I don't guess I have telefuture (DirecTV but no Para Todos package). Does anyone have any viewing info in the NORTH Dallas area?
Well, I went on their website (before I posted) and I didn't see anything about it - good to know. Thanks
ch. 49 if ya got rabbit ears At least, until the feds cut off all analog over-the-air signals (scheduled for this year but they are talking about delaying it). Then the $5 antenna will have to be replaced with a $100 converter.
Yeah - they'd forgotten about it before I called to ask yesterday. (Not sure why they haven't put it on their site by now, but Marius said it would be on tonight.)
When I was in college my Telecom professor explained how this was going to happen by 1998. I'm still waiting. Congress has continued to extend the deadline for the conversion to all digital, hi def broadcasting for several years. It will happen....but I'm guessing we've still got a while yet.
To clarify a little - they're not getting rid of over-the-air broadcasting of local channels, but they are forcing those broadcasts to be all-digital, Hi-Def signals (as tg was saying).
I think he's referencing the "required" shift to HD over-the-air signals. The networks will still be around. But you'll only need a converter if your TV isn't HD-ready! So see? It's not so bad.
The End of Analog TV recent /. discussion Paragraph quoted just to be clear: Many analog television owners won’t need a converter: 85 percent of Americans now get all their television from cable or satellite providers, so for the most part the change-over won’t affect them. (A lot of those households, however, also have second and third sets in basements or bedrooms that do rely on over-the-air signals.) The real problem is the 15 million or so U.S. households whose only television service comes over the air. For these people, predominately lower-income and disproportionately black and Hispanic, the cut-off will be bad news indeed. Which is me, since right now I don't care enough about TV to have cable (high speed broadband is more important to me). When the cutoff comes I might of course have to reconsider What I originally posted was entirely factual tho.
ah I understand now and that is unfortunet. We have many TV's and only one relying on over-the-air channels. The good thing about the basic over-the-air channels is when it rains the damn satelite WILL go out 90% of the time (some technology ) and the cable is usually ok but then there is the select few times the cable goes out [JH]as well[/JH] and you only got your rabbit ears for that oh so important footy game.
Not necessarily hi-def, just digital. Most of what's on the digital over-the-air channels is standard definition.
Seriously? I thought the requirement included hi-def. It should. "Martin" reruns deserve hi-def picture quality.
Yeah, to reiterate, if you want to watch tonight's game, it's on Channel 49 (KSTR), the local Telefutura affiliate. Check your cable guide for the channel on your local cable system. If you've got DirecTV or DISH, it's in your local channels package. As for the cut-over to digital TV, there are a few misconceptions: 1. It's only for the over-the-air signals. If you get your TV with rabbit ears or a big antenna on the roof, you might have to do something. If you get your TV through the cable or satellite, you don't have to do a damn thing. It's up to your cable or satellite provider to sort out. 2. It's not necessarily high-def. At least 90% of what's on the digital channels right now is standard definition. And if you need to watch a high-def program on your standard definition TV, just about every converter box will "downconvert" it (in other words, convert it to the lower resolution) for you.
Nope, just digital. If you tune in Channel 27's or Channel 52's digital channel, it's all just standard definition. Of course, since it's digital, it's pretty damn sharp and clear, but it's still only standard definition. Those Happy Days reruns are still going to be just standard definition.
I'm getting it now. Can't force all broadcasts to be hi-def because it doesn't make sense to air reruns (or similar low-budget programming) in hi-def that were recorded in standard def. I guess it's a "require digital and let consumer-demand force the networks to move to hi-def" kind of thing. Bummer.