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#31
12-01-2006, 05:08 PM
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So for the sake of the of a few movies we get a whole new format? That sounds kinda crazy.
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BTW my leases on my rentals say: "Tenants with rent that remains unpaid shall not be permitted to attach any manner of television reception equipment to the landlord's property." It's better than turning the electricity turned off, and its legal! But I digeress... Quote:
There is no compelling need for wholesale conversion to digital TV. You (figurative) can watch super-sharp digital video of the rain forest all day for all I care, even on an OTA digital signal. My question is, why has the government said, after 2009, if you broadcast an analog TV signal, you're going to jail? While there is no actual need to shutdown analog, However I see safety at risk when these digital signals drop in a natural/unnatural disaster. Right now, if somebody blows all the Detroit transmitters in Southfield, I can still get news/information from Toledo... Or Canada.. Or even Cleveland with my old Chromacolor II. The reason is, nobody (figurative) cares about HDTV! Given free-market conditions, it would (has) bomb(ed). If both systems were to broadcast (as they do now) broadcasters would decide when it's no longer worth it to broadcast analog or digital. AM & FM co-exist, and AM has evolved into a "talk" format, or a low-cost way to broadcast music, because a FM signal sounds far better than AM. Why not let the same happen between analog and digital TV? But our government, which loves to drone on about free-trade, global markets, and lassie-fair capitalism only follows those principles when the rich can skim a buck from it. Again, don't take it personal... I'm just expressing a side that I don't often see voiced.
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From Captain Video, 1/4/2007 "It seems that Italian people are very prone to preserve antique stuff." 
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#32
12-01-2006, 05:14 PM
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 Better get used to it. So what do you do when you go to see a movie at a theater? Put your hands up so you only see a 4x3 screen? 
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#33
12-01-2006, 05:18 PM
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Must not be that boring... You've been reading it.
 In fact, this must be even better than whatever thrilling performance you aren't watching in HD.
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From Captain Video, 1/4/2007 "It seems that Italian people are very prone to preserve antique stuff."
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#34
12-01-2006, 05:51 PM
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What's wrong with living in the past? I've been trying to do so for some time now, I drive a '72 Buick, watch a '61 Zenith, and I still got one of those rotary phones.
As far as the digital TVs, I have no plans of ever buying a new TV, they're just not for me. Most of my daily watching sets are from the 60s, most of the time I watch b/w, but I have a few old color sets that get a very good picture when I want to watch in color. I watch TV over the air, and basically all I ever watch is one channel, KDOC 56. I just couldn't see paying for cable to get hundreds of channels I would never watch. I would rather just buy copies of the shows I like on DVD. Now if I could get one of those converter boxes cheap, I would want to try it mainly just to see what digital tv reception is like, to see from how far away I can pick up a signal. Also I like that idea with the uhf modulator, then I could still use my uhf converters. 
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#35
12-01-2006, 10:00 PM
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I have heard that one of the reasons for the conversion to digital TV is so some of the cell phone/telecom people can take over the frequencies used by analog TV now. From what I have heard, the push to turn off analog TV is from them (to make $$$), not from the general public.
As far as digital TV, it will be nice for movies, sports shows(if you are sports fan) and Nature shows. As far as other things I watch, I do not see a need for it. I watch the Jay Leno show on a 1962 B&W, his background does not change and digital TV will be a waste. I will get a digital TV eventually, once I figure out where to put it and which is the most reliable technology, but would also like a converter(or continuing analog broadcasting/cable) to watch my older/antique TVs. What I recently learned from reading the monthly IEEE journal is do not buy a plasma. According to the article, this is the worst technology in lifetime and reliablilty. LCD looks the best at present, although still not anywhere as good as the old CRT. All of the new technologies are far more complex than CRTS and I do not believe that they will ever be as reliable. However, I have also read that it is very dificult to build a very large CRT for the new aspect ratio. If CRTs do remain, the only large sets will be projection.
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#36
12-01-2006, 11:33 PM
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I never really understood the widescreen ratio thing. Yes, I see it's just like being at the movies... but unless you have a television screen the same size as the movie screen, the ratio thing really doesn't improve anything. Being that you're sitting anywhere from 8 feet to 20 feet from your set, it seems that the 4:3 ratio is just fine for the living room or family room.
