Trying to enter the 21st. century........

uncle Alan

uncle Alan

Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
1,830
I am totally & utterly lost about the 2009 T/V changeover. Why is it necessary ?
We have a very large home & have 6 T/V sets. The newer ones are a year old 27" & a 32 " hdtv.
What /how can I tell which of the others will becone defunct when the change comes about ?

Why is this happening ? Are their frequencies needed for cell phones,broader commuications ?


UIncle Alan :confused: [ never said I was smart ]
 
It's just like new car models, new computer program versions, and new, improved laundry detergents! If you are happy with what you've got, the manufacturers aren't making any more money off you.

Now we have this new scam: you HAVE to buy a new one because they'll make the old one so obsolete it won't work. :(

I'm just glad my good old TVs still work with my good old videos and DVDs because I don't .. watch .. much .. TV :D
 
No need to replace your old TV. If you presently use any sort of cable box/decoder, it will translate the "digital" signal for you just fine. If not, a decoder box of some sort might be necessary.
 
a converter will be available so old tvs arent worthless-
i just went hdtv myself-WOW-its perfect for watching football-thats the reason i bought it-even had a antenna installed outside so i can watch the giants on fox because cable doesnt carry hd fox-
 
mwerner said:
No need to replace your old TV. If you presently use any sort of cable box/decoder, it will translate the "digital" signal for you just fine. If not, a decoder box of some sort might be necessary.
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Hookup for the HDTV . So ,in essence, ALL other TV's will need a converter ? Since my year old 27 " could be okay,how can I tell--what to look for ?

Uncle Alan :confused:
 
hdtv's will have a label thats says hdtv on the front-
just because its a new tv doesnt make it a hdtv-
 
Actually, not only are we switching to HDTV, but we're also adding HDCP, HDTV Digital Content Protection. And that goes live next year. Your Cable or satellite company will either replace your set top box or will push new software into it. HDCP will disable box's the analog video outputs anytime copyrighted programming is being shown (such as movies and major sporting events) so that you can't record them. Only the HDMI digital output will work. The HDMI interface is encrypted and only non-recording display devices are supposed to be able to decode it.

Of course, what this also means is that if your TV is interfaced to your set top box via an analog interface, composite (the yellow jack), S-Video (the four-pin circular plug), component (three cables usually red, green, and blue in color), or VESA, the 15-pin plug that' usually blue), then you will not be able to watch protected programming.

Legally, there is no way to make an adapter to work around this.

Most TVs purchased for less than about a thousand bucks more than a couple of years ago do not have HDMI. No set purchased more than about three years ago, even if it has an HDMI interface, has HDCP capabilities. It may be possible to add HDCP to some older HDMI-equipped sets with a firmware upgrade, but whether or not the set manufacturers will make those upgrades available for out-of-production models is unclear. And putting the new software into those sets is probably not something the consumer can do himself.

Sorry. This wasn't my idea.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
It's just like new car models, new computer program versions, and new, improved laundry detergents! If you are happy with what you've got, the manufacturers aren't making any more money off you.

Now we have this new scam: you HAVE to buy a new one because they'll make the old one so obsolete it won't work. :(

I'm just glad my good old TVs still work with my good old videos and DVDs because I don't .. watch .. much .. TV :D
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I find this a little harsh and one sided. In my opinion, the current video technology we have is antiquated. Every other form of communication and electronics have grown by several generations but we still use the television system setup decades ago without any foresight into the huge advances in technology that have occurred. The real question is how do we go from the technology equivalent of a computer with a cassette tape drive for storage, an 8 bit CPU, and a few Kilobytes of memory to one of the high performance value oriented midrange models offered by Dell, HP, etc. that enable forums like this one to thrive?

I won't deny that big business has had a negative influence on the technology deployment in the current HDTV system. Thank the lobbyist and self centered politicians who cater to political hacks who "buy" them with financial contributions and questionable "perks". Taxpayers like us get saddled with hobbled technology instead of forcing the dinosaurs to move on to a business model that is compatible with modern society thanks to free market choice by the population at large. The days of the buggy whip are long gone but, I feel like at times congress (or is that big business and lobbyists and special interest groups) are mandating everyone conform to their antiquated or special interest ideals and views. What about freedom of choice and free market enterprise? Can we really legislate it away?

Off my soapbox....

Due to the enormous volume of televisions sets that do not support HDTV today, you should expect some enterprising Chinese company to mass produce a cost effective converter to go from HDTV signals to your current antiquated set. Expect Congress to try to ban it or tax it. :rolleyes:
 
Sid Post said:
.....................................
Due to the enormous volume of televisions sets that do not support HDTV today, you should expect some enterprising Chinese company to mass produce a cost effective converter to go from HDTV signals to your current antiquated set. Expect Congress to try to ban it or tax it. :rolleyes:
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Yes, and my question is; The companies will lose a tremendous amount of revenue from the majority of the population that doesn't have HDTV compatible sets when the switchover comes.
Will the short term profit mentality of American business and investment be willing to sustain this loss for a couple of years+ when they initially lose tons of subscribers and money?:eek:

A lot of people won't be coming back, I'm guessing. I know we won't. There's just too little of interest on TV anymore to warrant an increased expense to watch crap programming.
 
