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It's Feb. 18..what does your TV dial look like now?
- Thread starter gr8oldies
- Start date
gr8oldies said:
Absolutely no change yet here in western NY - 4 Sinclair stations (WUTV 29 Buffalo, WUHF 31 Rochester, WNYS 43/WSYT 68 Syracuse) are running in nightlight mode, but the nearest stations that have gone completely off (WKTV 2 Utica, WWNY 7 Watertown) aren't common winter catches, so their absence (well, conversion to digital on 7 for WWNY) won't be noticeable until the spring.
The channel that completely opens up for me now, in theory at least, is 35, where WWNY-DT's interim operation and the analog signal of WSEE Erie PA are both gone - but a good trop opening could always overcome both of those, anyway...last September, I logged WLIO Lima OH on that channel with both WSEE and WWNY-DT on the air.
They say our channels 3 and 38 here in the Tampa/St. Pete area went digital. I just got out my little hand held 2" LCD TV that I keep with my storm emergency kit to see. 3 and 38 no longer exist. I got a sad feeling too. Change has been a good thing when it came to things like CDs, DVDs, and wireless phones but I just don't see this the same way. I don't see why this has to be mandatory.
gar fla said:
We've been operating a dual analog/digital broadcast system in the US for 11 years now, believe it or not.
It can't last forever, and here's why:
The primary impetus behind the conversion to DTV came not from broadcasters but from wireless providers and emergency first responders. They've long coveted some of the huge chunk of UHF spectrum that was once reserved solely for broadcasters. In the eighties, channels 70-83 (806-890 MHz) were removed from the TV spectrum and handed over largely to cell phones.
But there was no way, with the relatively inefficient spectrum use of analog TV, to keep the existing number of stations on the air and reduce the TV broadcast spectrum (now 470-806 MHz, channels 14-69) any further. Nor could wireless/2-way users coexist with analog TV on the existing TV broadcast spectrum.
Enter digital TV - because digital signals can operate on adjacent channels and other "taboo" channels in a way analog channels can't, it became possible to "re-pack" the TV spectrum into less space - channels 2-51, freeing up channels 52-69 (700-806 Mhz) to be sold (in part) to the highest bidder, and given away (in part) for emergency agencies to use to improve their communications.
That re-packing process, and the vacating of channels 52-69, cannot be completed until analog TV goes away, since some DTV signals have been operating up in those upper channels for lack of space in the remaining "core" spectrum. (In Tampa, for instance, the digital signals for channels 3, 10, 38 and 44 all move to channels now occupied by analog signals at the end of transition.)
Even if there were some magic way to give every station two channels (one for digital, one for analog) within the post-transition core spectrum (channels 2-51), you still couldn't do double operation forever. TV stations have been spending VERY large sums of money to keep two signals on the air for quite a few years now, at no benefit to their bottom lines, and they're not going to expend any more money at this point to keep dying analog transmitters maintained and operable. (In a lot of cases, it's literally impossible to even get replacement parts for the older analog transmitters.)
In short, while the transition to DTV may seem like a recent development, it's actually a very complicated, intricately-planned dance that was set in motion as far back as 1996, and it's progressed way too far now for it to be possible to turn back.
You'll notice that I haven't even mentioned anywhere in here the benefits to viewers from DTV multicasting or widespread adoption of HD programming via DTV. Those were never the real intent of this transition. The goal, initially, was to raise money for the Federal budget by selling off the upper end of the UHF spectrum, and that's been accomplished. Everything else is a fringe benefit (or downside, as the case may be.)
A swing of the antenna from south central Indiana reveals that local WCLJ 42 is gone, but the mainstays from Terre Haute, Indy, Louisville & Cincinnati are still on in analog. WHAS 11/Louisville has been operating at 50% power since October in anticipation of Feb 17...guess they'll stay at 50% for the rest of their analog life--word is they converted 1/2 of their analog transmitter for HD operation on 11. They are just as good here (70 miles) at 1/2 power as they were at full power.
Here in Evansville, IN/Owensboro, KY analog is still in vogue. I had figured KET would shut off analog since they have been ahead of the curve but that wasn't the case.
I borrow this from the East Tennessee board, the last moments of WDEF Chattanooga. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwgIHHkxFb8 It's worth sharing for the last words ever used on WDEF analog's signal. What a way to say goodbye to analog.
I borrow this from the East Tennessee board, the last moments of WDEF Chattanooga. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwgIHHkxFb8 It's worth sharing for the last words ever used on WDEF analog's signal. What a way to say goodbye to analog.
Here in Phoenix, KTAZ Ch. 39 (Telemundo) and KPPX Ch. 51 (Ion) are gone from the analog world. KTAZ flash-cut, while KPPX-DT moved from 52 to 51. KAZT-CA Ch. 7 (RF 27) shut down their analog signal over a year ago.
The other analog stations, including all LPTVs/Class A's, are still on the air.
The other analog stations, including all LPTVs/Class A's, are still on the air.