Yes, I've seen that the HD sets are getting better. A couple of years ago, I looked at them and it seemed the edges were always jagged looking... especially in fast action scenes. That little flaw is better now days. That was usually my biggest complaint. I can see that it won't be long before I buy a new set... the prices have come down quite a bit in the past couple of years. Currently, my two options for watching tv are OTA and SAT here in the woods. Being that I really don't watch THAT much TV, free OTA is just fine for me. Since I'm about 45 miles from the stations AND I have huge pines surrounding my property, my outdoor antenna has to be at least 20 feet up for a good picture. I'm thinking that the new signals won't reach me this far out... even if I erect a new UHF antenna 20 feet up... and because of that, I'll be forced to PAY for satellite sevice. That will really leave behind a bad taste. I'll likely buy a HD tuner/converter box first... I can try it on my old sets AND find out if I can get the new signals out here without first buying an entire television.
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Charlie Trahan He who dies with the most toys still dies.
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#37
12-01-2006, 11:44 PM
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Leno is probably the best looking show in HD. It looks like he's sitting there in your living room with you.
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#38
12-02-2006, 07:25 AM
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Charlie just brought up something I haven't considered... Right now, my friends have a joint-owned primative hunting cabin up in the woods... Way out in BFE. The place is pretty much furnished with second hand furniture and hand-me-downs, including an old 25" console RCA. (We're not going to put a $2000 tv in a place that sits empty most of the year). As it stands, you can pull a few stations pretty decent with an antenna, but with all/nothing digital that isn't going to happen.
So the choice will be: Subscribe to SAT for a TV used a few days per year, OR play more cards and drink more beer when it rains.  Thanks FCC 
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From Captain Video, 1/4/2007 "It seems that Italian people are very prone to preserve antique stuff."
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#39
12-02-2006, 11:09 AM
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I have watched Jay Leno in color many times, both in antique and modern color TVs (mine and in hotels). I have not yet seen it in HDTV though.
He does have a nice set, but I did not notice anything that special. The set is not why I watch his show.
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#40
12-02-2006, 08:44 PM
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I called the local cable company and after finally finding someone who had a clue what I was talking about they told me since we are on cable there will be no change in our signal or in what TV we hook up to the cable box.
I'm happy.
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#41
12-04-2006, 01:00 PM
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1-Tucked away in the corner of my office, under a table and usually forgotten, is a 40 year old 12" bw Philco. It comes out when something big happens (9/11, big storm, etc) and has not been turned on since spring. Works fine on rabbit ears.
2-Most of this area, away from the main roads, will never have cable. So, they have sattelite, no big deal...where do they get there local channels? Still, antenna. This spells trouble for local stations who will lose a load of viewers unwilling to upgrade for local channels. 3-I can tote a lousy old Portacolor all over the place-to my attic, laundry room, basement, toolshed, wherever an extension cord will reach, and I can watch TV, real, live, local color TV. The folks who are into HDTV would, upon seeing the picture produced by that GE, probably throw up! I think Carmine's am/fm comparison makes since. AM might not be all that great, many would be embarrassed to be caught listening to it! But stations are still making money and some of us are still listening so it is still there, decades after its death was predicted. I am not anti-HDTV. I just don't want to lose my NTSC!
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Bryan
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#42
12-04-2006, 10:36 PM
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#43
12-04-2006, 11:07 PM
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There are really 2 things at stake when television transfers out of NTSC. The first is the quality of the video presentation and on that count HDTV is clearly superior. But the other issue at stake is the loss of VHF spectrum and on that count Carmine hits the nail right on the head. Losing the VHF spectrum means reception will be either terrible or not at all. And the really disturbing feature about digital reception is that terrible reception really means no picture at all.
It would be very nice is to get ATSC AND VHF but instead we will get the bait and switch. So the general public is going to lose big time over this one. And as for the posters who are worried about set top boxes, you can buy old RCA DTC-100 on ebay for about $40 or less now and they are one the best for reception.
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#44
12-04-2006, 11:57 PM
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i also wholeheartedly agree with the "mouth breathing masses seeing an extra stich on a football" post
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#45
12-05-2006, 12:09 AM
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With the to be shut down PAL system in my current location I can get a couple of UHF channels on my more sensitive sets without any antenna connected, not even a piece of wire in the socket. Most sets get a perfect picture with rabbit ears. Even the crappiest sets get a perfect picture with a modest rooftop antenna.
I've had a couple of set top boxes (repair jobs, I wouldn't buy one yet). I could barely get them to even ackownledge any channels existed on rabbit ears. On the roof top antenna I got reception, but it regularly dropped out and broke up. A friend in the same area got a new antenna professionaly installed "for digital". Their reception is better, but it drops out intermittantly and regulary flickers, or stutters. So when the analog system is eventually shut down I won't have a signal that's worth watching. Even with a better antenna I'd have to put up with glitches that I find far more distracting than any ghosts or snow. So much for a better system. Either that or sign up for basic cable at $40 a month with a 24 month contract, which comes with it's own problems (the last time I had cable here I actually had to take screenshots to prove to their tech the kind of interference I was getting).
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