[princesskadee]

I guess I must have been working a lot of overtime at work about a year ago,..I completely missed the day news was launched in Feb 2006 when the FCC announced that in the year 2009,.." ALL ANALOG TELEVISIONS WILL BE RENDERED USELESS FOR RECIEVING BROADCAST SIGNALS."

oK,.maybe the FCC didnt quite say it that way,.but not too far from that. I recently read a story on either USATODAY or ABCNEWS (i forget the source), that detailed this issue. I googled and also found this interesting link as well.....

http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html

Basically,.for those of you that dont know,..the FCC is planning to have all analog television signals go completely obsolete in 2009. Once complete, ALL TVS in the United States can only recieve a digital signal. The government is proposing a program to distribute certificates to be given out for free,..so that financially challenged citizens can obtain a free analog/digital television converter box. (i.e. the government doesnt have the financial capability of ensuring that every citiizen can get a box,.so quantities are very limited...to the point that these government-issued boxes may even be collectors items)

.......is our government insane?...have they gone out of their mind?. The reason the government/FCC is giving us for this massive transitioning is that analog signals take up too much spectrum, and that once the digital transition is complete, it will free up spectrum and allow for additional emergency frequencies to be carried. They want us to believe this...but do you?

There are some thoughts that cross my mind on this,..and its nothing thats aforementioned. I think some of the reasons for this transition is that the government is developing some sort of top secret survelliance device, and needs increased spectrum for optimum performance. We live in the post 9/11 realm, and espionage and surveillance are all the norm in this day in age,..so my theory is not far fetched.

Another theory is that the government has been pursuaded by television manufacturers to go forth with this transition so everyone is forced to plunge down about $1,000 or so for one of those nice flat-screen plasma High-Def television sets sold at your favorite retailer.

I think the date that this is all supposed to happen is Feb 19, 2009....can you imagine all the circular advertisements that will be stuffed in your Sunday paper??? Best Buy, Circuit City, Costco, Wal-Mart, Radio Shack....anyone and everyone that sells electronics,.and especially Digital TVs are sure to cash in on this wonderful date...Im sure that the prices for digital Tvs during this time will not be cheap,..even those nice converter boxes will cost you dearly.

And lets not forget that the crime rate is sure to go up after this conversion is completed...thats right folks,..for those less fortunate who simply cant afford to go digital,.the good old robber tactic will be employed by the hundreds. This means while you are away from home,..theres a good chance your digital Tv will be gone when you return back.

I dont think theres anything wrong with analog signal. Im sure that digital is much better, more reliant, sharper picture, etc. You know...if the goverment wants to pursue this,..they should do it THE RIGHT WAY!!,..which is,.passing a legislation that would impose severe penalties for any electronics retailer that dared to gouge their prices high during this conversion. Maybe those of you that are reading my thread can take heed to this advice and start contacting your attorney general and senators/congressmen.

So analog Tv is going away....what is next?...Analog radio?...dial-up internet?...how bout those analog telephones that many senior citizens still use to this day? ....lets just force the whole nation to move into the 21st century, and let them get eaten alive when they try to purchase the replacement device at their local electronics store.

If the govenrment wanted to piss everyone off and start sporatic riots nationwide, they could announce that on a specific date that all unleaded automobiles will be converted to ethanol-only.
Of course, the government would issue out a very small limited supply of certificates that would 100% pay for the needed conversion from unleaded gasoline to ethanol,..but those vouchers would be extremely rare. And like I said before regarding the digital Tvs...the services being charged by mechanics to do these conversions wont be cheap at all...and the auto theft rate will go up,.especially on new cars that are already 100% ethanol.

MY point is this..if the government is going to step in and try to mandate something,.they need to make sure it is done the right way,.from every aspect...not just try to half-ass it.

This post has been edited by princesskadee: 15 March 2007 - 03:04 PM

[Slade]

If this really happens, I'll just stop watching TV. I only ever use a TV for very few shows or my video game consoles anyway.

I agree that it's insanely stupid, and a very awful way to try to force some silly advancement of technology. Why has our government learned absolutely nothing from history? This sort of stupidness didn't work when the Nazis and the Soviet Union did it. Besides, we're capitalist; shouldn't everyone in the entire country be screaming about how this is trying to control the market the government should keep its hands out of anyway?

[princesskadee]

If this really happens, I'll just stop watching TV. I only ever use a TV for very few shows or my video game consoles anyway.

well, video games wont be affected...(THANK GOD!!!)..

The government should just allow the conversion to digital happen naturally...the same way people converted from:

wired telephones to cordless
VHS to DVD
regular fuel to unleaded gasoline
8 tracks to cassette tapes...(and now MP3's--which seems to be the evolution of cassette tapes)
Vinyl records to Compact Discs
traditional cameras to digital cameras
video game cartridges to CD-ROM/DVD-ROM


....and the way that consumers convert on the massive scale is when a product's price is lowered to reasonable point, and also when the reasons to own the replacement apparatus outweigh the reasons to keep the former device.

