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Digital TV Transition Date Approved - stop using analog signals in 2009
PCWorld ^ | Grant Gross, IDG News Service

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.

(snip)


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government
KEYWORDS: analog; broadcast; digital; digitaltv; legislation; nomorerabbitears; technology
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To: Calpernia

You can still use your rabbit ears for HD signals.


41 posted on 02/09/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by Doohickey (If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice...I will choose freewill.)
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To: savedbygrace

What's wrong with the signal on digital cable?


42 posted on 02/09/2006 4:04:18 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
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To: savedbygrace

I don't have any problems with my DirecTV at all....


43 posted on 02/09/2006 4:04:56 PM PST by MikefromOhio (Brokeback Mountain: The ONLY western where the Cowboys GET IT IN THE END!!!)
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To: benjibrowder
What exactly is DTV? I know what WiMax is, but what's DTV?

Says in the article. It's digital TV.

44 posted on 02/09/2006 4:05:15 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Proud to be a cotton-pickin' Republican on the GOP Plantation)
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To: Decepticon

I don't get it then, so explain it to me.

Local channel 4 - the ABC affiliate, for example... could stop broadcasting signal today and be cable only if they want?


45 posted on 02/09/2006 4:06:09 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
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To: Gator101
So...will my regular old TV still work in 2009 or not?

You will still be able to use it with a set-top converter box, connected to a digital TV antenna.

46 posted on 02/09/2006 4:06:45 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Proud to be a cotton-pickin' Republican on the GOP Plantation)
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To: Rte66
I knew it was coming, but I thought there would be an escape clause of some kind.

Yea, no more 1 hour sitcoms with 35 minutes of commercials...no more cnn,abc,cbs,nbs,pbs liberal talking heads....no more channels, except the ones you are intersted in (as it should be, no more bundling of channels). This is the death knell for the MSM, watch this get fought tooth and nail by the big conglomerates that have crappy viewer ratings.....imagine if the big three had to compete....with cable...on cable.

47 posted on 02/09/2006 4:08:33 PM PST by Decepticon (The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day (NRA)
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To: iPod Shuffle
Not quite true. Lower end cable plans often do not require a converter box.

Whether you're on cable or satellite, and receiving locals from either one, when the local stations switch to digital only, you can still receive them from your cable or satellite company without the need to purchase a separate digital to analog converter. (assuming you decide to stick with the analog TV set beyond the 2009 cutoff).

48 posted on 02/09/2006 4:09:21 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Proud to be a cotton-pickin' Republican on the GOP Plantation)
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To: HairOfTheDog

I was posting in a hurry and I didn't choose the best phrase. I mean the video image you see on your screen. The MPEG2 compression leaves tons of artifacts, and looks lousy.


49 posted on 02/09/2006 4:09:59 PM PST by savedbygrace (SECURE THE BORDERS FIRST (I'M YELLING ON PURPOSE))
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To: savedbygrace

I have no complaints with the picture quality on my satellite system. DISH Network's signal looks about as good as DirecTV and a helluva lot better than cable.


50 posted on 02/09/2006 4:13:18 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Proud to be a cotton-pickin' Republican on the GOP Plantation)
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To: Myrddin

Thanks.


51 posted on 02/09/2006 4:13:34 PM PST by benjibrowder ("America is always more secure when Freedom is on the march"-George Bush, Jan.31, 2006)
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To: Myrddin

The main disadvantage is that weak Digital signals will not work. Those who use an atenna and get poor reception will have no usable TV signal at all when things go digital.


52 posted on 02/09/2006 4:15:14 PM PST by Revel
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To: savedbygrace
I was posting in a hurry and I didn't choose the best phrase. I mean the video image you see on your screen. The MPEG2 compression leaves tons of artifacts, and looks lousy.

That's because they're cramming so many separate signals onto one satellite transponder. I think the compression ratio is something like 12:1. You'll see a vast improvement when they start rolling out MPEG-4, which will help satellite companies to be able to offer more HDTV content than they already do.

53 posted on 02/09/2006 4:16:26 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Proud to be a cotton-pickin' Republican on the GOP Plantation)
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To: savedbygrace

The picture looks just fine to me.

We're too treed and too high a latitude for satellite to be a good option, but I see no image problem with cable. Broadcast isn't even an option. I remember when I was a kid, 10 channels of ants and 3 channels that sometimes showed up well enough if you said your prayers and banged on it in just the right spot. :~D


54 posted on 02/09/2006 4:16:45 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
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To: Decepticon

You get what you pay for. I don't care to have to pay for any TV at all; it's not a total necessity to me, anymore, just a nice thing to have. This sux.


55 posted on 02/09/2006 4:17:05 PM PST by Rte66
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To: Revel

Digital is 0's and 1's. A weak analog signal will look crystal clear in digital. If you can't see the picture but hear the sound in analog, you won't get anything but a black screen in digital. There is no gray area with regards to digital. It's either there, or it isn't.


56 posted on 02/09/2006 4:18:16 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Proud to be a cotton-pickin' Republican on the GOP Plantation)
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To: Revolting cat!
Revolting cat!'s first FR post 110 years ago:


To: Calpernia

Great, 4 wheels and a motor and nothing to drive them on. Progress!


2 posted on 06/04/1896 7:11:38 PM EST by Revolting cat!
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57 posted on 02/09/2006 4:18:21 PM PST by Larry Lucido
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To: benjibrowder
What exactly is DTV? I know what WiMax is, but what's DTV?

Per the posted article:
...for broadcasters to stop broadcasting analog signals and move to digital television (DTV).

58 posted on 02/09/2006 4:18:40 PM PST by Utilizer (What does not kill you... - can sometimes damage you QUITE severely.)
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To: MikeinIraq
How much of the video artifacts you perceive depends on the size of your set, your viewing distance, your expertise at seeing the artifacts, and the channel you're watching.

DIrecTV, like Dish Network, will shift bandwidth from one channel to another, depending on a formula known only to them. Some channels will look pretty good, while others are almost unviewable.

MPEG2 is the video compression scheme they all use, and it is lossy, meaning the image degradation can be noticable. Most viewers don't notice the degradation, partly because their eye has never been trained to see it.

Then there's the audio. I'm pretty sure this applies to DirecTV also, but with Dish, the audio compression is combined with a peak limiting scheme that causes voice levels to rise and fall depending on the peaks of the music and sound effects.

Network sports and action shows suffer ther most, IMO. 24 is really impacted by that when they play the theme and bumper music while characters are speaking.

There's more, but I'll start sounding like a whiner (might be too late.)

59 posted on 02/09/2006 4:20:08 PM PST by savedbygrace (SECURE THE BORDERS FIRST (I'M YELLING ON PURPOSE))
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To: HairOfTheDog
We're too treed and too high a latitude for satellite to be a good option, but I see no image problem with cable.

If your cable company can see the satellites, you would too. Satellite footprints go as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico. You just have too many trees on the south side of your yard I guess.

60 posted on 02/09/2006 4:20:36 PM PST by BigSkyFreeper (Proud to be a cotton-pickin' Republican on the GOP Plantation)
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