Slashdot Mirror

So I guess WTVR and WRLH aren't on physical channels 25 and 26 in the same market?

My point was that if the same sort of rules exist in Australia, you could move the same number of DTV stations into half the bandwidth that was occupied by their analog counterparts.

Well, the analog over the air signal was phased out already. OTA should be digital now.

Unless you’re served by LPTV stations, for which there is still no mandated analog sunset:

The June 12, 2009 DTV transition deadline does not apply to low-power television stations. The FCC will determine a deadline for these stations to transition to digital at a future date.

Personally, I’m still receiving analog OTA TV near Havre, Montana from four American broadcasters and two Canadian ones. The American stations, being translators, identify as digital, but they are analog. I can’t get any digital OTA TV out here.

Actually, cable companies are allowed to charge customers for D to A set top boxes:

http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner_3.html#faq1

*sigh*

Of course we (I think I can speak for drinkypoo here) think you're wrong.

My own opinion is that if we (the populace) had useful amounts of spectral bandwidth (note: this is not the same thing as "internet bandwidth," which is at best a misnomer anyway), in a useful spectral band, and were allowed to radiate reasonable amounts of radio energy within that spectrum, then mesh would work fine, at speeds far greater than 20Mbps. It's a theory, of course, and it's likely to stay that way for now because the stage is not set for such an endeavor at this time.

With regards to expense, it's already expensive to watch TV.

So, again: Would it really matter to you if your episodes of Heroes (???) were broadcast (or multicast, if you will) via mesh, or via a singular transmitter? At the end of a day, in a very practical sense: So long as you get your bread and circuses, it's all cool, right?

standard definition, and high definition programming will still be available after the changeover.

what is changing is the frequencies available to transmit the signal-- and the format of the signal.

the fact that a station is only available in regular resolution does not mean it won't be available on changeover day.

http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#faq6
If I want a new TV, will I have to buy a High Definition TV (HDTV) to watch digital broadcast television after the transition?

No. It is important to understand that the DTV transition is a transition from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting. It is not a transition from analog broadcasting to High Definition broadcasting. Digital broadcasting allows for High Definition broadcasts, but High Definition is not required, and you do not need to buy a HDTV to watch digital TV. A Standard Definition DTV (which is simply a TV with an internal digital tuner), or a digital-to-analog converter box hooked to an analog TV, is all that is required to continue watching over-the-air broadcast television. Digital broadcast television includes Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) formats. You can watch High Definition programming on a Standard Definition DTV (or on an analog TV hooked to a digital-to-analog converter box), but it won't be in full High Definition quality. It is also important to know that Standard Definition DTVs are comparably priced to similar sized analog TVs.

only over the air broadcasts will stop in 2009. Cable companies can still use analog tv over the wire. So it is not necessarily true that a tv with an analog tuner will not work after the cutoff date, unless you are using an antenna see: http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#faq29

All the misconceptions make my head hurt. It's not an HDTV conversion, it's not shutting off all OTA, etc. Read the official site

Wonder if we can sue governemnt for indicating that the converter boxes will allow you to get hdtv...

http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html

How do I get DTV or HDTV programming?

In order to receive over-the-air digital programming (as opposed to digital programming provided by a paid provider such as cable or satellite TV service), you will need: (1) a DTV (a TV with a digital tuner) or an analog TV connected to a digital-to-analog converter box and (2) a broadcast antenna (either a rooftop antenna or "rabbit ears" connected to your set). In general, an antenna that provides quality reception of over-the-air analog TV broadcasting will work for digital TV broadcasting.

A listing of the U.S. TV stations that are broadcasting digital programming is available at http://www.fcc.gov/mb/video/files/dtvonair.html. Satellite TV providers and many cable systems are currently offering digital programming. Subscribers should check with their service providers to see what digital programming is available in their area.

Talk about government waste all you want.

Government waste? Didn't congress decide to make the switch to DTV? Since they did, I can see them offering to help folks with the transition.

Realistically, how many people don't already subscribe to satellite TV or already have digital cable?

I really hope they do have those cards because it is illegal to not have them, if I understand correctly...

High Definition is not required. The digital standard broadcasts in both high def and standard def. All this is required is a television that can process the digital signal. The US govt is offering $40 vouchers for households to buy analog-to-digital converters for their existing televisions.

The over-the-air digital switchover is still 2009, it's cable signals that are cutting over in 2012.

