LPTV's to shutdown Analog TV signal for July 13th

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

It’s ‘Go Digital or Go Dark’ Time for LPTVs

Most should meet the July 13 analog shutoff

www.tvtechnology.com

I didn't think analog TV still existed until this article came out I knew of LPFM that had to share the analog channel 6 signal for some time had to move to streaming only or shut down or get a different translator signal. Also Analog CRT has not been made since the 2000's. Most TV's made in recent years have to pick up wifi signals for TV apps or used to attach to a cable/streaming receiver or attached to a desktop PC such as Windows or Chrome OS.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—“High noon” is rapidly approaching for the low-power television stations and translators that have not already made the switch to digital broadcasting, with a hard deadline of July 13 having been set by the FCC.

LPTV/translator operators were exempted from the June 2009 mandate which required cessation of analog transmissions by all full-power stations, and were initially given until Sept. 1, 2015 to transition to digital. Some four months before that due date—in consideration of the spectrum auction and repacking moves being made by full-power stations—the commission extended the LPTV digital deadline to mid-summer of this year.

According to the latest FCC figures, there are some 1,985 low-power TV broadcasters (LPTVs) and 3,306 TV translators licensed to operate. This combined facility figure is far greater than the number of full-power stations that had to move away from analog transmissions more than a decade ago. However, as the time for either going digital or going dark is rapidly approaching, most of those in the industry involved with LPTV and translator conversions expressed optimism that the deadline will be met.

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Apparently there is a market for CRT-TV's

 

[Route66Fan]

Apparently there is a market for CRT-TV's

From what I understand, It's people who are into retro gaming that are buying CRT TV's.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Digital TV Converters in TV Accessories - Walmart.com

Shop for Digital TV Converters in TV Accessories. Buy products such as Ematic AT103B Digital Converter Box with LED Display and Recording Capabilities at Walmart and save.

www.walmart.com

Apparently there are still DTV converters on sale for older TV's. But the last time I heard about this was from 2008-2010 around the time the 2009 Full power analog TV signal shutdown came out.

 

[KeithE4]

Digital TV Converters in TV Accessories - Walmart.com

Shop for Digital TV Converters in TV Accessories. Buy products such as Ematic AT103B Digital Converter Box with LED Display and Recording Capabilities at Walmart and save.

www.walmart.com

Apparently there are still DTV converters on sale for older TV's. But the last time I heard about this was from 2008-2010 around the time the 2009 Full power analog TV signal shutdown came out.

Amazon has them for $35 or so. I have one and it works great.

 

[Mediafrog+]

From what I understand, It's people who are into retro gaming that are buying CRT TV's.

True. Vintage video consoles look fuzzy and washed out when up-converted onto a modern HD flatscreen. The old CRT sets look far superior in these cases, being the native resolution for the games.

The prices on the linked Amazon page are stupidly ridiculous; these are “new old stock” that might go for $10 at a flea market. Note that most of them are “not currently available“ and “We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock.” Yeah, good luck with that.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Apparently there are Analog TV Stations on LPTV that are on OTA but as repeaters/translators for their digital subchannels. Note in this video there is a HSN affiliate that's airing on analog OTA that's going to be affected on the July 2021 shutdown.

 

[anotherguyTN]

Deleted

 

[Mgomrjsurf]

Doesn't include low power stations. Also maybe Cable Systems will follow and get rid of
SD versions of Local Channels to open up spaces to add more channels.

 

[anotherguyTN]

True. Vintage video consoles look fuzzy and washed out when up-converted onto a modern HD flatscreen. The old CRT sets look far superior in these cases, being the native resolution for the games.

The prices on the linked Amazon page are stupidly ridiculous; these are “new old stock” that might go for $10 at a flea market. Note that most of them are “not currently available“ and “We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock.” Yeah, good luck with that.

Are we possibly at the point that CRT sets will be considered collectable, especially with new old stock, and the price will increase for them, like trying to find a working cassette deck is now? Also could that happen with VCR's?

 

[Route66Fan]

True. Vintage video consoles look fuzzy and washed out when up-converted onto a modern HD flatscreen. The old CRT sets look far superior in these cases, being the native resolution for the games.

Also, controllers like the NES Zapper light gun only seem to work on CRT TV's.

 

[Mr Tony]

Digital TV Converters in TV Accessories - Walmart.com

Shop for Digital TV Converters in TV Accessories. Buy products such as Ematic AT103B Digital Converter Box with LED Display and Recording Capabilities at Walmart and save.

www.walmart.com

Apparently there are still DTV converters on sale for older TV's. But the last time I heard about this was from 2008-2010 around the time the 2009 Full power analog TV signal shutdown came out.

the new "converter boxes" output HD and you can connect a hard drive to record to them. They are basic units but for the person who doesnt record much it gets the job done

 

[anotherguyTN]

the new "converter boxes" output HD and you can connect a hard drive to record to them. They are basic units but for the person who doesnt record much it gets the job done

I wish these could be made with inputs to allow for connecting to cable or streaming boxes or VCRs. But I'd guess the cable industry is preventing this from happening.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Are we possibly at the point that CRT sets will be considered collectable, especially with new old stock, and the price will increase for them

I rather doubt it. The serious TV collectors are only into the really, really old sets from the 1940s and 50s. Later models were made by the zillions, and they have no real value, and fixing them is a nightmare. Charity thrift stores don't want them, either...all the online advice points to responsibly disposing of old sets at an electronics recycler.