BobOnTheJob said:
WIPB 49 Muncie is also gone it looks.
seems the analog indys cut power awhile back.. and my opinion so far of DTV is its crap. 1 station WNDY 23 comes in (and its no where near the quality of the analog) 49 WIPB everyone once and awhile will blip in but wont stay long ends up in a frozen pic
F
FreddyE1977
Guest
The only difference for me has been that WPMY-TV 22 in Pittsburgh has signed-off analog, which opens a clear
signal for WFMJ-21 analog in Youngstown, Ohio. At least till June 12. The other local stations to drop analog
were WPGH 53 and WTRF 7 in Wheeling, WV. WPGH is not adjacent to anything, and WTRF immediately flash-cut
to their new digital signal on 7.
signal for WFMJ-21 analog in Youngstown, Ohio. At least till June 12. The other local stations to drop analog
were WPGH 53 and WTRF 7 in Wheeling, WV. WPGH is not adjacent to anything, and WTRF immediately flash-cut
to their new digital signal on 7.
In Jackson, TN WLJT PBS 11 shut down their analog signal at midnight Feb. 16th and is now on in digital on channel 47. WJKT Fox 16 was originally on the list to still shut down on Tuesday but that apparently changed to where they are staying on. WBBJ ABC 7 is also still on for now.
In Jackson, Mississippi WLBT, WJTV, WAPT,WUFX, and WDBD is still operating analog WRBJ flash cut to digital the middle of January. All full power Mississippi Public Broadcasting stations statewide went to digital. Where I live I can also get Meridian, Ms and WGBC, and WMDN went digital and WTOK-TV is still analog.
In Greenwood-Greenville, Ms , WXVT and WABG are all digital. In Columbus-Tupelo, WCBI, WLOV, and WKDH are all digital with WTVA as Analog. In Laurel- Hattiesburg- Biloxi, Ms only WXXV went digital with WDAM, WHLT, and WLOX still analog.
In Greenwood-Greenville, Ms , WXVT and WABG are all digital. In Columbus-Tupelo, WCBI, WLOV, and WKDH are all digital with WTVA as Analog. In Laurel- Hattiesburg- Biloxi, Ms only WXXV went digital with WDAM, WHLT, and WLOX still analog.
And here I was blaming the popularity of HD.Scott Fybush said:
But if there's such a need for new spectrum, why in the world will anyone still be using channels 2-6, which are nearly useless for digital TV?
Why not change the usage of those frequencies too?
In fact, channels 7-13 aren't very good either. Or so I hear.
vchimpanzee said:
You hear wrong, to a certain extent. Many engineers believe that the high-V channels (7-13) are the best place to do DTV, since they offer a compromise between the lower power demands of VHF and the ability to use smaller receive antennas that UHF offers.
Channels 2-6 are useless for spectrum-auction purposes for the same reason they're challenging for DTV. The demand right now for new spectrum is for mobile devices like Blackberries and iPhones, which by their nature can't incorporate very large receive antennas. If the antenna in your phone is only a few inches long, as it has to be, it needs to operate on a wavelength that's no more than a few inches long - which means 700 MHz or above.
By contrast, 54 MHz (TV channel 2) is a wavelength about 18 *feet* long. That's great for wide-area coverage at fairly minimal transmitter power, and it works quite nicely with big rooftop antennas, but not so well with indoor rabbit ears or with mobile devices.
There's just not much demand for those low-band V frequencies for anything but TV broadcasting, which is why - so far - channels 2-6 have remained in digital TV use even though most broadcasters are moving elsewhere.
I guess the reason I thought channels 7-13 weren't so good is that you need an antenna designed specifically for those channels. I'll find out on June 14. I'll be out of town the day of the change.
Now I have to wonder why they couldn't let stations continue to air anlaog signals on channels 2 through 6.
Or have new FM frequencies on 82 through 88.
Now I have to wonder why they couldn't let stations continue to air anlaog signals on channels 2 through 6.
Or have new FM frequencies on 82 through 88.
Actually, v'zee makes a decent point about the low-band VHF spectrum.
Why not expand the FM band? Then you could transition some AM signals onto that low part of the FM band (76-88 MHz). Which could be the salvation of a lot of broadcasters and of the AM band (which works best when uncrowded). There's plenty of room on the 76-88 MHz frequencies for the most worthy applicants and you could have new consumer equipment out there pretty quickly thanks to Japan's long-time use of those frequencies. It would catch on a heck of a lot faster than HD has!
Clearly, the FCC is pretty short-sighted about this and totally lacking in original ideas or imagination - no shock to anyone who's had to deal with them.
Why not expand the FM band? Then you could transition some AM signals onto that low part of the FM band (76-88 MHz). Which could be the salvation of a lot of broadcasters and of the AM band (which works best when uncrowded). There's plenty of room on the 76-88 MHz frequencies for the most worthy applicants and you could have new consumer equipment out there pretty quickly thanks to Japan's long-time use of those frequencies. It would catch on a heck of a lot faster than HD has!
Clearly, the FCC is pretty short-sighted about this and totally lacking in original ideas or imagination - no shock to anyone who's had to deal with them.
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