lts48
join:2008-03-26
Barrington, IL
| reply to sansri88
Re: 2/17/2009 - All DIGITAL TV Transition Discussions go here
I noted that a responder to this thread mentioned he had not received his TV Converter Box coupons. Just an fyi, I received my (2) about 2 weeks ago. They are like credit cards that expire 90 days from when they were mailed. They can only be used towards the purchase of a single coupon-eligible converter box. They can only be used once. A list of certified eligible converter boxes is provided and a web site for a more current list. They also point you towards Best Buy, Radio Shack and Wal-Mart as a participating retailer and again towards a web site that has a more current list of retailers.
On my part, I have one technical question: If a converter box just converts digital back to analog, can that box be placed in front of a splitter that then sends separate signals to two analog TVs or analog VCR? or Do I have to buy one converter box for each analog tv or analog VCR in the house? |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL | Go ahead and place it in front of all the Tvs & VCRs in the house. Everyone will be watching the same thing. |
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lts48
join:2008-03-26
Barrington, IL
| reply to sansri88
OK, so the converter box converts digital to analog and you have a tuner in the converter that then displays OTA digital broadcasts on your analog tv or through your VCR to the analog TV on Channel 3/4. Then, if I wanted to watch one channel while recording another, I need to split the antenna signal between the TV and the VCR and have a second converter box in front of the VCR to record a different channel. What then is the purpose of the composite outputs of these converter boxes? Probably just an optional connection for the designated channel on the converter box, I assume. When I read these references to a "pass through" capability, what would that mean? |
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NoPegs
Premium
join:2006-06-14
Myerstown, PA
| The purpose of composite ports is for better picture quality and *STEREO* sound. You don't get either out of coaxial remod on 3/4 usually (there are exceptions, but they're less than 1% installed userbase!)...
Try it, even on a 19" tv you should see a better picture with red/white/yellow over channel 4. Put your tv on input 1 or line1 or video 1 instead of channel 3 or 4. take the coax cable out from between the box and tv and use a set of red/white/yellow.  |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL | reply to lts48
Yep, thats it. That will surely allow you to watch the same as you are recording, and same for the other TV sets. |
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lts48
join:2008-03-26
Barrington, IL
| reply to sansri88
Greg Z
No, what I am saying is that with 2 converter boxes, I should be able to watch/record (2) different channels, correct?
Also, do you know what is meant by converters having a pass through capability? It seems like potential users want that capability. |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL | They work the same way as your CATV STB. The pass through means, that you can send a signal such as CATV, Through the box, without it making any conversions to the signal. |
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sansri88
Go digtal you analog laggards
Premium
join:2005-12-17
New York, NY
clubs:  | reply to sansri88
WABC-DT started showing messages today during Jeopardy about the digital transition during the show.
WCBS-DT started showing messages during the closing of it's morning news cast. |
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ThinkAgain
@comcast.net
| reply to sansri88
Again, the digital cutoff date that the federal coupons are good for have NOTHING to do with cable television. That cutoff date only refers to over the air television (OTA). If you have cable or satelite, then this date and these coupons have nothing to do with you. The only people that need to pay attention are maybe your grandparents who still have a roof arial or rabbit ear antenna.
Cable tv signal is transmitted over their own cables. The signal is not sent over the 700MHz frequency band. Opening up this frequency for other uses is the entire purpose of why the government is cutting over the air analog tv next year.
While it is advantageous for a cable company to transmit all of their stations in a digital format over the cable since it uses less bandwidth that way (= more channels in same amount of space), it is up to the cable company whether or not to use analog or cable. The cable company is using its own closed network. |
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bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA
| Interesting article this week on MSNBC. »www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24073432 I've posted about it in several other forums, but I thought I'd highlight the most important bit with regard to this thread, especially in light of the discussion of cable companies going all-digital: In cases where a cable company goes all-digital, the regulation requiring some type of analog service through 2012 does not say anything about the cable company having to provide free converter boxes. It says, "any costs incurred by a cable operator in down-converting or carrying alternative format versions of signals... shall be the responsibility of the cable operator." This is taken to mean that if the cable company decides to convert HD signals to analog at the head-end, after February 2009, then they must bare the cost of that themselves. However, that does not mean that they cannot charge for STBs necessary to convert digital signals on an all-digital system to analog. "Any costs related to [that] will be determined by the cable company." Unless and until someone sues a cable company and wins, this interpretation is effectively the law of the land, since it is the interpretation advocated by the NCTA, and therefore the one that will drive what cable companies do. |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL
 ·Comcast
| Why is everyone is thinking that the Digital convesion means everything is going to High Definition. The Digital Signal conversion means that the 480i that is in Analog is going Digital, not High-Def.
And conversion is only taking the Digital Signal that comes in from the OTA locals, and changing it into a Analog for those that do not have Set-Tops, and in the case where the Set-Tops stop working, there has to be a clear signal. Not all of the signals coming through the system have to go Analog. Look at what Verizon Fios is doing. |
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bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA
| In this area, none of the OTA channels are switching to SD digital. Therefore, trying to explain to people the difference isn't worth it. So just expect that people will talk about HD and analog, period. That's what the media is talking about, and that's what people will understand.
