Really. An Antenna, 100 feet of coax from the big box, some connectors. Three splitters. Less than $150 with all. This feeds an OTA DVR, a Sony HDD250. The DVR is well amortized after two years, and I get whatever in full HD with 5.1 sound, thank you. My cable or Sat companies would make me pay at least $90 per month for the same thing, and I'd get bonus compression artifacts.
Failing to sell the "free" aspect is a major flaw in the marketing of HD. Unfortunately we got the DRM part too.
Yes, they will. I once worked in a very large building complex (Starrett City, NY in Brooklyn). I was often assigned to answer the phone for maintenance-clogged toilets, leaky faucets, etc.
One day, the Cable TV provider (there was one company for the whole complex) had to do some work, which shut off CATV to the entire complex. We NEVER got so many angry, screaming calls-repeatedly. I don't think a loss of Hot Water would cause so much angst.
I'll never forget the day I had eight hours of every single shut-in, or elderly, or mom at home with kids and no soaps, call me over and over. (No maam, I don't know when the cable guys will be done...yes I'm sorry...have a good day)
YOU may have four internet connections, get TV via Bittorrent, and run OSX on your Netbook, but for a lot of folks, the on/off switch and the channel selector are all they run. Don't think what comes out, even if pure crap, is not important to those folks.
If the system for electronic verification (and you don't think "the kids" can forge a bar code ?) collects info then you do have a database of all drinkers.
You can't order a "double" in Utah, even in the nicest steakhouses.
Since "no alcohol" is a rule of the LDS church, I think this has great potential for embarrassment of folks who may otherwise have their "temple recommend" .
I'd think hardcore drinkers could find someplace else "out west" to live. Montana and Washington come to mind.
I am for the transition. I've had a converter box ever since USDTV sent out subsidized boxes to Wal Mart (into a market where there was never a USDTV station). My first few viewings were the stations putting up "if you see this call us" for signal reports. I am totally for the transition at this point.
I was pointing out that there would be a few folks who would be SOL, but there are some people who won't do anything until you pick up the couch they are sitting on....
I have OTA from a roof antenna, which gets all the nYc HDTV stations with no problem.
I also have a set of rabbit ears out in the office, hooked up to an old analog set (think grandma). This gets all the NYC analog stations with good but not perfect reception. I'm 40 miles north of NYC but with a line of sight down the Hudson River.
Yesterday I hooked up a converter box to the rabbit ears for digital. I was able to get ONE station, and even that was not a stable picture.
Looks like I need to run another cable from the rooftop antenna. Easy for me, but Grandma's going to have issues.
Even so, we need the radio spectrum. How about using channel 4, 71 mhz, for WiMax ? (Best over hill coverage of any of the TV channels)
Anyone with a brain who has checked out any product online, be it cars, computers or anything, finds a user group or ten with reviews.
Some reviewers have used the product. Some reviewers have not.
There is always "this is the bestest thing in the whole world" review. And there is the "this is the largest POS known" review.
You toss the lovefest, and toss the POS review. Trust the middle. If all the reviewers seem happy, then it's probably good. If they all hate, then not so much.
You are your own editor.
The real problem here is that VHF is not UHF. VHF frequencies are better at following the lay of the land. They bend better over hills, and tend to travel more consistently over longer distances.
The low band of TV, channels 2-6, follow hills well. Channel 4,5 and 6 are by far the best for a ground wave. Channel 2 is a bit too long in wavelength-acts more like HF.
VHF high, channels 7-13, follows hills well, but not as well as the low VHF channels.
Moving up to the UHF region, we are more like cell phones in that the radio waves become strictly line of sight, less to no bending over the earth, and become harder to catch.
Most folks don't understand that moving a UHF antenna a few feet up, down or sideways can make all the difference. A VHF TV antenna is pretty much just pointed in the right direction, but UHF can be tricky. You might get pixellation at the front of the roof but 90% on the back of the roof.
Sadly, those with the least ability to figure this out will have the most problems getting the UHF DTV. If you understand that you may need to move the antenna about a bit you will have much more success snagging uncompressed and free Digital TV.
