sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information The "Other" digital TV conversion.

Story here.

I KNEW it! I knew that it sounded too good to be true. I even posted here a while back with my suspicion that going digital was an easy way for broadcasters to monitor our viewing and possibly begin charging us for certain "free" channels.

I guess my suspicions were somewhat correct. Somebody had to be making money at the consumer's added expense in order to finance such a massive overhaul. I went ahead and ordered my two coupons and purchased two converters, but only with the assumption that I'd need one for tailgating or camping if we took a TV. Now that I know this, I'm going to get my friends and family to order their two coupons as well.

By the way, the $40.00 coupon doesn't entirely cover the cost of the converter. The cheapest ones I could find were at Best Buy for $60.00 for their private-label brand. I also found while shopping there that not all of the converters are eligible under the coupon program, so if you want a fancy one, you have to buy the whole thing out of pocket.

I'm a TV hound and have eight sets in my house, but only one uses a Comcast converter. I don't mind the cost to buy the converters, but I really don't like the separate remote control requirement. Sure, I can buy more universal remotes, but there comes another unexpected expense. Call me lazy, but I have been perfectly happy with basic channels using standard TV's. So, let me get this straight: This "improvement" will only cost the typical customer about $20.00 per set for the upgrade. Why?

This is clearly a case of the CATV providers figuring out a way to squeeze more money out of their customers: Rent their set-top converter for six bucks a month or buy one with a government coupon for 20. I seriously doubt that the national broadcasters even cared about whether their signal was analog or digital, in fact I'll bet that they would also have been happier if things had been left alone. If anything, the off-air broadcasters will probably lose viewers since families on low or fixed incomes won't be able to afford it, or "that extra TV" might not get used anymore. I can't imagine that this mandate is an inexpensive undertaking for them either.

I think that this whole thing is going to result in a massive uproar when all is said and done.

The nearest CATV to here is 20 miles away, but we've already gone through the largest part of the digital conversion of direct broadcast satellite. Very few channels remain on analog satellite now, at least on the Astra cluster which is the main domestic satellite group serving the U.K. (and the only ones a lot of people even know about).

To be honest, I've reached the point where I'd scrap watching broadcast TV altogether. Most of the stuff being turned out now is a load of garbage, and trying to watch the old movies and series that I like is becoming increasingly a waste of time, as the broadcasters now seem almost incapable of screening a series in the right order and movies are getting hacked to pieces to squeeze in more commercials or to satisfy the "PC" nuts at the TV companies.

Much better to just sit back with a DVD and get to see the thing properly.

When this was first posted on, and the commercials started rolling, I didn't think anything of it. Now that I read this article, I promptly did a search for this link and ordered up my coupons. I too also sent out an email to all of my friends and family to do the same. I would rather have them and not need em, than to need em and not have em or have to pay substantially more to get em. I agree with you Ed, this could potentially get real ugly come Feb. 18 2009.

satellite tv is also affected..apparently its the monitor that being affected (tv set). One of the local channels does a test to see if you can see the picture every now and again and none of my tv's work.

Simple shut then down by going to the libary getting a libary card and enjoy reading again and block parties. no money coming in no cable co.

How should we answer the question? Cable or Antenna?

Don't know why this comes as a surprise. Cable companies don't HAVE to to do anything and neither would the subscribers come February 2009. The digital transition only affects over the air broadcasting. BUT the cable companies are taking advantage of the situation to do away with their own analog channels. Why? Because the analog channels are a bandwidth hog. Each 6Mhz channel can carry one analog channel or up to ten digital channels and up to two or three HD channels (depending on the degree of compression). Eliminating analog is really something that has to be done in order to keep up with the increasing demand for HD channels. A cable system only has so much bandwidth and just because a few people are still watching in sparkling black and white doesn't mean that everybody else has to wait on them.

Now that I read this article, I promptly did a search for this link and ordered up my coupons.

I hope you are going to be happy with the one or two UHF channels that are available in your area.

All new TVs and most manufactured during the last few years are "HD ready" meaning that they are capable of receiving those UHFs as well as the digital non-scrambled channels from the cable company directly without any kind of box.

Hey, I'm not siding with the cable companies here, I just don't think this is going to be the dooms day some are predicting. True, some of you are going to have to spring for another six bucks a month for a cable box. It's also a good opportunity to replace some of those 1980 vintage clunkers you keep around just cause they still work.

-Hal

satellite tv is also affected..apparently its the monitor that being affected (tv set). One of the local channels does a test to see if you can see the picture every now and again and none of my tv's work.

That sounds to me like DRM (Digital Rights Management). That's the basis behind Vista, they don't want you to be able to intercept and record the content of copy protected HD signals from Blue Ray discs or sources like Satellite or cable. The digital signal between the sat receiver, computer, cable box or Blue Ray player to the TV or monitor is encoded. The monitor or TV must be DRM compliant and I believe connected with an HDMI cable otherwise the source will just send it a watered down version or nothing.

So I think what you are seeing is a test to determine if your TV is DRM compliant. Nothing to do with what we are talking about. Your beef is with Hollywood on this one.

-Hal

Neither.....Buy DVD's and stop the monthly drain on your wallet.

The consumer has the strongest position which is "not to buy", but never uses it.