I think the issue, though, that the article was getting at was that people should expect to pay for set-top boxes, not get them for free. |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL
·Comcast
| The OTA HAVE to switch to SD, but will carry a sub-channel for HD. And, btw, the media cannot get anything correct. If you want to know what is actually happening, go to »ftc.gov and »www.dtv.gov/ |
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bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | Those aren't infallible sources either... there are times when they cause as much confusion as the media.
OTA can switch to either SD digital or HD (or both). As I indicated, the vast majority are switching to HD. |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL | Infallible? Those are the FTC websites. I am guessing that you trust idiocracy better, then the people mandating the change.
And, no the vast majority is not switching to High Definition. |
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bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA | You're simply poorly-informed. I wish I could explain it to you so that you'd understand, but it seems to me that you're unwilling to listen. |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL
·Comcast
| You really do not know the difference between Digital & High Definition, do you? Digital is the way that the signal is transmitted; High Definition is producing a film, or live broadcast in a resolution that is higher then 720 lines, and Standard Definition is anything lower then 520. If you need more clarification, check out the FTC websites, and btw, the article you posted states nothing about High Definition. |
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bicker
join:2007-05-10
Burlington, MA
| I suspect I know the difference between SD digital and HD as well if not BETTER than you do. I think, rather, that there is something else at play here, specifically your inability to accept that reality doesn't have a natural consumerist-bias. |
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Greg_Z
Premium
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL
·Comcast
1 edit | reply to sansri88
In all due reality, High Definition is anything over the standard 480 lines of resolution, and just because everything is going Digital, does not automatically define it as High Definition.
Historically the term high-definition television was first used to refer to television standards developed in the 1930s to replace early experimental systems with as few as 12 lines. Not so long afterwards John Logie Baird, Philo T. Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin had each developed competing TV systems but resolution was not the issue that separated their substantially different technologies. It was patent interference lawsuits and deployment issues given the tumultuous financial climate of the late '20s and '30s.
The British 405-line system was the first to advertise itself as high definition and see widespread use. Most patents were expiring by the end of World War II leaving the market wide open and no worldwide standard for television agreed upon. The world used analog PAL, NTSC, SECAM and other standards for over half a century.
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_hig···n_system
»digital-lifestyle.aol.com/video/···09990001
Analog vs. Digital
Until very recently, all television broadcasts were analog. With analog transmission, programming is transmitted in a continuous signal that varies in amplitude, depending on the information contained in the picture. This signal can easily deteriorate over distance or suffer interference from other sources, which produces a lower-quality picture than the original. The primary advantage of digital transmission is that it slices the traditional analog television signal into a series of digital bits, which are then recombined to reproduce an exact copy of the original broadcast. These digital signals don't weaken with distance, as analog signals do. As long as the signal can be received, the picture is perfect, with no degradation. Since digital signals are comprised of binary bits, a 1 is always a 1 and a 0 is always a 0. Because of this exact end-to-end reproduction, digital means better picture and sound quality, no matter what is broadcast.
Different Types of Digital TV
Digital programming comes in many shapes and sizes. Not all digital broadcasts have the same resolution or aspect ratio. Here's a quick guide to all current digital formats:
• SDTV - Standard definition digital television has the same resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio as traditional analog television but is transmitted in digital fashion. The SDTV picture is 480 x 640 pixels, with interlaced scanning.
• EDTV - Enhanced definition television has the same resolution as SDTV but with progressive scanning instead of interlaced scanning, which creates a smoother overall picture. EDTV can be in either the 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio, for a resolution of either 480 x 640 or 480 x 720 pixels.
• HDTV (720p) - The first of the three current high definition television formats features 720 x 1280 pixel resolution with progressive scanning. This format is ideal for programming with lots of movement, such as sporting events. The aspect ratio is 16:9.
• HDTV (1080i). The second current high definition format features greater resolution than 720p (1080 x 1920 pixels), but with interlaced scanning. Like 720p, the aspect ratio is 16:9
• HDTV (1080p) - This is the ultimate high definition format, with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution (in the 16:9 ratio) and progressive scanning. Because of the high bandwidth requirements, this format is not yet used for television broadcasts, although the new HD DVD and Blu-ray high-definition DVD formats will be capable of a 1080p picture.
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-defin···levision
Further information: Analog high-definition television system
The term high definition described the television systems of the 1930s and 1940s beginning with the British 405-line black-and-white system, introduced in 1936; however, it, and the American 525-line NTSC system established in 1941, were only high definition in comparison with previous mechanical and electronic television systems. Today, the American 525-line NTSC system and the European 625-line PAL and SECAM systems are only regarded as standard definition. The post–WWII French 819-line black-and-white system was high definition in the contemporary sense, but was discontinued in 1986, a year after the final British 405-line broadcast.
In 1958, the U.S.S.R. created Òransformator (Russian: Òðàíñôîðìàòîð, "Transformer"), the first high-resolution (definition) television system capable of producing an image composed of 1,125 lines of resolution for the purpose of television conferences among military commands; as it was a military product, it was not commercialised.[1]
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I threw out the map a long time ago. Now I follow my own direction! |
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matt91
join:2002-12-18
Washington, DC | reply to sansri88
Can anyone summarize which cities have already gone (nearly) all digital for Comcast? (e.g., 12 - 20 or so analog channels left, the rest all digital).
I've seen a reference to Chicago. Are there others?
Matt |
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