I view from a spot 50 or so miles out from a UHF station(WNJN-PBS) which is both analog and digital. It also slightly off axis from my NYC-pointed antenna. I get reception for most of the year, but it gives me a real world view on varying signal strengths based upon tree attenuation.
Digital does work better-up to about 75% of the distance. 51 is the digital feed, 50 the analog. In the winter, where all the trees are clean, both 50 and 51 look really good. You have to look hard to see the digital difference with SD signals on both channels.
As the trees fill in, the analog station begins to fade. There is some dot crawl, then static, then unstable picture on the analog station until it becomes a weak fuzzy signal.
The digital station stays perfect until the analog picture gets decidely static-Y. You can watch the analog signal beyond the point the digital one is gone but it is not great, probably bottom 30%, at that time.
When summer comes, and the trees fill in fully, you can't get a lock on the digital or a watchable signal from the analog. I pull the channels out until fall.
So for 75% of the time, the digital signal wins, as it is always perfect if it works.
That does not do much for you if you are beyond.
I do want to subscribe to whichever system takes over channels 4-6 and puts broadband on it. This is the prime radio territory for a ground wave based system.
If you compare it to buying a CD per month (yah, I know, paying for music, etc.) at the end of the year I'd have 12 albums, which I'd be deathly sick of by the end. I drive a lot, so the endless supply of music is appreciated.
You can listen to genres you'd normally not. If you get tired of a playlist (hello First Wave), then there are a few dozen others to explore. I do miss the modern Jazz channel S lost when XM merged.
Standard FM radio ? Way, way too many commercials. I'll give you the 13 bucks not to have to listen to them. I do listen to NPR, and the international (formerly shortwave) stations, which you'd have a much tougher time finding. I just wish Sirius would pick up C-SPAN.
Yes, I could obtain the music on line, load an Ipod or generic MP3 player, and do it that way. My time is worth something (YMMV), and for that, I press a button and get sound-I don't have to rip my considerable CD collection, get dollared to death by iTunes, or infringe.
It only has to be better than Broadcast FM, for which the FM Broadcasters have made easy by the tiny playlists, incessant commercials, and overcompression of sound. (yes, I know Sat Radio could do better, but it still sounds better than the overcompressed FM signals we get here in the NYC area. The true tragedy is that FM broadcast CAN sound wonderful)
When WiMax becomes practical, and I can log onto a website whilst mobile, I shall take my early - adopting self over there. Till then, you have two choices...FM Broadcast or the Sat Monopoly.
This woman was horrible, preying upon a young girl with known weaknesses, kind of like what happens in prison.
The law, however, is not really set up to prosecute this. If I were her, though, I'd check my brake lines regularly.
When China went to space, I was totally unimpressed. I figured they'd already stolen the plans from the US and the USSR. Big Deal.
Now, this guy, he DESERVES Gitmo.
It's not about whether you can read by flashlight under the covers. I realize as a 'murican that the First Amendment freedoms of speech are a "local ordinance" in cyberspace, but Australia is copying China...Communist China.
I am of the understanding that a printing press can reproduce odious child porn...so we should register and monitor ALL the presses.
Does not this small bit offend, concern or otherwise motivate those "down under" ? I'm not very familiar with Aussie politix, but I would think that in a nominal democracy something this huge would trigger backlash.
Censoring the internet in a free country ? Who cares if you can work around....that's SO not the point.
If you have a house like mine where kids of all ages pound away at the machine, with spreadsheets, IM, music, and gaming, the Mac wins hands down. I am the person who gets the call when "the computer won't print" or "the computer is hung" in my house. Since migrating from XP to OSX, I've saved the extra money for the Mac in time not spent screwing around with the system. My home machine is used 8-10 hours per day between all family members, so I've saved quite a bit of time as well.
My work machine is XP, but when it dies, a Mac Mini will replace it.
Yes, it cost more, but it will also probably last longer than the eMachine it replaced. I'm not a fanboy, this post is being typed on a Dell going on eight years old.
UFO.....
Maybe a secret hypersonic craft, since the SR 71 is retired, and there in "no" current replacement ?
