Will there ever be a forced switch to HDTV in the US??

[yoda313]

So they keep pushing back the deadline. What's the current deadline now??? 2009???

Will they ever enforce it? I know HDTV's are really falling fast and that's great but it's still a big investment if your current tv works just fine. And all the confusing specs and lingo can scare non techies.

I know the government wants the bandwidth that the stations are suppose to relinguish once they jump completely to hdtv. But what politician is going to force low income and poor seniors to buy expensive converter boxes or new tvs?????

I'm sure this DEADLINE will just keep getting pushed back until they can make a converter box for $50 or less. Than they could kill standard tv and not look like they're forcing upgrades on everyone even though they are.

[gadgetguy]

There is no requirement to go to HDTV. The requirement is to go to digital transmission. It's the producers/manufacturers/broadcasters that have turned this into a HDTV requirement and that's why it's been so hard to get it to catch on. I for one, have a half a dozen TVs in my home and none of them can receive a digital signal. One of these sets is over 20 years old and still works as well as the day I bought it, and none of them are less than 7 years old. I am unwilling to spend ~$1000 on a TV, heck, I've never spent more than $250 for one. I would have a hard time spending $50 on a digital tuner, much less one for every TV in the house and I sure as hell don't want to pay for an HD tuner when I don't have any way to watch HD content. They're going about this all wrong. They should start by flooding the market with cheap, but functional SD tuners that will work with existing TVs. And then increase the quality and price over time.

[richdvd]

It's a date for Digital transmission, not HDTV.
Two different things.

[MackemX]

what's the situation in the UK for the analogue signal?

is it something like 2009 when they switch it off?

[MackemX]

just been watching the Gadget Show and they reckon it's going to be 2012 when HDTV is mainstream in the UK

[zzyzzx]

They should really ban the sale of analog tuners. Once all TV, VCR's, tuner cards all already have the digital tuner in it, all one has to do is wait a few years then make the switch. Allowing retailers to still sell the analog version today makes no sense.

Dopn't we have a separate section for this type of question?

[Doramius]

As stated above, the requirement is for stations to have digital transmission. They can keep transmitting on the analog signal. However, many stations will limit or remove their use of the analog stations as time goes on when people make the switch over to digital TVs & receivers. Local news stations will probably still transmit analog signals though.

It may become like AM vs FM radio. AM is predominantly Talk & News. Whereas FM is mostly music. Not always the case, but is true around 90% of the time.

Analog TV may just end up being local news & programing, where digital may be the more popular medium for movies, shows, sports, etc.

[Treebeard]

As stated above, the requirement is for stations to have digital transmission. They can keep transmitting on the analog signal.

I dont think your statement is correct. I think they must cease analog transmissions b/c the government is taking back those communication channels for better emergency response. They are also going to give each family a voucher for a box to convert the digital signal to analog for the analog television, since many wont be able to afford to switch.

[Doramius]

As stated above, the requirement is for stations to have digital transmission. They can keep transmitting on the analog signal.

I dont think your statement is correct. I think they must cease analog transmissions b/c the government is taking back those communication channels for better emergency response. They are also going to give each family a voucher for a box to convert the digital signal to analog for the analog television, since many wont be able to afford to switch.

It'll open more frequencies for emergency response, but they aren't requiring (or currently going to force) them to end analog transmission. Again, they'll still post local news and other such information on analog stations. My guess, though nothing has been openly stated, is they'll move local analog viewing back to VHF, and use the UHF signals for whatever other purposes they need.

Check out this page for how they currently run.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allochrt.pdf

[lumis]

there is no way the big 4 networks would leave old people or anyone in mass numbers out in the cold with their old analog tv's and no D/A converter boxes.. they depend on viewers to watch commercials, if they lose viewers, they lose money..

i'm sure these boxes will be available for free, or at a very low cost ($10) at your local wal-mart or best buy..

but then again, this only applies to people who watch tv OTA.. people who have cable, dish network, directv, etc.. will not be affected.

[doppletwo]

As stated above, the requirement is for stations to have digital transmission. They can keep transmitting on the analog signal.

I dont think your statement is correct. I think they must cease analog transmissions b/c the government is taking back those communication channels for better emergency response.

The frequencies are going to be sold to companies for cellphones and other wireless technologies.


There is no way that any emergency response could use all of the frequencies that will be freed up when analog TV gets cutoff.


UHF and VHF are actually a huge amount of bandwidth that is being wasted because analog TV is very ineffiecent in its use of bandwidth.

[AlecWest]

They should really ban the sale of analog tuners.

"They" should ban them? When the they that buys the tuners are willing to spend the money for something else, the other they will be able to sell them, not before.

Remember that scene from Monty Python's "Life of Brian" where this one man pleaded with others to follow him in worship of Brian's sandal ... only to find himself alone, preaching to no one? The industry knows it's no fun preaching to an empty marketplace ... and no money in it, either.

[Doramius]

As stated above, the requirement is for stations to have digital transmission. They can keep transmitting on the analog signal.

I dont think your statement is correct. I think they must cease analog transmissions b/c the government is taking back those communication channels for better emergency response.

The frequencies are going to be sold to companies for cellphones and other wireless technologies.


There is no way that any emergency response could use all of the frequencies that will be freed up when analog TV gets cutoff.


UHF and VHF are actually a huge amount of bandwidth that is being wasted because analog TV is very ineffiecent in its use of bandwidth.

Correct. Analog TV alone needs at least 2 frequencies to be viewed. Audio & video don't actually run together. Plus a color television sends out frequencies for each color (except green). There's a heck of a lot more to it, but we'd be here for a while & I've got to go #2.

[AlecWest]

There are probably a lot of blind and sight-impaired persons wondering about this conversion, whenever it happens. Many of them (like my next door neighbor) only have a radio that picks up TV audio. The conversion will force him to go out and buy a new radio ... assuming some manufacturer plans on making them. I wonder how much such a new radio would cost?

[Doramius]

There are probably a lot of blind and sight-impaired persons wondering about this conversion, whenever it happens. Many of them (like my next door neighbor) only have a radio that picks up TV audio. The conversion will force him to go out and buy a new radio ... assuming some manufacturer plans on making them. I wonder how much such a new radio would cost?

The radio only picks up the audio frequency. And the frequency follows the same channel selections as a regular TV. If they do like I've been hearing, you'd get channels 2-13.

[AlecWest]

The radio only picks up the audio frequency. And the frequency follows the same channel selections as a regular TV. If they do like I've been hearing, you'd get channels 2-13.

Ahhh ... so only the video frequencies will change. That'll be welcome news. BTW, the guy is really starved for decent programming. Most of the stuff on TV nowadays turns him off ... and can't really be enjoyed unless you're a sighted person. My new NEC 3550A burner arrived last week. And one of the first things I did was burn him 18 CDs worth of "old-time radio" shows ... regular, not MP3 type. I thought the guy was gonna break into tears, really. I have access to (ahem) 65,000 OTR shows and, like him, prefer them over a lot of the crap on TV today.

[Doramius]

Old time radio was a bit better, but that was also at a time when people had more of an inate moral respect for language and public speaking. The shows of the time mimic that.

Again, nothing stated for certain, but they will probably sell both audio & video for channels 14-70. Like I said, channels 2-13 shouldn't be touched or changed in any way. There are no plans to alter this until the demand becomes stronger. Another reason to try and start the conversion now. 30-50 years may pass and stations may altogether pull out of analog over time. FCC will probably renew licenses, but not sell new ones. When a license lapses or gets turned off, they probably won't sell it back as an analog TV channel and will offer it as 100s of cellular frequencies, or even possibly public WiFi.