How will the mandatory HD effect us?

[Kenneth Brown]

I have 4 tv sets in my all house and I'm sure none of them are HD, the're all el' cheapos 27"-29". We are on DirecTV with no additional services, just there basic programs and local channels, no Tivo/recorders or anything else. I do plan on purchasing a 42"-46" set for my living room as its a bear (Not at all what I really mean but being a family freindly site........) to watch from 25 feet away. I'm sure that the new set will take advantage of whatever is out there. My question deals with my other sets. Whats gonna happen with them? Are they outdated and junk when this happens? Is there gonna be another box I have to add on? Is this something already supplied by DirecTV in its boxes?

 

[Pony]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

If you have DirectTV boxes you will be fine. The box should have a digital tuner in it, and is outsourcing it so your TV can decode it already. More than likely you are already getting a Digital signal and the boxes are changing it to analog.....in other words the change could happen tomorrow and you wouldnt notice.

It isnt mandatory HD.....its mandatory "DIGITAL" broadcast. There is a HUGE difference. It will quite some time before its all HD. Most everything that isnt "prime time" TV will be in SD.

The 2009 change will mainly affect people who are getting over the air TV without a cable/satelite box. If you have a box, you are going to be fine.

If you aren't using a settop box that the satelite/cable company provides you would need a box to convert signals.......but at $40 thats still less than a new TV......and it doesnt sound like you would need that anyways.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Somehow I knew you'd be the one to get me straight on this. I've spent about 20 minutes searching and reading back and forth. Half said oppisite of you and the other half agreed. I'll beleive you, never seen ya wrong yet. Plus its what I wanted to hear.

 

[kmk_7110]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Altho the tv makers would love to make it mandatory hd it will be far from it. They are just trying to free up the analog signals in the air to promote something else, could be anything. Anyway the ball falls it will help us move forward in technology.

 

[roscoe]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

You may not be able to view local channels, IF you get them over the air with an antennae.

But, you would be able to view these channels on the new tv you are planning to purchase.

 

[rwise]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

If you ask me digital is not very good, blurps, degradation etc. If you get an open air broadcast channel now you may not be able to get it digital IF that channel has snow in it now. Analog handles fringe areas much better than digital ever will, when a bit of the digital signal is lost you have nothing, with analog you have snow! That means even with a DAC (digital to analog converter) for open air broadcast I will get maybe 1 station. Direct TV, Dish network etc the set top is a DAC and you will see no dif, and as above cable services will/do provide a DAC.

This is another example of big government sticking its nose where it don't belong!
Yes it creates jobs to replace all the equipment (at our expense) not just for you the end user but the cable/sat/broadcast equipment has been being upgraded for several years now.

 

[JB]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Well, your argument makes a lot of sense, rwise, but. . .

I am 60-70 miles from Cedar Hill, from which most of the DFW locals broadcast. My Radio Shack antenna with booster is about 20' up. I get 90% of the digital broadcast channels with far superior quality to the analog broadcasts from the same locationsas long as the weather is decent. I can still get semi-usable (messy) analog signals when the weather blocks most of the digital signals.

I don't think an argument that marginal locations won't be able to get digital broadcasts holds up. I think they will get better quality most of the time.

 

[dolluper]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Me too I have one of those radio shack antenna's,it is truely amazing how far it will pull in,Toronto is 250 miles away and it's as clear as a bell The local channel is not as good it has interferance from Abc esp at night ABC takes over....JB do a signal search you might be amazed at what channels you can grab and from where,I pull in a channel from Mountain Lake have no idea where it is all I know is somewhere in New York ..An HD tuner and an antenna is all you need unless your a TV junkie

 

[i386]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

That's cool. Too bad I live in a hole. I'd need quite a mast to get a signal I bet.

 

[Nandy]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

I believe the FCC was issuing up to 2 $40.00 waivers per household in order to help the individuals with purchasing converter boxes...

 

[mscher]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Bu-Bye analog TV! 50 years is long enough.

I have a 2 ft. HDTV antenna on my upstairs desk, that picks up 10 HDTV broadcast channels, the closest station more than 20 miles away, and pipes through my PC.