A cover up for soviet hypersonics ? Can't admit they have one and we don't.
Consider that it is a great big deal to get here. I agree with the poster that your "abducted" people story is not rational. Kidnap a few humans if you need them, breed, and sequence the DNA, or just clone your own if you need to at this level of supposed technology. No one is coming here to bugger Bubba.
Of course, if anyone had alien tech, it would be a huge leg up, aka the Terminator or Star Trek's Timeship stories. The fact that no one has just come out with a clean endless power source or radical new weapon is proof that no one has any significant alien artifacts..
-or at least ones we can figure out.
In England, they recently came out with a report proposing mandatory speed governors, which they called "intelligent speed adaptation". It sounds a lot better than "the government in your car", but the effective year is 2045, making it just outside the current population.
Breaking in the "kids" to be used to this is the incremental creep we all need to watch for.
After all, "the kids" can't be trusted. "the other guy" also can't be trusted. Once we make that leap of logic, then "you" can't be trusted.
ISA...no, thank you.
the star tac was not digital, meaning your analog phone took up what to Verizon was a channel which digitally could carry eight conversations. You missed the cellular chop, and the simple fact is that the analog phones sounded better. I used to "force analog" when in a dense area like a city, because it increased the odds of a clear channel. I feel for you.
I have a moto fone. Bluetooth profiles are locked down so my phone book cannot appear on my car's screen.
Getting a photo off requires the recipient to visit a website.
Yes, I am stuck with Verizon. They have made damn sure i refuse to use the Get It Now service, buy photos for 25 cents each, or even think of putting music on the phone.
Waste of an otherwise interesting computer.
I find reading about what a GSM phone can do interesting, sort of like reading about driving on the Autobahn while I'm stuck in NYC traffic.
Anyone recall the ST:TNG episode where the command crew is put on a holodeck copy of the Enterprise and only Riker figures out something is wrong when he comes "home" to his fav holo-p0rn character as his "wife" ?
Assuming the aliens had full access to holo-logs, hmmm.
I sense respectable companies not making certain attachments...and less scrupulous ones making them
I once worked at a large development with 25 + apartment buildings. I was the guy who answered the phone for the repairs, clogged toilets, etc.
One day, the CATV system serving the entire complex went out. Now, it was a Tuesday afternoon, but you'd be amazed. It was the single highest call volume we ever got.
Worse was the amount of "re-calls" and plaintive complaints. There's a lot of folks out there who can't function unless they are lashed to the fantasy teat, and they were not all elderly or shut-in.
There will be a rash of "grandma can't get her stories" news articles, but in the end, this will be a boon to the Content Industry, for whom HDCP will now be part of the equipment. It buys their business model ten years.
PRECISELY ! I AM A LAWYER, AND HERE IN NY I'VE WATCHED WEST PUBLISHING BUY UP EVERY PUBLISHER OF EVERY PRACTICE GUIDE. THEY DON'T OWN THE LAW, BUT THEY DO OWN THE "ANNOTATED STATUTES", SO ALL THE CASES AND DESCRIPTIONS ARE COPYRIGHTED. The best analogy is if the web was free, but the DNS functions were copyrighted.
You must tithe West to have books....which is why it can easily cost 10k to run a law library PER YEAR. There is no competition whatsoever in the legal book world.
NY State Rules and Regulations (the administrative code) and New York City's code are copyrighted.....and the cost of the book is exorbinant.
I can agree that the annotations and practice guides are copyright...but the law, public and passed by our representatives should not be.
I too noted the subtext of the opening ceremonies. We're here, we are powerful, and we are co-ordinated. The fact that the only soldiers were as flag honor guards didn't slow this up one iota. Only the fact that we are trading partners saves us from a US/USSR situation. OK, we buy their stuff, they rip off all of our ideas sent over, and they buy up our bonds.
Still, this was a monument to socialist style propaganda, and it worked...very well. Always remember that this is a long lived contiguous society, who regards the west as...savages.
Slashdot Mirror
Really. No one wants DRM. The process of taking your computer from you is slow and incremental.