There's just too little of interest on TV anymore to warrant an increased expense to watch crap programming.
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The impression I get is that nothing is more important to Americans than television. Take a drive through the poorest neighborhoods you can find, and you still see dozens of satellite dishes and big screen TVs. When there's a disaster and power is out for an extended period, people rush out to buy generators. What do you think is the first thing that gets plugged in after the fridge?

There is already legislation working its way through congress that calls for government subsidy of converter boxes for needy individuals. You can scrape every possible buck off of the middle class, but make sure the working poor get their nightly reality TV fix, or they might be out on the streets causing trouble.
 
craigz said:
The impression I get is that nothing is more important to Americans than television. Take a drive through the poorest neighborhoods you can find, and you still see dozens of satellite dishes and big screen TVs. When there's a disaster and power is out for an extended period, people rush out to buy generators. What do you think is the first thing that gets plugged in after the fridge?

There is already legislation working its way through congress that calls for government subsidy of converter boxes for needy individuals. You can scrape every possible buck off of the middle class, but make sure the working poor get their nightly reality TV fix, or they might be out on the streets causing trouble.
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Dull programming attracts dull viewers ?

To me 95 percent of 'prime time ' TV is garbage . The news is manipulated but my interest lies in A & E, Discovery & the history channel because it's continuning education. Sports,particullary NASCAR holds my interest too.

We have so many TV sets because here todays guests like to watch the late news or the 2 late-night comedians before retiring.
Me, I let preset music lull me to sleep......


Different strokes .....


Uncle Alan :D
 
Yeah, they're working to get poor people converters. It was mentioned by one senator that people don't listen to the radio much anymore, so the primary means of getting news/warnings out to people is now the TV. Well, you forget, of course, the BILLIONS of dollars they'll make selling off the old singal bandwidth when the TVs all have to switch over. To me, we've been sold a bill of goods and they put the date sufficiently down the road so that people wouldn't begin to talk about things until its all in place. Ahh, your tax dollars at work...

-Anthony
 
At the risk of turning this into a political discussion, please keep in mind that the upcoming switch to HDTV is the culmination of events spread out over the last fifteen or so years. You can't blame this on any one administration or any one politician. Fundamentally, this is happening because this industry wants to change the way it sells its product and consumers have indicated that they want to change the way they buy it.

Approximately 99% of American households have access to cable TV today. 2/3 of American households get their TV via Cable*. If you add Satellite**, those two together deliver TV to well over 3/4 of American households. Why should a huge chunk of valuable spectrum be used for something that the vast majority of consumers and providers don't want anymore?

The long-term goal, as the FCC has articulated, is to transition terestrial broadcast TV to HDTV in less desirable spectrum (desirable at least for TV broadcast) planning to eventually shut that down after the vast majority of TV Viewers switch to satellite and/or cable. Terestrial TV broadcast will probably come to an end within the next twenty years.

It's called the future. Get used to it.





* http://www.ncta.com/Docs/PageContent.cfm?pageID=86
** Because satellite is delivered by only two companies and because neither publishes such data not particularly wanting to tell the other what its market penetration is, it's more difficult to estimate the number of American households with satellite. But that the number is in excess of 13% is fairly undisputed.
 
uncle Alan said:
Dull programming attracts dull viewers ?

To me 95 percent of 'prime time ' TV is garbage . The news is manipulated but my interest lies in A & E, Discovery & the history channel because it's continuning education. Sports,particullary NASCAR holds my interest too.

...

Different strokes .....


Uncle Alan :D
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Without Cable TV, I would have almost no need for a television set since I can watch DVDs on this computer. Educational TV on cable like The History Channel, Learning Channel, Discovery and similar are what keep me paying for cable. I find Deutsche Welle and the BBC a breath of fresh air after listening to the major networks pander to advertisers and their own personal biases that generally favor liberal and socialist causes. I find it ironic that I need to go overseas to get a diverse view of world events with the major networks excluding the issues and viewpoints of the rest of the world frequently. Give me the facts and let me decide - I don't need you to decide for me.

I have no illusions that my educational television content is going to improve in HDTV because I don't see it being re-shot or re-mastered anytime soon to take advantage of the better performance HDTV offers. It's a shame too with what is added to scenes of nature around the world with better video quality.

Rant mode off....
 
Maybe the future. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Somehow, I can see this all turning out very bad, but maybe I'm just paranoid. For the record, the only reason I'd get satellite is to get NESN. Period.

-Anthony
 
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