(i.e.,.consumers switched from VHS to DVD, once DVD players were priced around $19.99-$49.99,.and the DVDs themselves got cheaper to own. Plus, add in the fact you get a sharper resolution, and dont have to rewind a DVD,.or worry about getting the VHS tape getting caught in the machine,..or the quality becoming decayed from frequent playing,...once consumers saw these factors,..it was a no-brainer)

[Deepsycher]

I am too disappointed with the way they are broadcasting the digital signal in my place. I see blocks (pixelation) and colour fading. I'd say they are rendering cheap poor quality broadcasting.

I use analogue signals because I am in a good reception area and through the television tuner the picture is crystal clear despite the low resolution on the monitor. In a poor reception area where it is not worth watching analogue broadcasts I agree the digital signal maybe the next best thing.

Same excuse here. They want to free up analogue spectrum for emergencies and other services such as communication and private television broadcasting (perhaps better quality for people who could afford it.)

All the expensive televisions I came across so far with the built in digital tuner takes seconds not milliseconds to change a channel. Trying to change functions is sooooo slow and the text takes too long. I think they use a single processor for everything.

I noticed that a satellite company reduced their bandwidth and offered "a better quality picture" for a high price from a trailer car. I don't know about now but it was the worst I have seen.

A year ago I went to a television shop and questioned a worker about the blocks and colour fading. Expressing my irritation he agreed that it is poor quality and he said something about the mass majority not noticing it by sitting far back on a couch. At the other end of the store there was a football match and the picture quality looked brilliant, no blocks or colour fading. "That is more like it! That is what I am looking for!" He said you can't get that here, it is a recorded broadcast from Germany on dvd to show people a sample of the signal there. I asked "Why is this country backward and keeps going backwards?" He just smiled.

He said the broadcasting on the dvd recording was 4000 kilobit but the bandwidth in my place is less than half of that I think. I am trying to record as much shows with quantizer compression to dvd's before the analogue switch off.

Speaking for their activities in my place what they are trying to do is to replace broadcasting with a service that is horribly compressed on the cheap. Then they are going to sell out those analogue spectrums to other people to make even more money.


Welcome to a new generation of cheapness.
(Expensive service poor quality not cheap for the consumer to afford.)

When I get taunted by pixelation my television days are over!

This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 15 March 2007 - 07:00 PM

[mireaux7]

What irks me about this whole dilemma is how vague the government & FCC is being about their so-called "NEED" for additional spectrum. They said its needed for "emergencies channels"...emergencies channels for what types of emergencies?

Who am I to inquire what any government entity decides to do though? Oh no, let me not forget that I am nothing more than a meer American citizen who diligently goes to work, pays my taxes, and votes the wrong people into office based upon the initial lies they told me upfront.

I should never have the right to question any annexation of power that this "capitalist" society dares to impede upon. If only I could peer into the cherished archives and files that are classified as top-secret by both out military and political factions. I could learn what takes place at area 51, I would know of all atrocities that occured during the Vietnam War, and who knows what else I would learn that this nation's top officials have secretly guarded from us for eons...,.only then would I TRULY understand what Rage Against the Machine constantly gripes about in any of their songs. (sigh)

[Heccubus]

Am I the only person alive who doesn't notice enough difference between digital and analogue signals to really give a fuck about it?

[Deepsycher]

On a vga monitor the difference is easy for me to tell. I sent back a Hauppauge digital decoder and encoder television card on Christmas 2005. Absolutely awful. I even took pictures from my camera to prove that it didn't do what it says on the package so I could get my money back in full. I had an argument on the phone with technical support for implying that I was stupid because they failed to specifically label what operating systems their drivers worked on outside the package.

The excuse were:
It is made for the mass market.
The majority don't use multiple codecs
It is not cost effective to have developers in this country
Trying the latest drivers makes a difference
You brought it in error. It's your fault we didn't state what was supported on the package.
Assuming that everybody who buys the card only uses Windows XP

Technical support isn't technical support if the real technical suppot is done in another country. Really it is customer support if they do things by a book and tell people what to do and depend on drivers as their only answer to every problem.

Wintv the best TV for your PC - With the stability problems and poorly made limited drivers for that card it isn't.

Here I saved up my money and ended up buying poorly made rigid hardware made for the mass majority.

This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 16 March 2007 - 07:28 AM

[looktothesky]

Aww, are you serious? Well then again, 2009 isn't TOO too bad.
I guess when I can get a PS3 / Wii, then I might as well get a new TV as well.

[princesskadee]

Aww, are you serious? Well then again, 2009 isn't TOO too bad.
I guess when I can get a PS3 / Wii, then I might as well get a new TV as well.

How much you think a PS3 will cost in say,..Feb 2009?

maybe we should start a new thread that lets posters try to guess what the price of a PS3 will be the day the FCC law goes into effect

(and for those wanting to know, I am referencing both GB models of the PS3)

my guesstimation:


Feb 2009: Ps3 20 gb= $199.99

ps3 60 gb= $299.99

[floppydisk]

There are some thoughts that cross my mind on this,..and its nothing thats aforementioned. I think some of the reasons for this transition is that the government is developing some sort of top secret survelliance device, and needs increased spectrum for optimum performance. We live in the post 9/11 realm, and espionage and surveillance are all the norm in this day in age,..so my theory is not far fetched.

You're serious, aren't you? It's much, much more logical to assume that this was just something that was just influenced by the cable companies or whoever it is that benefits from the decision to convert. If you want to find out who's responsible, find out who profits from the thing.