Really. An Antenna, 100 feet of coax from the big box, some connectors. Three splitters. Less than $150 with all. This feeds an OTA DVR, a Sony HDD250. The DVR is well amortized after two years, and I get whatever in full HD with 5.1 sound, thank you. My cable or Sat companies would make me pay at least $90 per month for the same thing, and I'd get bonus compression artifacts. Failing to sell the "free" aspect is a major flaw in the marketing of HD. Unfortunately we got the DRM part too.
Yes, they will. I once worked in a very large building complex (Starrett City, NY in Brooklyn). I was often assigned to answer the phone for maintenance-clogged toilets, leaky faucets, etc. One day, the Cable TV provider (there was one company for the whole complex) had to do some work, which shut off CATV to the entire complex. We NEVER got so many angry, screaming calls-repeatedly. I don't think a loss of Hot Water would cause so much angst. I'll never forget the day I had eight hours of every single shut-in, or elderly, or mom at home with kids and no soaps, call me over and over. (No maam, I don't know when the cable guys will be done...yes I'm sorry...have a good day) YOU may have four internet connections, get TV via Bittorrent, and run OSX on your Netbook, but for a lot of folks, the on/off switch and the channel selector are all they run. Don't think what comes out, even if pure crap, is not important to those folks.
If the system for electronic verification (and you don't think "the kids" can forge a bar code ?) collects info then you do have a database of all drinkers. You can't order a "double" in Utah, even in the nicest steakhouses. Since "no alcohol" is a rule of the LDS church, I think this has great potential for embarrassment of folks who may otherwise have their "temple recommend" . I'd think hardcore drinkers could find someplace else "out west" to live. Montana and Washington come to mind.
I am for the transition. I've had a converter box ever since USDTV sent out subsidized boxes to Wal Mart (into a market where there was never a USDTV station). My first few viewings were the stations putting up "if you see this call us" for signal reports. I am totally for the transition at this point. I was pointing out that there would be a few folks who would be SOL, but there are some people who won't do anything until you pick up the couch they are sitting on....
I have OTA from a roof antenna, which gets all the nYc HDTV stations with no problem. I also have a set of rabbit ears out in the office, hooked up to an old analog set (think grandma). This gets all the NYC analog stations with good but not perfect reception. I'm 40 miles north of NYC but with a line of sight down the Hudson River. Yesterday I hooked up a converter box to the rabbit ears for digital. I was able to get ONE station, and even that was not a stable picture. Looks like I need to run another cable from the rooftop antenna. Easy for me, but Grandma's going to have issues. Even so, we need the radio spectrum. How about using channel 4, 71 mhz, for WiMax ? (Best over hill coverage of any of the TV channels)
Anyone with a brain who has checked out any product online, be it cars, computers or anything, finds a user group or ten with reviews. Some reviewers have used the product. Some reviewers have not. There is always "this is the bestest thing in the whole world" review. And there is the "this is the largest POS known" review. You toss the lovefest, and toss the POS review. Trust the middle. If all the reviewers seem happy, then it's probably good. If they all hate, then not so much. You are your own editor.
so I'm not the ONLY one who has done this ?
