[Welly Wu]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=550248

If this bill gets passed, then it is just a matter of time before the analog spectrum will be auctioned and reclaimed for usage by government, law enforcement, and first responders to react in the God forbid worst case scenario that the US will be hit by another major terrorism attack in the future. The author makes a pointed statement in that BestBuy, Tweeters, etc. will be able to say with certainty to their customers that their analog televisions will not last forever...the deadline is real and it is coming pretty soon. Having said that, I also think it is fair that the trend in terms of prices for digital televisions (LCD, DLP, Plasma, EDTV, SXRD, LCoS, etc.) will continue to plummet as the populace grits its teeth and prepares for the digital television revolution in the next 2.5 - 3.0 years. Converter boxes will be a sort of stop gap measure to help alleviate the transition process from analog to digital television broadcasts, but I do not expect them to be around for more than 1.5 - 2.0 years. The compelling temptations to upgrade to a digital television -- higher resolution, 5.1 channel digital surround sound, simpler pure digital connections, future-proofing, and even lower prices due to ultra-hyper competition -- will be too much for Americans to resist (remember, the average American watches approximately 55 - 57 hours of television per week)!

Salient quotes from the article:
Quote:

The odds favor a digital TV bill passing late this year or early next year, but the politics are volatile — because turning off TVs is a serious issue for Congress," Gallant said. That helps explain why the proposed hard date for the transition is after the 2008 elections. TTE hopes to entice the mass market to buy digital TVs this fall when it introduces a line of standard-definition digital TVs in 27- and 32-inch screen sizes, starting at less than $300. "That just screams value to the consumer," Bosler said. Next year, it plans to follow up with 20-inch and 24-inch models.

Keep up with the digital television news. Save up your money now.

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu (remember, the average American watches approximately 55 - 57 hours of television per week)!

That is a scary statistic. I think I watch about 3 or 4 hours when the new seasons of Alias and 24 are out. Otherwise, I watch even less. Sorry, not quite on topic.

 

[Edwood]

I've been ready for nearly two years now.

-Ed

 

[terrymx]

do the new digital tv get the free channels from the old analog? or does anyone who want to watch tv and see the news must paid for some cable service?

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by terrymx do the new digital tv get the free channels from the old analog? or does anyone who want to watch tv and see the news must paid for some cable service?

New digital TV's are capable of getting regular standard def analog TV, but it looks like poop.

HDTV is broadcast over the air on the UHF band for "free" TV. You need a UHF antenna to be able to get the signal.

Check out www.antennaweb.org for more info.

-Ed

 

[zachary80]

The transition was originally for either 2005 or 2006 but was pushed back. The reason it isn't happenning quicker is primarily that the market is not ready. Analog televisions will continue to work, but they will need special converter boxes which already exist.


edit: I guess most of that was already covered in the clickthrough

 

[fr4c]

I've been ready for a while too

 

[kevin gilmore]

I've had full resolution (1080i) hdtv for a little over 5 years now.
Recently i retired every single crt in the house. Every single display
device now has a atsc digital tuner. Even the big dish is used strictly
for digital now.

Now if there was just a whole lot more hdtv content...
PBS still leads the world in quality hdtv programming.

New season of soundstage starts 6/30/2005

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I'm not ready to embrace digital yet. My parents switched from analogue and the digital cable is terrible. Glitches, you can see the pixels and it is slower to change the channel. And were supposed to pay MORE for this (dis)service?!

Biggie.

 

[rickcr42]

There has been plenty of warning on this and a serious lead time for preparation but like with most things will be ignored by most until it slaps them and they have no TV.
The fact that the 2005/2006 target date was pushed ahead proves no one is paying attention to the fact that the television industry is more than happy to sell you a set that has built in obsolescence from the start.
Why retool,redesign and change everything when the people are too damn stupid or lazy to pay attention and read the newspaper where it has been all layed outy for years now.........the comics section does not count

 

[stevesurf]

By 2008 there will be some convergence between digital TV and the internet as the primary means of content delivery, with many of us watching shows via PC. For this purpose, there may be a whole class of new "TV watching" that doesn't involve a TV at all! Every home theater system I recommend also includes a PC connection to the main display for this reason.

 

[Distroyed]

People still use television as a primary source of entertainment? Why? It's such a passive activity...

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu [ but I do not expect them to be around for more than 1.5 - 2.0 years. The compelling temptations to upgrade to a digital television -- higher resolution, 5.1 channel digital surround sound, simpler pure digital connections, future-proofing, and even lower prices due to ultra-hyper competition -- will be too much

I have to politely disagree with that assertion. I feel absolutley no temptation to change to digital telly and I feel pretty annoyed that I should have to. If I want good sound I listen to my stereo, and I agree with biggie that digital cable is incredibly laden with artifacts including a lot of trouble handling black and lots of pixellation.

With analog cable you can still watch a picture with some interference, with digital when the signal is poor the whole picture vanishes irrevocably. Admittedly when the digital signal is good it is *excellent* visually but with out local feed (Comcast) this is not that often

Why should I have to replace a perfectly functioning telly. It's like petrol companies suddenly deciding to change petrol so you need to buy a new car but they will sell you a "converter" to keep it running, this is just so much bollocks.

Why should the *vast majority* of analog TV owners be forced to pony up for stuff they dont need just to get what they already get for free.

I am not opposed to innovation and if the TV companies wanted to market dual standard TVs or even phase out support for analog TVs over (a longer period of ) time (say 30 years) I have no problem with that, to unilaterally remove the choice however looks dictatorial.

When you buy something you do so on the basis that it is "fit for the purpose for which it is sold" (Consumer Protection Act) so if someone sells you a telly that they know will not work it is actually fraud.

P.S I also hate having to change operating system every 5 years - Windows 3.1 used to work fine for me and was damn stable.

P.P.S Oh, and why does my 250GB drive only have 233GB of usable space

P.P.P.S People who get all the way up to a junction and only then decide to signal left also get my goat as well

[/Rant]

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 There has been plenty of warning on this and a serious lead time for preparation but like with most things will be ignored by most until it slaps them and they have no TV.

We bought our telly in 1998 and nobody told us about this stuff then, our last telly we bought in 1987 and it is still working (before Sony went bad) , and we expect this one to last just the same.

To offer somebody a new service is one thing to unilaterally deprive them of something they already have seems decidely un-american

 

[Born2bwire]

Is it not possible to get a set top convertor and still be able to use an analog TV with the digital feed? That was my understanding and there is talk of subsidizing the convertors so I do not think that the transition is going to be a troublesome one for the end user.

EDIT: Well I guess you would also need a new antenna too.