting site could be at the edge of the desired viewers' area,and then directional transmitting antennas are a good answer.
Picture the various patterns a lawn sprinkler may be set to;sometimes you want a wedge,somtimes a circle or half circle. Or a cloverleaf,fat or narrow.
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Any word on whether this will make the quality of the programs any better?
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Yes! As part of the final agreement, in some episodes of CSI, the wealthy white will turn out to be innocent!
We had a radio station once that came in really well. The radio station then boasted that they were going to boost there power. They did so, but then we could not really get them anymore. The reason was that we were south of them and they decided that there market was more to the north. So they used a directional atenna. The result was that even though they increased there power- We were cut off from them. So I am kind of a skeptic of directional atennas. It better for those on the front side and bad for those on the back side.
The only working NTSC analog receiver in my house is the digital video recorder/DVD recorder. I record ER automatically in case I don't have an opportunity to see it. The majority of "TV" in the house is DishNet. My wife and kids watch that stuff.
You've got it.
And people think there going to get it for free. LOL
Wave you right forearm by the set.
US analog TV switch-off in 2009
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