The G-man even has a countdown clock: http://www.dtv.gov/

Meanwhile, my Wii works fine with my digital TV as it does for most Americans, and we'll buy HDTV when it's cheap (or we have to in 2009

The noisy-ness and size of the XBox360 are the main things that kept me from getting it originally (along with my general happiness with the PS2 I got a few years before the XBox's launch).

I'm thinking of biting the bullet and upgrading to HD-TV this year (between the drop in HD-TV prices and TiVo's new HD unit), and the PS3 is starting to look like the perfect option to handle the "GameConsole/DVD/NextGenMedia" portion and round out my new TV stack. Going for the PS3 is an easier choice than a stand-alone Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player. I KNOW the Blu-Ray format is going to be used for the PS3, wether movies come out for it or not, and I expect it should be a decent DVD player also. If the format takes off, great. If it doesn't, yes, it sucks, but the hardware is still usable as a storage media for games (take a look at UMD, yeah, there aren't many UMD movies being planned, but I don't see UMD games for the PSP being phased out any time soon).

Granted the whole TV Stack is probably ~$2500-$3000 whereas my current installation is closer to $1000 (TV, VCR, TiVo+DVD Player, CableBox), but I'm actually excited about the quality difference, and analog TV Phase-out is right around the corner. Feb 17th 2009 doesn't seem that far away to me right now, especially since the HDTV acceptance rate has been climbing and is probably primed to really take off this holiday season. Once that rate climbs, there is no reason to assume that consumers won't demand more HD media (including Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, and Consoles supporting HD formats).

Call me a sheep, but I think the pastures (or at least pictures of them), will be greener. :)

10% is Huge?!? for a product that has been on the market for at least five years, and had a mandate that local television would switch to DTV (of which HDTV is a subset) in 2002, then 2006, and now 2009, 10% is mediocre.

http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/regulatory-re view/f-bu-dtv.shtml

http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#whatisdate

OTA TV stations have upgraded their broadcasting equipment (and over time, their cameras) to HD, because it's an obvious improvement.

Really? I thought it was because of a government mandate (pdf), at least in the US.

I think we have another 5 years before our living rooms become transformed.

What I love about this whole topic is the people that have no clue about what is really happening. All these posts about HDTV, ignore them. They are at best misinformed. The switch that is going to take place has nothing to do with HDTV. Yes, HDTV is a form of digital programming signal, but it is not the one that is being mandated. You already recieve many programs in digital, provided that you have a cable box, or a satellite system. With digital broadcasting you can cram several channels into the spot allocated for one analog channel. That is what will free up the bandwitdh. Conversitions of 6:1 or 8:1 or not uncommon thus allowing for 6 or 8 channels to be broadcast in the slot available for one analog channel.
Also, it is not the cable companies that are the hold up. Once again, ignorace reigns supreme. Cable companies are not the content producers. They simply pass the programming along to subscribers. The hold up is the cost of equipment to produce the content in digital format and distribute it to the cable companies. Most cable companies and satellite companies have already in place an infrastructure that will support the distribution of many more stations then are currently in use.
The consumer information on this is available at fcc.gov here: http://ftp.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.htm l and here: http://www.dtv.gov/

I'd start at http://www.dtv.gov. ;)

The law already contains an "out". If less than 85% of homes are able to receive DTV programs, the deadline may be extended.

It's not entirely clear whether Congress meant for this 85% figure to include people who are watching digital programs on analog recievers after having them downconverted by their cable/satellite company. Some argue that it doesn't, in which case the 85% figure will likely never be met.

(even if cable/satellite subscribers are included, subscribership varies wildly from place to place with some cities having as much as 30% off-air viewership.)

Keep in mind, the original legislation did state that 85% of the TV viewership must be on digital TV before they will simply turn it off: "Under federal law, analog service will continue until most homes (85%) in an area are able to watch the DTV programming." (from http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#needanewtv) MSNBC is just making news of a moot point. Granted, they mentioned this in the text, too: "That's where the Congressional loophole comes in. Congress can ignore the end-of-2006 cut-off if fewer than 85 percent of households have digital television sets." I really hate the media.

dtv.gov is a site set up by the FCC that attempts to bridge the gap between ordinary consumers who want DTV/HDTV programming, and the actual information about where and how to get it. It also links to checkhd.com, with directories of free over-the-air, cable, and satellite HDTV programming in your locale.