Breezeline → Re: [Cumberland] Analog Expanded Basic Channels Out

I was hoping that the digital channels would get assigned to the matching channel numbers... like:

12 = 12-1
13 = 13-1

Reason being that you could still use a TV tuner built into the TV and easily navigate channels once the analog ones are gone. Do you know if the QAMs require the encompassed channels to be on specific channel numbers related to the QAM frequency or could they just change the channel numbers at will? I'm not sure if it is like ATSC where they have a real channel number, and then the virtual number. I would think they could use whatever channel they want so the channels could be placed in QAM's more efficiently. I know it wouldn't matter with the STB's because they can map those however they want.

It could be that they'll reassign them if they stay in the clear, or else start requiring DTA's or set tops for every single TV... which would be unfortunate.

No, it wouldn't.

ABB deserves to take money from the idiots with HDTV's who want to watch Stretch-o-Vision.

What they can do is have the QAM number be designated, and the secondary number be a virtual number associated with the channel number. I've seen some companies do that. For example, channel 5 would be 97-5.

This is kind of what I am referring too..

»www.fpb.cc/LinkClick.asp ··· abid=290

This is something out of Kentucky.

My Mother likes stretch-o-vision better than HD. She is so used to it that she thinks the people are too skinny on the HD channels. LOL

Stretch-o-vision makes me physically ill. Seriously, if you want stretch-o-vision, why'd you get rid of your 4:3 analog TV?

SD channels look worse on any HDTV than any old analog.

I would expect anything beyond limited to be encrypted anyway, that's standard protocol, requiring the DTA.

I don't know what equipment picks up the digital simulcast of the expanded basic channels, but my Motorola HD box doesn't. Since the limited basic stuff is in digital, the death of analog should soon be near for us here in Cumberland. There's just no reason to continue it. And then slam us with the HD channels. Each new digital area got more unique channels, and seemed to raise the bar, I hope we'll do the same.

Clearing out 76 QAM's would leave us plenty of room to have everything available in HD. At 2 a QAM, that's 120 HD channels, leaving 16 for increased internet speeds.

No news in the latest bill here of anything, sadly.

I agree with you. I'm amazed how good analog can look on the older TV's.

I would hope that they leave the value channels unencrypted since they already are, but you're probably right. Needing a DTA on a TV with a digital tuner seems like such a waste.

Maybe they have various equipment with different channel mappings, where your equipments map is still pointing to the analog channels. I guess it would be hard to tell without a sampling of equipment.

I did a rescan here to see if I would find anything. We don't have any channels being duped with a digital version yet. I didn't find anything other than the local HD channels, plus MeTV and THIS a total of 9 channels. We only have one HD local for each network unlike you with two or three.

That is possible but the reason why we don't is that all channels are not equal in the amount of data they push.

Action movies and sporting events push a lot more data then regular programs and shows. So we want to spread then out with the other shows so we can use the least amount of compression.