Digital TV - 2009

Tizzy Lizz^ · Subject: Digital TV - 2009 Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:43 am

Do you have a digital television yet? If not are you getting one?

I must confess, that I really haven't invested in television or cable, yet (I still have the same little TV from college affraid

).

DO you find it strange that everyone "MUST" have a digital TV or they will just be out of the broadcasting loop?

**I am remembering a college professor of journalism. She was retiring. I was a freshman. 1995/1996. She came off as a bitter old lady but was giving us a realistic preview of the job. Besides analyzing freedom of speech, freedom of press, media consipiracy theories, and the top 10 stressfull jobs...she told us that there would come a time when everyone would have to own a certain type of television. These televisions would contain devices in them that could somehow monitor you.***

Over 10 years later...I still haven't bought a new TV lol!

but now that this whole "MUST" is upon us, I am remembering this lady, and thinking about finishing the book 1984 (by George Orwell).

A_Str8 · Subject: Re: Digital TV - 2009 Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:10 am

Tizzy Lizz^ wrote:

DO you find it strange that everyone "MUST" have a digital TV or they will just be out of the broadcasting loop?

We've always had to have a certain type of TV. That's the problem with standards. As technology has become better, so far we've been unable to take advantage of the advances (when it comes to TVs) because TVs still needed to be in compliance with technology that was developed back in 1927.

This upgrade to digital is way past due. It was supposed to happen years ago but they kept pushing the deadline back because of the difficulty of getting consumers and the industry on the same page without being unfair to either side.

As far as monitoring you, they can't do that. Besides, they don't need new technology to monitor you, the old stuff works just fine.

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alyson · Number of posts: 1143 Registration date: 2007-01-04

my little tv downstairs is digital (i think), i bought it 3 years ago for the girls, but decided against putting a tv in their room. the one in my room is so old that i can't hook a DVD player up to it. but it works just fine. i guess there is a difference - my guy friends tell me there is...

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A_Str8 · Subject: Re: Digital TV - 2009 Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:45 pm

alyson wrote:

i guess there is a difference - my guy friends tell me there is...

I haven't been reading a lot of the details about digital TV, but I think the reception should be better and the picture is supposed to be sharper.
I think it might be better for the broadcasters somehow too. Getting rid of analog broadcasting is also freeing up those airwaves for other purposes.

Depending on the types of shows you watch, whether or not you have cable, and your personal preferences, you may or may not see a difference that is significant to you. If you're not interested in all that stuff and you just want to be able to continue watching broadcast TV after the switch, you can get a convertor box that should be pretty cheap (or even free) after the $40 coupons they're giving away.

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A_Str8 · Subject: Re: Digital TV - 2009 Sat May 24, 2008 1:41 pm

Just got a converter box and hooked it up to a TV. The picture is much clearer now - reception is perfect - and the TV gets some extra channels. From what the manual says, the digital signal squeezes more info into the same amount of signal, so some channel numbers can have multiple things playing at once. For example, channel 45 could have one show on 45.1 and anothjer on 45.2.

This particular TV was getting horrible reception before. I definitely reccomend the converter box for any non-digital TV that's not hooked up to cable.

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Tizzy Lizz^ · Subject: Re: Digital TV - 2009 Tue May 27, 2008 2:25 pm

A_Str8 wrote:

Just got a converter box and hooked it up to a TV. The picture is much clearer now - reception is perfect - and the TV gets some extra channels. From what the manual says, the digital signal squeezes more info into the same amount of signal, so some channel numbers can have multiple things playing at once. For example, channel 45 could have one show on 45.1 and anothjer on 45.2.

This particular TV was getting horrible reception before. I definitely reccomend the converter box for any non-digital TV that's not hooked up to cable.

I dont' see why its mandatory for everyone to have a clearer picture. What if we are okay with what we have? Why the forced choice?

glory · Subject: Re: Digital TV - 2009 Tue May 27, 2008 11:00 pm

Tizzy Lizz^ wrote:

I dont' see why its mandatory for everyone to have a clearer picture. What if we are okay with what we have? Why the forced choice?

it's not mandatory for everyone to have a clearer picture - it's mandatory for every broadcaster to make the switch to digital broadcasts. television is moving towards interactivity and this is a part of that transition. if people don't want it, they don't have to buy new tvs or get a digital tuner/converter. they can use cable or satellite and still get broadcasting. it's just that if you're using rabbit ears you won't get a picture because the analog signals won't be broadcast anymore. it's still up to the consumer to decide what they want.

i read this site to help me understand the change in technology - it's pretty good. the information is years old, but i think it still applies, with the exception of the deadlines, which i noticed have been pushed back.

http://www.pbs.org/opb/crashcourse/

A_Str8 · Subject: Re: Digital TV - 2009 Wed May 28, 2008 12:13 am

Tizzy Lizz^ wrote:

I dont' see why its mandatory for everyone to have a clearer picture. What if we are okay with what we have? Why the forced choice?

The tech exists to use the airwaves much more efficiently than we are using them right now. We can broadcast a much clearer picture using less airspace than before. If we do this, we free up airspace for other uses. If we don't, it's wasted. The thing stopping us from freeing up airspace is that too many consumers have old equipment not compatible with the new methods. Brodcasters didn't want to swicth their stuff cuz they figured they shouldn't spend money upgrading if no consumers were even equipped to take advantage of the upgrades. It's mandatory because at this point, consumers and broadcasters have made it clear that we won't be moving forward otherwise.

The airspace that's being cleared up is the airspace used for UHF channels. Digital TV signals are all being squeezed into the VHF space. I dunno if you've noticed all the news about Google, Verizon, and the FCC auction. The auction was to sell that soon-to-be-free space. Google kind of strong-armed the FCC into setting rules for whoever bought the rights to the airspace so that the buyer wouldn't be allowed to just use it for their own cell phone network or something like that. Verizon ended up winning the auction. Everyone's still waiting to hear what exactly Verizon has planned for the space, but the general expectation is that they will set up a high speed wireless data network.

I don't have much faith in the FCC and their power or will to regulate corporations, so I dunno if this network will end up being as open or as beneficial as they say. I guess we'll see.

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sam I am · Number of posts: 476 Registration date: 2007-01-08

ive got that comcast stuff. the commercial says i dont need it as long as i have cable.

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