broadcast digital TV

It's coming. Once the FCC decides that the market penetration is sufficient, they'll shut down analog completely. Same thing is happening in the cellular world. The rural carriers are fighting it, the big city boys are pushing it. The date has been moved a few times, and will probably be moved a few more.

We'll see the same thing with HDTV.

I read in one of my sons tech/gadget magazines this morning that the networks have been dragging their feet so much on this issue that the date has been changed. Instead of 2006 it will be 2009.

Wayne

That's right, Wayne. The date has changed several times, and may change again. There are a lot of issues. Some technical, some business, some politics.

One of the big issues is that the stuff just doesn't work as well as it was supposed to. A station that used to cover, say, a city with its suburbs plus a good chunk of rural area around it, may now cover the city, some of its suburbs, and NONE of the rural area. Broadcasters are not happy about this. Those that get it, get a great picture, but a lot of people won't get anything.

Thank you, this is my concern. I guess many of you 'homesteaders' are not nearly as rural as you would like to think! I am 100 miles from most of the broadcast towers, 45 from the 'close' station. A somewhat snowy picture is the norm on 50% of the channels, depending on the weather it will be a different set of good vs bad channels.

My concern is that I will not get _any_ broadcast channels once the signal goes to digital transmission.

I get it, I truely _get_ it that digital uses less bandwith and is therefore better from the techincal side of things. What I'm saying is that from the consumer side, the end user, it will be _much_ worse for people like me. Right? As some of you are unfortunately pointing out, people like me just don't count.....

High-Definition is a seperate, commonly linked thing. It shows more width of a film or show, and is better. Sure. What I am talking about is just the technology of broadcasting tho. And, many TV stars are pretty worried about HD - 6x as many pixels, going to show a _lot_ more wrinkles.....

To Quint - if I can't recieve the stations any more, digital broadcasting is a BAD thing, not the wonderful thing you keep mentioning. Can't you see my point of it? Has nothing to do with quality of the picture, or the saved bandwith, or the multiple options to programmers. It is a step _backwards_ to me..... Go from 8 channels I recieve now, to likely 1. That is _not_ progress......

I can't get high speed internet. I can't get cable TV. Can't do any of those things. It simpley is not available when you live 5 miles from the nearest small town. Period. But, no one cares. Web masters are just stunned if you say you can't download 10 meg files to see their wiz-bang home pages.... I like NASCAR, but as they go to cable, and their home page is unbearibly huge to download, I drift away......

I guess the same with TV. No more free broadcasts. Sure I can get dish TV, but that is a subscription pay service.

Technology moves on, ignoring the rural folks.

My rant for the day, not a big deal, just how it is.

--->Paul

No tv to watch......................tish tish........
Might be a good thing.
Somebody mentioned commericals and cable. Are there a lot of commericals..??.....I haven't a clue. I've never had nor never will Pay for cable.
Yes its unbelieveable the "shacks" with not one but now two of those small sat dishes. Guess those ?people's??? lives totally revolve around watching stupidvision..............pitty

wonder when the $$$ will drop on the new receivers..?

rant off

I'm 12 miles from the nearest small town. I can get HDTV with an antenna or from the satellite and I can get broadband internet access.

My closest broadcaster is probably 40 miles. I think the farthest 60 or more. I could get pretty much crystal clear analog pictures from the big 4 networks and PBS with an outside antenna on a rotor so I'm pretty certain that I could get digital from most of them. When I tried over-the-air HDTV there were two that were broadcasting HD at the time. I could get them with no problem and they are over 40 miles away. I'm on dish satellite now since I rarely watch network TV except for football. I'm more of discovery channel and history channel type of guy.

High speed internet can be had anywhere in the conus via satellite. It has limitations but if you have a view of the southern sky you can have high speed internet. You even have choices. There is starband, directway and now wild blue. Many rural areas are starting to get into the broadband game. Wireless systems are becoming more common and new wireless technologies on the horizon will make this type of thing even easier. If I were in a rural area without broadband access I would be starting my own ISP. Even if you aren't terribly tech savvy there are companies that will come in and install a system and even run the technical side for you. All you have to do is provide the funding and run the business side. An excellent rural small business opportunity. A rural area might not have enough cash flow for a big outfit to bring in broadband but it may have enough cash flow for a small businessman to make a go of it.

I do think rural areas do tend to get left behind in technology especially in broadband access. I think new wireless technologies will help rural areas get broadband. If not I wouldn't object to something like the REA for broadband access. It is something that rural areas desperately need stay viable these days just like electricity, telephone, water, roads, fuel etc.

__________________
Respect The Cactus!

Same thing happened in Australia a few years back when the gummit mandated that analog cellular be turned off. People in the outback screamed bloody murder, but it didn't do any good. Many lost what little coverage they had. In theory, the carriers will build out their digital networks to replace the lost coverage. In practice, it doesn't make economic sense to do so, so it doesn't happen.

Digital coverage should be about the same as analog. The system was designed to replicate the station's original analog coverage areas. But for a UHF assignment to match VHF coverage area requires a lot of power.

Many of the smaller market stations (and some large ones) are not transmitting with full power to save on cost of conversion and the electric bill. They don't get any extra money to transmit HDTV....

End of NTSC was to be 2006.....I'd guess it will happen when your elected representatives think they can stand the heat generated by turning it off.

"Should be" was the original intent. The reality is quite different.

WOW...I have been enlightened. The mail man droped into the box a super slick glossy piece from those wonderfull Dell people. I am so gratefull.............(I might even throw up)

The dell 50" plasma HDTV is a bargin at only............$3799
For that price, guess I'll get one for every room.
Come to think about it, maybe I'll just get the 32" LCD HDTV at.....$1799 for in the bath room.

Such wonderfull bargins


Gonna be a very long while before I pop for that kind of stuff.
Wonder how many other homesteads will do be doing without.