QUERY: Analog TV Broadcasting Signal Shutoff Date?

[Darth K'Trava]

I am holding out with my boxy CRT TV. I have been eyeing those LCD screens though. But alas, not in the budget...

The technology will likely change again soon anyway.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

For those interested in the FCC's point-of-view.

I've got a widescreen LCD for the comp but just a regular ol' 13" color TV. HDTV is just too expensive for me.

 

[Greylock]

All TVs made after Januaray 1995 (I think, may have the date wrong) have been HD compliant due to FCC ordinance. All modern plasma, LCD, LED TVs are HD compliant (if not, you have the right to sue the manufacturer on behalf of the government). I feel for those folks that still have b/w sets (and yes, I've seen them).

Can anyone confirm this??

If so, I had no idea this teevee was HD compliant. I bought my first DVD player sometime in the middle of 1997. After only one evening, I decided the old teevee had to go, and went back to the store and bought the teevee I still use today.

I didn't think it was HD compliant. How does one tell?

 

[Ranger REG]

Can anyone confirm this??

If so, I had no idea this teevee was HD compliant. I bought my first DVD player sometime in the middle of 1997. After only one evening, I decided the old teevee had to go, and went back to the store and bought the teevee I still use today.

I didn't think it was HD compliant. How does one tell?

I don't know. Is your "teevee" LCD or Plasma? Does it happen to have a Component Video Input?

 

[ssampier]

Can anyone confirm this??

If so, I had no idea this teevee was HD compliant. I bought my first DVD player sometime in the middle of 1997. After only one evening, I decided the old teevee had to go, and went back to the store and bought the teevee I still use today.

I didn't think it was HD compliant. How does one tell?

I think they mean HD (quasi) ready, meaning you have to buy a converter box. The picture won't be as sharp as real HD, but it'll work.

 

[The_Universe]

The last stage is to shut down the analog TV transmission so those frequencies can be used for another [commercial?] purpose for the FCC to assign. By then, anyone with analog TV must get subscription service or an over-the-air ATSC tuner box, which are not many available in the market right now.

I believe the intention is to sell those frequencies to wireless communication providers, like cell-phone companies and wireless internet providers (WiMax, etc.). The current frequency range allocated to digital cell phones and wirless internet just doesn't allow the bandwidth necessary for 3rd generation (and beyond) wireless communications, so something that offers a lot of bandwidth (analog TV frequencies) had to be made available. That's why your cell company is trying to sell you text messaging (tiny bandwidth use) rather than full internet capability.

Once those new frequencies are available, however, they'll be looking for all sorts of ways to get your money so they can improve the communications infrastructure.

 

[Ranger REG]

Once those new frequencies are available, however, they'll be looking for all sorts of ways to get your money so they can improve the communications infrastructure.

That assumes I want to get a cell phone.

I got a question that has been bugging me since high-definition broadcasting has been popping up all over. Is it better than analog TV signal in terms of reception quality? Is it a much stronger signal that won't give me snow or ghost images?

 

[The_Universe]

That assumes I want to get a cell phone.

I got a question that has been bugging me since high-definition broadcasting has been popping up all over. Is it better than analog TV signal in terms of reception quality? Is it a much stronger signal that won't give me snow or ghost images?

Theoretically yes.

Although digital signals are no less vulnerable to interference, weather, and other phenomena that can damage the signal than analog signals are, you should notice fewer problems in your actual viewing experience (and, of course, ATSC signals reproduce a greater range of colors, use more pixels, etc.). The reason you'll see fewer errors, shadows, and ghosts, is that digital signals going over the airwaves are designed to account for lost data packets and other data transmission issues.

There's actually a short (fractions of a second) of a delay between the time when your TV receives a digital signal, and the time when the tiny computer inside sends the data it has received to the screen. This delay is there to allow lost data packets to "catch up" with the rest of the information the TV is receiving, so it always has enough information to reconstruct the picture and sound as the broadcaster intended.

How does the lost packet catch up? Digital antennas continually dump the same information out onto the airwaves, just in case data gets lost somewhere along the way. If your antenna has perfect reception, it just ignores the extra data. If there's interference, the idea is that at least one copy of each of the packets is going to hit your TV.

At the very least, that's how I've been led to believe it works.

 

[Ranger REG]

Theoretically yes.

Although digital signals are no less vulnerable to interference, weather, and other phenomena that can damage the signal than analog signals are, you should notice fewer problems in your actual viewing experience (and, of course, ATSC signals reproduce a greater range of colors, use more pixels, etc.). The reason you'll see fewer errors, shadows, and ghosts, is that digital signals going over the airwaves are designed to account for lost data packets and other data transmission issues.

There's actually a short (fractions of a second) of a delay between the time when your TV receives a digital signal, and the time when the tiny computer inside sends the data it has received to the screen. This delay is there to allow lost data packets to "catch up" with the rest of the information the TV is receiving, so it always has enough information to reconstruct the picture and sound as the broadcaster intended.

How does the lost packet catch up? Digital antennas continually dump the same information out onto the airwaves, just in case data gets lost somewhere along the way. If your antenna has perfect reception, it just ignores the extra data. If there's interference, the idea is that at least one copy of each of the packets is going to hit your TV.

At the very least, that's how I've been led to believe it works.

The system is designed to allow for lost data packets

Theoretically, but how's the application so far? Big difference? Slight difference?

 

[The_Universe]

Theoretically, but how's the application so far? Big difference? Slight difference?

We have high-def service through Comcast cable, not over a normal broadcast antenna, so our situation is not exactly analogous to what you're talking about.

That said, in my experience, image quality is MUCH better with HD (assuming you have an HD TV) than it is with analog, or even with lower-definition digital standards (like dish network/directv/digital cable). It's not really any less susceptible to storms and other interference than analog TV, but as long as the picture is coming in, it's a really good picture. Significantly better than say DVD.

But if you don't have an HD TV, I'm guessing you won't notice much of a difference. Maybe a slight improvement, but nothing spectacular.

 

[Ranger REG]

We have high-def service through Comcast cable, not over a normal broadcast antenna, so our situation is not exactly analogous to what you're talking about.

Um, yeah. I'm not one to pay for something that can be broadcasted over-the-air (OTA). So unless there's free cable...

I was hoping someone out there who's as cheap as an SOB can be already experienced OTA digital TV viewing experience on an ED (or enhanced definition) or HD TV set.

But if you don't have an HD TV, I'm guessing you won't notice much of a difference. Maybe a slight improvement, but nothing spectacular.

Well, I WAS thinking of getting the SD (or standard definition) TV with built-in ATSC tuner, so when 2009 roll around I don't have to worry about getting one of those converter boxes, which I assume can be connected to your TV's coaxial input, right? If not, then it makes no sense buying a ED- or HD-ready TV that have only one set of component video inputs, for which I'll have to share with my progressive scan DVD player and a future HDTV receiver.