Old CRT sets can be big and bulky. The last CRT standard-def TV I had in my living room was a 27" Sony (KV-27S42.) Although compact for its screen size and an excellent set for the time, the silly thing weighed 86 lbs and was hard to carry, even in my younger years. And Sony even had a 32" version which weighed 140 lbs. Not the sort of thing you want to have pile up around the house.

like trying to find a working cassette deck is now?

Vintage audio cassette deck prices online can be ridiculous and delusional. I saw one listed for $700...and it was the same model I bought new for $150 back in 1995. Also hard to fix.

Also could that happen with VCR's?

VHS units were also made by the zillions. You might get some value for a working Betamax, though. The really sought after video recorders are the "forgotten" formats of the 1970s such as V-Cord, VX and VK.

V-Cord - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

VX (videocassette format) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Akai VK - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[TVCOOL]

True. Vintage video consoles look fuzzy and washed out when up-converted onto a modern HD flatscreen. The old CRT sets look far superior in these cases, being the native resolution for the games.

The prices on the linked Amazon page are stupidly ridiculous; these are “new old stock” that might go for $10 at a flea market. Note that most of them are “not currently available“ and “We don’t know when or if this item will be back in stock.” Yeah, good luck with that.

There are high quality HDMI cords for retro gaming with companies like Hyperkin and Levelhike to fix that problem.

 

[kevtronics]

I have a Panasonic DVD/VCR combo unit with HDMI output and it makes VHS tapes look like crap. The image is way too grainy and over-sharpened. It almost looks like an over-the-air analog TV signal with ghosting. Even on an LCD TV, the composite video output looks much better. Yes, the image is soft, as you'd expect from VHS, but sitting at a distance from the TV, the image looks fine. There are good ways to upscale and enhance standard-definition video, but this isn't it.

It has a couple of other unique features: a built-in digital TV tuner -- a rarity, as most manufacturers simply removed the built-in tuner once the FCC required them to be digital; SQPB (Super Quasi Playback) which allows you to play Super VHS tapes, albeit with only standard VHS resolution; and Panasonic's proprietary VP (Very long Play) speed, which runs the tape at 1/5th the speed of SP, allowing you to record up to 10 hours of video on a T-120 tape.

 

[vchimpanzee]

There was a huge old TV from the days when they actually looked like furniture sitting outside a small appliance store with the word "free". I didn't have a way to bring it home but I would have loved to have it. If I could make it work, but even to be able to look at it. It would still be furniture.

I still have six 19" TV/VCRs, and nearly all work. Except for one, though, the VCRs have quit working. One has a VHS tape stuck in it and won't turn on, and I haven't figured out how to get it out. Who knows? It might work. Other VCRs have a VHS tape stuck in them but if the tape is pulled out enough the TV works. Two TVs have seemed to quit working but after a rest they were good as new. There's another one I should check on but it really did seem like it had quit.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

The initial shutdown of Analog TV was to reallocate UHF TV signals for Telephone, Internet, 3G and 4G spectrum allocation when the 2009 full power shutdown took place.

 

[crainbebo]

A few months ago, the final analog translators in Utah were shut off - including those in Green River UT. There was still a channel 2 translator with very low power, that pulled in KUTV (CBS).
Interesting to see that video of WBPN-LP in Binghamton. They just surrendered the license to the FCC on 6/15/21 however. But seeing Steve Harvey's Family Feud on an analog TV with a fuzzy picture is something we'll never see again. I'm pretty sure that signal was sourced from their DT2 feed on WICZ.

No stations survived 6/12/09 in Yakima. In fact, they all went off on 2/17/09, the original date, except for KCYU-LP (FOX), which flash-cut to digital in December 2008. In Ellensburg, the analog translator for KAPP on channel 63 was turned off in 2012 when the spectrum was sold to wireless companies. KYVE on channel 69 flashcut to digital channel 17 (K17IL-D) around 2009. All other analog translators were shut off somewhere around 2014 or early 2015. So in reality, the analog shutoff didn't really 'happen' for Ellensburg/Kittitas viewers for years after 2009, because of the translators on Manastash.

 

[kevtronics]

You can of course make your own little analog TV station by using the Blonder Tongue modulators that hotels, schools, hospitals, etc. have been dumping on the surplus market as they switch their closed-circuit TV systems to digital.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

KCWY-DT - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Turns out Gray Television manages the NBC affiliate in Wyoming that's running on Analog power and that's affected by the 2021 analog shutdown.