The real problem here is that VHF is not UHF. VHF frequencies are better at following the lay of the land. They bend better over hills, and tend to travel more consistently over longer distances. The low band of TV, channels 2-6, follow hills well. Channel 4,5 and 6 are by far the best for a ground wave. Channel 2 is a bit too long in wavelength-acts more like HF. VHF high, channels 7-13, follows hills well, but not as well as the low VHF channels. Moving up to the UHF region, we are more like cell phones in that the radio waves become strictly line of sight, less to no bending over the earth, and become harder to catch. Most folks don't understand that moving a UHF antenna a few feet up, down or sideways can make all the difference. A VHF TV antenna is pretty much just pointed in the right direction, but UHF can be tricky. You might get pixellation at the front of the roof but 90% on the back of the roof. Sadly, those with the least ability to figure this out will have the most problems getting the UHF DTV. If you understand that you may need to move the antenna about a bit you will have much more success snagging uncompressed and free Digital TV. I view from a spot 50 or so miles out from a UHF station(WNJN-PBS) which is both analog and digital. It also slightly off axis from my NYC-pointed antenna. I get reception for most of the year, but it gives me a real world view on varying signal strengths based upon tree attenuation. Digital does work better-up to about 75% of the distance. 51 is the digital feed, 50 the analog. In the winter, where all the trees are clean, both 50 and 51 look really good. You have to look hard to see the digital difference with SD signals on both channels. As the trees fill in, the analog station begins to fade. There is some dot crawl, then static, then unstable picture on the analog station until it becomes a weak fuzzy signal. The digital station stays perfect until the analog picture gets decidely static-Y. You can watch the analog signal beyond the point the digital one is gone but it is not great, probably bottom 30%, at that time. When summer comes, and the trees fill in fully, you can't get a lock on the digital or a watchable signal from the analog. I pull the channels out until fall. So for 75% of the time, the digital signal wins, as it is always perfect if it works. That does not do much for you if you are beyond. I do want to subscribe to whichever system takes over channels 4-6 and puts broadband on it. This is the prime radio territory for a ground wave based system.
the other benefit was that if you were in an area not served by your carrier, you could force analog and get service.
If you compare it to buying a CD per month (yah, I know, paying for music, etc.) at the end of the year I'd have 12 albums, which I'd be deathly sick of by the end. I drive a lot, so the endless supply of music is appreciated. You can listen to genres you'd normally not. If you get tired of a playlist (hello First Wave), then there are a few dozen others to explore. I do miss the modern Jazz channel S lost when XM merged. Standard FM radio ? Way, way too many commercials. I'll give you the 13 bucks not to have to listen to them. I do listen to NPR, and the international (formerly shortwave) stations, which you'd have a much tougher time finding. I just wish Sirius would pick up C-SPAN. Yes, I could obtain the music on line, load an Ipod or generic MP3 player, and do it that way. My time is worth something (YMMV), and for that, I press a button and get sound-I don't have to rip my considerable CD collection, get dollared to death by iTunes, or infringe. It only has to be better than Broadcast FM, for which the FM Broadcasters have made easy by the tiny playlists, incessant commercials, and overcompression of sound. (yes, I know Sat Radio could do better, but it still sounds better than the overcompressed FM signals we get here in the NYC area. The true tragedy is that FM broadcast CAN sound wonderful) When WiMax becomes practical, and I can log onto a website whilst mobile, I shall take my early - adopting self over there. Till then, you have two choices...FM Broadcast or the Sat Monopoly.
This woman was horrible, preying upon a young girl with known weaknesses, kind of like what happens in prison. The law, however, is not really set up to prosecute this. If I were her, though, I'd check my brake lines regularly.
When China went to space, I was totally unimpressed. I figured they'd already stolen the plans from the US and the USSR. Big Deal. Now, this guy, he DESERVES Gitmo.
It's not about whether you can read by flashlight under the covers. I realize as a 'murican that the First Amendment freedoms of speech are a "local ordinance" in cyberspace, but Australia is copying China...Communist China. I am of the understanding that a printing press can reproduce odious child porn...so we should register and monitor ALL the presses. Does not this small bit offend, concern or otherwise motivate those "down under" ? I'm not very familiar with Aussie politix, but I would think that in a nominal democracy something this huge would trigger backlash. Censoring the internet in a free country ? Who cares if you can work around....that's SO not the point.
dude, you live in a country which has the most restrictive photo speed cam and photo stoplight regime in the world........
If you have a house like mine where kids of all ages pound away at the machine, with spreadsheets, IM, music, and gaming, the Mac wins hands down. I am the person who gets the call when "the computer won't print" or "the computer is hung" in my house. Since migrating from XP to OSX, I've saved the extra money for the Mac in time not spent screwing around with the system. My home machine is used 8-10 hours per day between all family members, so I've saved quite a bit of time as well. My work machine is XP, but when it dies, a Mac Mini will replace it. Yes, it cost more, but it will also probably last longer than the eMachine it replaced. I'm not a fanboy, this post is being typed on a Dell going on eight years old.
