Digital Conversion

[b344077]

Do ya think, now that we're about to go into a worldwide recession and folks will be cutting back on toys like blackberries and cell phones, the big push for all of those TV frequencies will stop and the conversion to digital will be delayed?

Let's face it, we won't have the bucks to replace all of our TV's!

 

[zman]

No, I doubt very much the digital conversion will be delyead. It will happen as planned. You don't have to buy a new TV either. If you have cable or satelite your provider will take care of down converting the signal for you. If you get your TV over the air you just need to buy a converter box which as has been discussed many times the govenment will give you two coopons per household. You can continue to use your old TV after the digital transition. I don't see a resesion stoping or delaying the digital transition.

 

[b344077]

ZMAN:

My post was a little "tongue in cheek" but the reality is that with this coming recession, the gallop toward an ever growing demand of wireless business services will be sure to slow down. As I remember it, this whole need to convert to digital service was driven by folks like ATT and Verizon simply because they said they needed additional bandwidth.

Just so you know, there is a definitive reduction in the sales of HDTV sets.

My house has 5 TV's. The family room set has been replaced with a HDTV and I have 2 conversion box's. One is with the set in our bedroom and the other will "travel". I am not happy with the Converter's ability to pick up channels and consider this to be a step back into the days of UHF converter boxes.

In any event, I think it will be years before folks replace the TV's on the patio, in the garage and in the kitchen. It's my undstanding that the 7" set in the kitchen that costs $100 is a thing of the past. That same set will cost $500 and have a larger screen and chassis.

 

[Tom Wells]

Televisions in the kitchen are unseemly. Better to use the digital conversion cutoff as a means to get out
of such a bad habit.
TV on the patio? The garage? Too many TVs, too many places.
Last weekend my wife was trying to adjust the antenna "phase" directional selector while tuned to the analog signal, in order
to get the best signal before switching to the digital signal.
When I pointed out to her that it would not be possible come February, she had some comments that I can't remember, but indicated that she could see it's going to be difficult to tune in digital signals.
We're going to miss quite a bit when we change channels and then have to fiddle for 5 minutes each time.

At least in analog you could see what effect your fiddling had.

 

[b344077]

Mr. Wells:

There is nothing like watching the Bears (on TV) while on the patio infront of a fire in the Chimnea while sipping something cold (or hot).

About the kitchen, that's my wife's world and I won't touch it with the ten foot pole.

My point is that my gut is telling me that this conversion is going to cost the public much more than they realize and it will be years until technology will get back to where we are with analog.

Please remember days of hand held portable TV that cost us nothing to watch will be replaced with tv shows from cellular providers that will charge a premium or viewing using the same spectrum that was used for analog TV.

 

[TexasTom]

My post was a little "tongue in cheek" but the reality is that with this coming recession, the gallop toward an ever growing demand of wireless business services will be sure to slow down. As I remember it, this whole need to convert to digital service was driven by folks like ATT and Verizon simply because they said they needed additional bandwidth.

It really won't make a difference, because the FCC has already auctioned off much of the analog TV spectrum -- it's paid for, and broadcasters will need to vacate those channels whether the new services are ready to go or not.

In any event, I think it will be years before folks replace the TV's on the patio, in the garage and in the kitchen. It's my undstanding that the 7" set in the kitchen that costs $100 is a thing of the past. That same set will cost $500 and have a larger screen and chassis.

There are small digital televisions available for well under $500. Radio Shack sells a 7" model for $199. I've seen 15" sets at under $300.

While that's a long ways from $100, it's certainly a lot better than $500.

 

[kenglish]

..... Last weekend my wife was trying to adjust the antenna "phase" directional selector while tuned to the analog signal, in order
to get the best signal before switching to the digital signal.
When I pointed out to her that it would not be possible come February, she had some comments that I can't remember, but indicated that she could see it's going to be difficult to tune in digital signals.
We're going to miss quite a bit when we change channels and then have to fiddle for 5 minutes each time.
At least in analog you could see what effect your fiddling had.

I went around and around with a viewer (e-mail) about this very thing, a few weeks ago.
She had an RCA converter box and one of those "tuneable rabbit ears". No way to "add" channels to the existing list, and no way to tune the antenna fast enough to keep up with the channel scan process. Of course, the boxes aren't available to try out in the stores, so you don't know this stuff ahead of time!

I went over to Best Buy, to see what kind of antenna she must have had. Not ONE antenna in the store was, what I would consider, "suitable" for local DTV. The plain old rabbit ears would work in some instances, but the "Amplified Rabbit Ears" are all just an overload condition waiting to happen, and the rest wre all "tuneable" rabbit ears. And, no Silver Sensors, or outdoor antennas at all (in the store, or via the web)! Most of our complaints seem to be due to front-end overload.

 

[Markxxx]

I live in Chicago and can only get only three stations with a converter box. I just bought a digital RCA set from Walmart for only $114.00 it has a digital and analog tuner but I can't pick up any digital signals with it. I can get the analog signals great. I have a silver sensor, so I can tell it's gonna be interesting when the signals do go.

I see Comcast is offering a basic digital cable service for $10.00 a month. Good for one year.

I guess I'll have to get that.

(AND YES the set DOES get digital TV, just not in my flat)