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FCC Speeds Up Digital TV Signal Deadlines
sbinning writes "The FCC, in a 4-0 vote decided that all medium-sized televisions, screens between 25 and 36 inches in diagonal, must be able to receive both digital and traditional analog signals by March 1. This is four months earlier than the commission had decreed three years ago. Now if they just mandate more intelligent programming."
Well, it wasn't clear from the article but from some reading I assume they mean March 1...2006. Yeah sure, may seem obvious to some but a date with no year can mean many things.
While trying to confirm that I found an interesting page:
http://www.hdtv.net/faq.htm
Does anyone know the stats on how many stations are digital?
Somewhere around 1500 stations (almost all stations in the bigger markets) broadcast digitally as well as analog. Here in San Francisco bay area, we get CBS,ABC,NBC,PBS,WB,UPN,FOX,UNI,SAH,TEL,PAX networks and a few independants. Few know about it though.
Seriously, I doubt it. A digital tuner can be added to an existing analog tv set.
and now back to the fallout shelter...
I also found this link at GoodGuys to be pretty informative:
http://goodguys.com/hdtv_faq.asp
Now, these are both Pro-DTV sites.
What I'm also looking for are criticisms of DTV-- other then the obvious arguments about DTV being expensive.
94% of Repubs and 21% of Dems voted to renew the Patriot Act
Television. at least in the United States, is a huge spectrum hog. The UHF TV band used to suck up everything from 470 MHz to 890 MHz. The FCC created the 800 MHz cellular and two-way radio bands by chopping off the top of the UHF TV band.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
All TV's with screens 13 inches or larger in the united states sold after 1993 are required to have a closed caption decoder.
long answer... uh, because it is the FCCs job, and they manage all airwaves in the US per the Communications Act of 1931 and 1939, as amemded.
besides, they want the VHF airwaves to about 180 MHz (in the neighborhood, but I'm not close to a spectrum map right now) for public service and cellphones, so to keep a live media out there with local service, considered critical for national security, they have to trade broadcasting up to channels 14 and above to approximately 49.
it all converged, and we have HDTV. a digital system, unlike the analog one japan perfected and was ready to sell to us lock, stock, and barrel at a per-device price. as it turns out, a better system. but with the crummy economy, the color programs/color TV sales issue has come alive again, and the critical mass of TVs has not arrived to hand back the analog channels and turn off those transmitters.
there were whiners who wanted congress to delay the shutoff date. the FCC has trumped that with their announcement of the final dates, which has been expected, but is a little sooner than the last date in congressional enabling legislation.
short answer:... because, now buy something and stop complaining.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Don't forget, 250 1994 dollars is equivalent to $300-$400 at today's prices due to inflation.
Here's a calculator: http://eh.net/hmit/compare/
The FCC is proceeding under the authority of the All Channel Receiver Act of 1962, which they previously used to mandate the inclusion of UHF tuners and to set performance standards for those tuners.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Some of the spectrum is already earmarked for public safety communications.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
"Now we have the FCC mandating that TVs must provide digital reception as well as analog. What am I missing here?"
The Court ruled that the FCC did not have the power to make regulations in areas that the Congress did not give them control through legislation. Congress DID pass legislation requiring a switch to Digital TV. Congress DID NOT legislate content protection.
See the difference? The FCC has only those powers that Congress gives them. In the Broadcast Flag case, the FCC tried to regulate content protection without authorization from Congress. Congress HAS given them authority over tuners.
A really good book about the whole HDTV system is Defining Vision. Visit your local library, and read more about it.
"Well, good luck finding a judge that doesn't run a bestiality site."
Okay
That took me about 30 seconds to find. Best Buy happened to be the first retailer I hit, but I'm sure you'd have similar results elsewhere.
1) Granted, it's $329 instead of $250, but it's also 27" instead of 21". Don't forget to factor inflation.
2) In a few months, a TV like that will be required to receive free over-the-air transmissions, so I'm sure you'll see a model sometime closer to the end of this year with those features.
3) I don't know what sort of Home Theater equipment you have, but this thing has plenty of inputs and a line-level audio out, so I don't see how it couldn't.
4) Done plus 6"
5) There's a 26" Widescreen Samsung CRT on that same site for $450, so it's $120 more.
6) Wouldn't we all like that. Hell, you can't say that about anything, and it's not a by-product of DTV or not. My folks have a cheap Magnavox from the mid 80's that still works, and I've seen quality, name-brand TVs from many different time periods crap out. This one will be a crapshoot. Also, how exactly will you judge that something will last 11 years without a single problem?
Remember: $8,000 65" HDMI-equipped LCoS TVs with 1080p display capability are NOT the only DTVs out there.
There will be plenty of these boxes (so a local cable co-op can grab off-the-air signal to transmit to subscribers), but I'm not sure they will within the price range of most consumers. To give an example, a selective channel amp (to grab only channel 13, and insert it into a CATV multiplexer) costs about $120-$200 on eBay.
I'm in the same boat as you, so maybe some kind soul will mass produce these things. Otherwise, you're face with buying several converter boxes, setting each one on a particular channel, and creating your own in-house CATV system. I guess a couple of houses on the block (or an apartment complex) could gang up their money, buy enough of the converters to cover local channels, have a multiplexer, and create their own CATV system...
FCC/ITU Frequency allocation is best described in a manner similar to how modern federal land leases for grazing/forestry rights work.
Timber company A "leases" X acres of National forest, logs it, replants, and maintains it until the lease is up, then the US government rebids that section at some point later in the future when suitable for timber harvest.
Some acreage is permanetly set aside for perpetuity, but the bulk can be responsibly managed till domesday by the consumers.
Before some of you say, ANWR was set aside in a similar fashion, not so fast, read the ANWR creation act (79 or 80, late Carter Admin). It explicitly allows for sections of oil exploitation, the Bush admin is just calling in the option on that section of the act.
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They already do. It's part of the Closed Captioning space known as XDS (extended data services). Mostly it's used to set the clock in your VCR.
However, if your TV supports it (on some TV's it can be found near the Closed Caption menus), it will show you such information as what is currently being shown, and depending on the television, the genre and run time of the current broadcast.
Thanks genius, your solution would have me staring at $350 of high-definition static.
I've seen that TV in purpose and have considered it.
Trouble is, it doesn't come with an HDTV tuner. It's "HDTV Ready". Tuners cost $250, and I'll still need to get cable/satellite (what a rip off) or a HDTV antenna ($30+, which is acceptable). Either way, this is $300 more then the $250 solution I'm looking for.
Also, how exactly will you judge that something will last 11 years without a single problem?
Well first off, usually they'll be made by a company with a good reputation and has a good warranty (My 11 year old Magnavox had a 3 year warranty I think?). Who is "Advent"?
94% of Repubs and 21% of Dems voted to renew the Patriot Act