How many people ask you this stupid question?

[AUdubon5425]

[QUOTE=Jeffhs;2431154]Did you tell your acquaintance that there is no need for a converter box if he already has a digital cable STB (settop box) and digital cable?[\QUOTE]

Of course! He told me he has a non-cable ready TV, and he uses a VCR to tune in cable channels. He doesn't want to upgrade to digital cable - I think he has the "mandated by law" basic 20-channel cable package.

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

Your acquaintance, not unlike tens of thousands of other folks in the US, has a lot to learn about DTV. I'm surprised he hasn't heard about the transition by now, or if he has, he might not understand it.

The problem was that he didn't understand it. He thought if he did not have digital cable, he wouldn't be able to receive cable channels without a converter box. From talking to him it seems he mainly watches network news programming, and his understanding of the transition was mainly from the scare banners and word-of-mouth. I've read where some stations have run a public service program explaining the change, but so far I am unaware of such a program airing on a local New Orleans station.

On a side note, WVUE-TV, which was the first (and only) station to end it's analog broadcast thus far in New Orleans, has not transmitted a DTV over-the-air signal in several days. Teething problems, I guess.

[peverett]

The FCC just fined several cable companies for "stealing" peoples analog channels. See:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine...tml?source=rss

I am not sure this will do any good. So far Time Warner has stolen 3 of my channels.

As soon as I get another means for high speed internet in my neighborhood, I am going to ditch Time Warner for satellite.

[AUdubon5425]

Quote from WWL-TV's "DTV Countdown" page (www.wwltv.com/dtv/):

Your current television will work as it does now until analog broadcasting stops. Under federal law, analog service will continue until most homes (85%) in an area are able to watch the DTV programming.

Wow - I totally missed this. Guess it's all the scare banners and countdown clocks we're barraged with. Now, how exactly would they determine 85% of homes could watch DTV? Are they testing signal coverage, or estimating the number of coupons distributed in an area? And what about that 15% who are unable to pick up a DTV transmission in their area - "too bad, you have to pay for cable or satellite now." Fifteen percent is not an insignificant number - put it in perspective, 15% is:

15,750,000 American households
159,295 Chicago households
113,549 San Francisco households

Even after the transition is over, your current TV will not become obsolete. A converter box can be used to receive broadcast DTV signals and change them into the format of your current television. In addition, if you use your analog set with a multichannel pay service like cable or satellite, it will continue to work as it always has. [B]Even with a converter box, however, your current analog television will not be capable of displaying the full picture quality of DTV. To enjoy the full picture quality, you must have a DTV set.[\B] Subscribers to cable and DBS services should contact their providers regarding converter boxes for those services.

I think they should have a disclaimer about picture quality vs. signal quality.
Or are they implying high definition?

Also, am I the only one who finds hi-def digital programs somewhat more tiring on the eyes after a while?

[peverett]

That part about your TV working as it always has if you have cable should be modified to "your TV will work as it always has until the cable company steals your analog channels and places them on premium service"

I, for one hope those 15 million households scream to high heaven to their representatives. Although some of released spectrum may be used for emergency services, most will be used by corporations(many of whom have a sorry track record with customers already) to make yet more money. To me, this is essentially theft from the American people.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by peverett

That part about your TV working as it always has if you have cable should be modified to "your TV will work as it always has until the cable company steals your analog channels and places them on premium service"

I don't think the FCC will allow the cable companies to move broadcast channels to premium levels of service. I also believe the cable providers may be violating who knows how many laws by "stealing" analog stations and relocating them to premium tiers. The broadcast channels in any given area are the stations people watch most of the time, and let's face it--cable service was never free. We pay for every level of service there is on every cable system in the US, even the bare-bones local-channels-only service.

The government is making much too big a deal over the DTV transition, and has from its first announcements of same back in 2006 or thereabouts. From those dire warnings that "all televisions will go black after xx.xx.2006" to that ridiculous nightmare scenario stating that there will be millions of analog TVs being put out for the trash (because unmodified analog TVs will not receive digital signals), and everything in between, the campaign to educate the public about DTV has become, IMHO, one huge, overdramatic soap opera.

As I have said in my previous posts, sheeeesh! What a mess! The viewers who use OTA antennas and live in poor-signal areas will be affected the worst by the switch, no thanks to DTV's "all or nothing" nature. These people could get cable if they are in an area served by a cable provider, but those who are not, or who cannot afford cable and must make do with OTA, are going to be left in the lurch if their TV reception is anything short of darn near perfect. This is due to digital television's "all or nothing" nature; with digital, you will either see a picture or your screen will be blank--no snow as with weak analog signals. Who is going to tolerate watching the evening news, for example, when the picture is breaking up into squares (pixelating) or disappearing altogether because of weather or other reasons?

This is already happening with the cable system here in northeastern Ohio. I was watching a football game with a friend of mine last Sunday when the picture suddenly froze, and the sound went silent as well. I don't know if this was an issue with the cable provider or the local TV station, but I bet there were plenty of viewers throughout the area who witnessed the same thing my friend and I did--and they probably (even likely) did not like it, one bit.

I see this kind of freeze-up every now and again on the cable here; I wonder if anyone else has seen this on their local cable systems. The local channels, at least in my area, are being carried on the cable as analog signals, and will be until 02.19. If I am seeing this kind of interruption now, I almost hate to think what may be in store once everything is digital.