Interesting Fact

The entire USA will be switching over to digital terrestrial TV on 15
February next year. Every citizen will get a $40 voucher towards the cost of
a new decoder.
Don't know about cable or satellite broadcasts.

--
Mark - The Diesel Doctor

"In these shoes? No way Jose!"
Kirsty MacColl 1959-2000
www.justiceforkirsty.org

Diesel Doctor wrote:
The entire USA will be switching over to digital terrestrial TV on 15
February next year. Every citizen will get a $40 voucher towards the cost of
a new decoder.
Don't know about cable or satellite broadcasts.


Details on this here.
http://www.dtv2009.gov

I was in Washington DC recently. The cheapest digital decoders I found
in Best Buy were about $60 each for something with analogue video out.
The boxes are probably cheaper to make than our freeview ones (no Scart
bits) and in bulk (for a larger market) even more so.

Each US citizen gets two $40 vouchers. Most of that $40 will be going
straight to the back pocket of the retailer - no questions asked!

Hmm.... :-|

--
Adrian C

On Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:17:27 +0200, Diesel Doctor wrote:
The entire USA will be switching over to digital terrestrial TV on 15
February next year.
Except for a significant number of low power stations and repeaters,
although some have already made the switch.

Applications for coupons can be made online at

https://www.dtv2009.GOV

Don't know about cable or satellite broadcasts.
Many cable systems offer digital cable in addition to analog, and as far
as I am aware, all satellite broadcasts for domestic reception (DISH
network, DIRECTV) have been digital since they commenced operation.

And some companies are innovating and producing antennas specifically
for the switchover -- even the misnamed "digital antenna"

http://www.usnews.COM/articles/busin...2008/03/05/tv-
antennas-sprout-up-anew.html

with video at

http://usnews.feedroom.COM/?
fr_story=c7eb6b84c71f575a6b4f7dcea16dd6025dfe0465& rf=sitemap

NBC explains how to "get ready for digital tv" at

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=digital+tv+ready&emb=0&aq=f#

which includes shots of the old NBC logos.

Now please tell me if I missed it, but did the public service broadcaster
BBC ever bother to inform viewers with an televised item of 20 minutes or
so about the switchover to digital?

In message , Diesel Doctor
writes
The entire USA will be switching over to digital terrestrial TV on 15
February next year. Every citizen will get a $40 voucher towards the cost of
a new decoder.
Don't know about cable or satellite broadcasts.

Was the decision to hand over 40 USD to every citizen taken before
Mickey Mouse became gravely ill?
--
Ian

On Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:31:01 +0200, J G Miller wrote:


Now please tell me if I missed it, but did the public service broadcaster
BBC ever bother to inform viewers with an televised item of 20 minutes or
so about the switchover to digital?

No. The switchover is being phased geographically over a period of four years,
so a single one-off 20 minute item would be pointless.

As I understand the position there has been and, will be, plenty of publicity
in each area in the weeks/months before switchover.

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:06:25 +0100, Peter Duncanson wrote:
No. The switchover is being phased geographically over a period of
four years, so a single one-off 20 minute item would be pointless.

As I understand the position there has been and, will be, plenty of
publicity in each area in the weeks/months before switchover.

So when Richard Maddeley writes in a national newspaper, which make
the unsubstantiated claim to be the World's Greatest Newspaper, that

QUOTE
Very soon the last of the terrestrial transmitters will be
switched off.

And as more and more of us receive TV through cable or satellite,
what I wonder will happen to Britain’s forest of TV aerials?

I suppose that, bit by bit, they’ll all come down.
UNQUOTE

that people in each region will just have to wait months or even years
until the weeks before switchover to learn the truth?

Peter Duncanson wrote:

As I understand the position there has been and, will be, plenty of publicity
in each area in the weeks/months before switchover.

Like this:-

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7XSuMU1ZVdQ


--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:16:34 +0100, Mark Carver wrote:
Like this:-

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7XSuMU1ZVdQ

QUOTE
Everybody's picture will improve enormously.
UNQUOTE

So there you have it, the BBC never reports lies or false information (so
they say), so the picture on digital is enormously improved over
the picture on analog.

And no mention that people will have to buy yet another box when
PSB Multiplex 2 changes to DVB-t2 MPEG-4.

J G Miller wrote:
On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:16:34 +0100, Mark Carver wrote:
Like this:-

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7XSuMU1ZVdQ

QUOTE
Everybody's picture will improve enormously.
UNQUOTE

So there you have it, the BBC never reports lies or false information (so
they say), so the picture on digital is enormously improved over
the picture on analog.

I wondered who would spot that first !

And no mention that people will have to buy yet another box when
PSB Multiplex 2 changes to DVB-t2 MPEG-4.

Only if they want to receive HD, and they'd be better off buying a Freesat box
for that. More worryingly is that the displaced SD channels from PSB 2 will be
packed into PSB 1 and 3, reducing everything to the quality of You Tube.


--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:57:52 +0100, Mark Carver wrote:
I wondered who would spot that first !

Well it shows that I did watch it :+)

Only if they want to receive HD,

I thought that OFcon had requested submissions for other
services than just HD for PSB-2?

In other words, there is a *possibility* that there will be
more than just HD services on PSB-2.

and they'd be better off buying a Freesat box for that.

Apart from losing Five US, Fiver, and Virgin 1 (which to
some would be no loss at all), people would be better off
buying a FTA (not necessarily Freesat) DVB-s2 MPEG-4 receiver
period.

More worryingly is that the displaced SD channels
from PSB 2 will be packed into PSB 1 and 3,
reducing everything to the quality of You Tube.

Not quite as bad as you state since PSB-1 and PSB-3
will be QAM-64, but still if they do not want to watch
the diminished quality picture and want to watch the enormously
improved picture, then they will have to purchase some HD receiver,
with a DVB-t2 MPEG4 box being the cheapest option.

Strange they did not mention that the picture quality will
be reduced in the future in the report, eh?