The US converts to all digital TV

[cjolley]

Oh this is going to be smooth...

http://www.hulu.com/watch/36608/talkshow-with-spike-feresten-cable-psa

[Dr Mordrid]

My wifes 86 year old mother already has her converter box and knows how to install it all by herself. Of course it's a moot issue for anyone with cable or satellite service - their tuner box will do all that's necessary.

[Gurm]

We debate this endlessly at work. I think there's going to be rioting on March 1.

[Brian Ellis]

Can't see the video outside of USA, but parts of Europe, including UK, have already gone all-digital without great problems.

[Dr Mordrid]

Coupons (actually debit cards) for the converter boxes are available from the government just for the asking - up to 2 per residence. They're in all the department stores with signs as to what they're for and when the switchover happens

The local stations have been covering the changeover - including during prime time and the news

Cable/satellite companies have been touting in their ads that if you use their boxes you need not worry

On top of all that a simple set of rabbit ears lets the newer panels (those with digital tuners) receive OTA (over the air) HD/SD of their local channels anyhow. Hell...here the locals - 2, 4, 7, 11, 13, 20, 31, 50, 56 and 62 - are already on the air with digital HD/SD, some with multiple sub-channels for weather or alternative programming - ex: 2-1 and 2-2; 4-1 and 4-2; 7-1, 7-2 and 7-3 etc. etc. Bottom line is we now have more OTA selections than we ever had before.

Anyone claiming ignorance by now has had their head in the sand & is probably hopeless no matter what the parties involved do.

[VJ]

Can't see the video outside of USA, but parts of Europe, including UK, have already gone all-digital without great problems.

While the transition is still ongoing, I still don't see it being without problems. The main issue here is that there are 3 providers, all using different technolgies
1. DSL
2. cable (encrypted DVB-C)
3. DVB-S

The downsides?
1. for dsl
Well, the dsl connections are too slow, so looking at more than one station at a time (or recording one station while viewing another is out of the question). Of course, it requires a proprietary box (closed protocol) , which takes over 20 minutes to reboot .
2. for cable
It is possible to have mutliple settop-boxes, but again they are proprietary. Purchasing them is no longer an option, so they must be rented out. They don't give you more than 1 IP address for the settopboxes though, so only on 1 TV you have the "digital experience" (interactivity, on demand viewing, ...). Due to the encrypted protocol, you can't use your own settopbox or computer based tuner.
3. satellite
Few people here have satellite, so it requires purchasing a dish. Given many city laws, it may not be allowed to mount a dish on the front facade of the house. The protocol is open though, but some interesting channels are missing. If you want to receive multiple channels, it requires proper hardware (dish, lnb, ...).

They are also said to start broadcasting in free DVB-T, but it is unsure which channels that would be (most likely only the national ones).

Each alternative has significant downsides, and is IMO a step back from the times where you bought a TV, plugged it in, and it worked. No stupid, fugly boxes, no limit on the number of devices, ...


Jörg

[Brian Ellis]

This is only about OTA broadcasting of standard local channels. I know some countries have stopped analogue broadcasting.

[Fluff]

I think they should just get on and do it already. BTW what are they doing with the analog spectrum. Are they selling it off or allocating more space to digital?

[cjolley]

Anyone claiming ignorance by now has had their head in the sand & is probably hopeless no matter what the parties involved do.

I agree. I don't think there is anything that could be done much better.
The problem is the huge number of people who can't even set the clock on their VCR after owning it for years.


As an aside, we woke up to a dead TV the other morning.
So I guess we are forced, forced I say, to get a flat panel.
Which means we get to use rabbit ears if we want.

But now have no need for the two converter coupons I sent off for when they were first made available. I may pick one up just for what-the-heck though, being the belt and suspenders type guy that I am.

[Evildead666]

The only problem i have with digital TV is the fact that the providers don't think we can see the horrendous compression on the channels...
some of them are so blocky you'd be better off torennting it...

I have Digital Sat here, and Digital thru ADSL, but not enough bandwidth for that...
3-8Mbps for SD TV, 20Mbps+ for HD....At least the provider supplies a HD box with HDMI etc...I just can't use it...only got 1.5Mbps...

[Dr Mordrid]

I think they should just get on and do it already. BTW what are they doing with the analog spectrum. Are they selling it off or allocating more space to digital?

Yes, they're auctioning off those bands.

[VJ]

Perhaps at home in this thread: what about DVB-H...?
(dvb-t extension for viewing on mobile phones)

There is talk of launching it here (there have been experiments, there are candidate bidders, ...). The current mobile tv solution stream the data to each user individually, but I read that the networks here would not be able to cope with more than 20.000 simultaneous viewers, a problem overcome by DVB-H...


Jörg

[ZokesPro]

I still work for the cable company here in Quebec and when I tell the older clientele that their analog cable will be gone in 2010, they tell me that they will change companies, and when I tell them that it's for all of Canada, they usually hang up.

I doubt it'll go smooth but at least the US is doing it before we are so we will know what to expect.

[ZokesPro]

I think they should just get on and do it already. BTW what are they doing with the analog spectrum. Are they selling it off or allocating more space to digital?

Making way for HD and maybe several interactive channels like video on demand in HD and maybe games. For each analog channel you can fit about 8-9 SD digital channels, so just imagine once analog is gone.

Now I'm not 100% sure on this but that would seem be the logical way to proceed.