UFO..... Maybe a secret hypersonic craft, since the SR 71 is retired, and there in "no" current replacement ? A cover up for soviet hypersonics ? Can't admit they have one and we don't. Consider that it is a great big deal to get here. I agree with the poster that your "abducted" people story is not rational. Kidnap a few humans if you need them, breed, and sequence the DNA, or just clone your own if you need to at this level of supposed technology. No one is coming here to bugger Bubba. Of course, if anyone had alien tech, it would be a huge leg up, aka the Terminator or Star Trek's Timeship stories. The fact that no one has just come out with a clean endless power source or radical new weapon is proof that no one has any significant alien artifacts.. -or at least ones we can figure out.
In England, they recently came out with a report proposing mandatory speed governors, which they called "intelligent speed adaptation". It sounds a lot better than "the government in your car", but the effective year is 2045, making it just outside the current population. Breaking in the "kids" to be used to this is the incremental creep we all need to watch for. After all, "the kids" can't be trusted. "the other guy" also can't be trusted. Once we make that leap of logic, then "you" can't be trusted. ISA...no, thank you.
The greatest scam ever pulled off...and everyone thought Bush was done !
the star tac was not digital, meaning your analog phone took up what to Verizon was a channel which digitally could carry eight conversations. You missed the cellular chop, and the simple fact is that the analog phones sounded better. I used to "force analog" when in a dense area like a city, because it increased the odds of a clear channel. I feel for you.
I have a moto fone. Bluetooth profiles are locked down so my phone book cannot appear on my car's screen. Getting a photo off requires the recipient to visit a website. Yes, I am stuck with Verizon. They have made damn sure i refuse to use the Get It Now service, buy photos for 25 cents each, or even think of putting music on the phone. Waste of an otherwise interesting computer. I find reading about what a GSM phone can do interesting, sort of like reading about driving on the Autobahn while I'm stuck in NYC traffic.
Anyone recall the ST:TNG episode where the command crew is put on a holodeck copy of the Enterprise and only Riker figures out something is wrong when he comes "home" to his fav holo-p0rn character as his "wife" ? Assuming the aliens had full access to holo-logs, hmmm. I sense respectable companies not making certain attachments...and less scrupulous ones making them
I once worked at a large development with 25 + apartment buildings. I was the guy who answered the phone for the repairs, clogged toilets, etc. One day, the CATV system serving the entire complex went out. Now, it was a Tuesday afternoon, but you'd be amazed. It was the single highest call volume we ever got. Worse was the amount of "re-calls" and plaintive complaints. There's a lot of folks out there who can't function unless they are lashed to the fantasy teat, and they were not all elderly or shut-in. There will be a rash of "grandma can't get her stories" news articles, but in the end, this will be a boon to the Content Industry, for whom HDCP will now be part of the equipment. It buys their business model ten years.
PRECISELY ! I AM A LAWYER, AND HERE IN NY I'VE WATCHED WEST PUBLISHING BUY UP EVERY PUBLISHER OF EVERY PRACTICE GUIDE. THEY DON'T OWN THE LAW, BUT THEY DO OWN THE "ANNOTATED STATUTES", SO ALL THE CASES AND DESCRIPTIONS ARE COPYRIGHTED. The best analogy is if the web was free, but the DNS functions were copyrighted. You must tithe West to have books....which is why it can easily cost 10k to run a law library PER YEAR. There is no competition whatsoever in the legal book world. NY State Rules and Regulations (the administrative code) and New York City's code are copyrighted.....and the cost of the book is exorbinant. I can agree that the annotations and practice guides are copyright...but the law, public and passed by our representatives should not be.
I too noted the subtext of the opening ceremonies. We're here, we are powerful, and we are co-ordinated. The fact that the only soldiers were as flag honor guards didn't slow this up one iota. Only the fact that we are trading partners saves us from a US/USSR situation. OK, we buy their stuff, they rip off all of our ideas sent over, and they buy up our bonds. Still, this was a monument to socialist style propaganda, and it worked...very well. Always remember that this is a long lived contiguous society, who regards the west as...savages.