NTSC shut down in 2009

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Duffinator

I've owned an HDTV for six years now and I can't wait until all broadcast are in widescreen HD. I've been disappointed that the NTSC shut down has been postponed as many times as it has. The technology has been available for many years to convert an ATSC signal to display on a NTSC display.

You make it sound like you live in a cave. Here in California most of the people I know have had at least one HDTV for a couple of years now and many have two like I do. But that's a generalization just like you made. You can hardly find a non HD capable tv in the stores anymore.

As for this NEW flat panel technology, both plasma and LCD displays have been around for three decades or more. Where I work we've had LCD monitors in use for at least seven years with no more issues than their CRT brothers. Now we have had problems with plasma TV's but the LCD's seem to hold up much better. As good as CRT? Probably not but not much worse either. The problem is if you want to watch something larger than a 4x3 35" you need to move away from a CRT. I for one really enjoying watching a DVD movie on my 56" HDTV with full Dolby Digital surround sound. And there's nothing like watching Star Wars on my friends 110" HD projector setup. It's just not quite the same on a 35" non HD set. I also haven't seen a CRT HDTV that's capable of displaying a 1080P picture that's available to the general public. Technology marches on and I've enjoyed marching along with it. Hail Hail ATSC widescreen HD!

I think California is a lot different that Pittsburgh, PA. Except for medical technology, the joke here is that "Pittsburgh is still stuck in the 1950's and if the world was coming to an end, come here, you'll get an extra 50 years to live." I only know, if lucky, one or two people with HDTV, the rest still have analogue sets. Myself, I still use a 1982 (it turns 24 this month) Zenith System 3 that I've been watching since high school (we bought it in 1983) and there are times, it has a picture on it to rival some HDTV's. So far, we plan to use it past 2009. I'm not like my grandmother (*), although I know many people here in Pittsburgh who are, where she watched her 1962 RCA B&W (with no UHF tuner) and still used a rotary phone until she passed on in 1997. She'd still be doing that if she was alive now. If she lasted until 2009 and the date was not pushed back, she would be screaming bloody murder. I'd guess I'd better find her a convertor box PDQ before she advocates the overthrow of the FCC, the US Government or something.

That's not quite true, sometimes the 1982 Zenith, there are a few times the "old girl" acts up, I'm looking for parts, but it is somewhat rare and shutting her down for a half a week to a week for a little rest, she goes on for months after that, we have a 1998 19 inch color Zenith as a backup. Use to be in my room, but now I called back my 1966 Sony B&W 9 inch TV where my Playstation is hooked to it.

Chuck

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