Most are always crystal clear, with very little "scatter".

Eventually, we'll put up a roof antenna and upgrade other TVs.

Don't mind the change as long as broadcasts stay "free".

 

[rwise]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

I believe the FCC was issuing up to 2 $40.00 waivers per household in order to help the individuals with purchasing converter boxes...

Got more info?

Myself I have seen enuf digital degradation for me to NOT like digital ((maybe it'll get better). Its in everything, go to the movies and you see blurps on the screen where there is no picture, to me that is not quality. I am on cable for now, and an outside antenna (can't get OKC locals without an antenna), I get digital degradation even on cable (no rain fade my a*$). I can turn the antenna toward OKC and get there stations with quit a bit of snow, but they cover my area for weather reports where Tulsa does not. Even the closest station (10 miles) has snow (not just me, all here), and gets covered up sometimes by a mexican station. I have the radio shack 60 mile antenna and Dad (next door) had a 200 mile antenna we could get the same stations from Kansas and Texas. Know I now that IF I wish to keep open air broadcast I'll be putting in some new things, but I may just disconnect!

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Check on Paul Harveys web site..................thats where I recall hearing about the guv's program concerning the adapter/conversion boxes. There is a web site, but the jist of the report said never mind the web site and contact the agency by phone.

 

[Caveman Charlie]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

That's cool. Too bad I live in a hole. I'd need quite a mast to get a signal I bet.

Me too. Until Direct TV came out I got only 1 TV station. Of course there are very few stations around here anyway. But, most people could get 5 or 6 channels from Minneapolis that were rebroadcast on UHF. I could not get those.

I was one of those stupid people that paid 600 dollars for a Direct TV dish and one year later you could get them for 50 bucks. I'm still a little mad about that. I still have that original dish. It must be over 10 years old now. I need to update soon. It has some problems.

 

[Nandy]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Rwise and other. Here is the information about the $40.00 cupons.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/07/25/digital-tv-converter-coupons-who-gets-them-and-how-much/'

 

[rwise]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Here is the whole thing!
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/frnotices/2006/couponprogram_nprm_07202006.htm

Still I found no mention of where/how to get one of the *proposed* coupons just that you will have 90 days to use it. Good for only 2 sets, so if you have a larger family and want more than 2 sets, well it's gonna cost ya! I find mentioned that converters are around $200 and a digital ready TV is $300 (ballpark) and the TV MAY go down. All because the government wishes to steel our frequencies!

I find in it (the doc linked above) that the *converter* has to do radio also, are we going to loose that as well? I will not put a radio in my vehicle that I have to pay for reception *period* ever!!!

Is it just me or do I smell the stench of a class action law suit?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

The cable boxes still use analog except for the higher channels.Through Time Warner in my area channels 2 thru 98 are analog.It does not convert it to digital.So either the cable companys will need to upgrade the boxes or change all of their format or you will still need a converter box.
I have cable,DirecTV and off air antenna for HD,The antenna is by far the best.Cable and Direct have to compress the bandwidth so much it degrades the picture.With an antenna there is very little signal compression.I get 27 digital channels with the antenna.With true digital its either a perfect picture or none at all except in week signals where you get the picture freeze or pixelizing.
About all the new TVs have digital tuners even if they are not HD.

 

[joed]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Cable companies do not broadcast over the air. Their signal is contained within the cable. They are not required to make changes as far as I know.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

About all the new TVs have digital tuners even if they are not HD.

This may be a "well duh" thing but I just wanted to clarify that a digital tuner does not mean it will get a digital signal. At least as far as I know this holds true as two of my old 90's era TV's have what is called a digital tuner but obviously they aren't digital like we think of them.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: How will the mandatory HD effect us?

Big difference between a digital display tuner from the 90's and a actual digital tuner...The older tuners were made for NTSC signal only.
Those old tuners were considered digital at the time,No dial type tuner.Its like the difference between and old dial type AM-FM radio verses the push button digital tuner.Has nothing to do with the type signal it receives.
So you did not understand what i meant...well-duh!