The Death of Terrestrial Broadcasting Is Nigh

"TJ" wrote in message ...

snip


The picky among us would say the *proper* term is "digital TV," or "ATSC
TV." They would say it's not "HD" if the resolution isn't in the "High
Definition" range. Most would even question calling a 720p TV an "HDTV,"
even though they are commonly sold as such.

I feel sorry for them.

TJ
================================================== =========

Several of the networks use 720P for their HD and I never notice the
difference. Above a certain detail threshold, I think it all looks really
good. (My TV is a 52-inch Sony Bravia and my eyesight is quite good.)

For those who look down on 720p, bless your hearts.

Sal

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

pssssst...it's not an HDTV.

It's just a TV. A modern TV, that interprets digital broadcast signals.
But it's certainly not an HDTV.

So you want to lord it over everybody else that you've got
more pixels than the other guy. A resolution snob.

In Japan, HDTV came in without a digital conversion. For
some reason the powers that be in the U.S. decided not to
go along with that - not invented here syndrome? - so in this
country DTV and HDTV appeared at precisely the same time,
with DTV, the enabling technology, being necessary for HD.

So who cares how many lines are on your set? You either
have a set that supports the new technology - DTV - or
you do not. Lines of resolution have just about nothing
to do with it. - other than bragging rights.

George Cornelius

On Mon, 03 Nov 2014 05:44:17 -0400, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

In article ,
George Cornelius wrote:

In Japan, HDTV came in without a digital conversion. For some reason
the powers that be in the U.S. decided not to go along with that - not
invented here syndrome? - so in this country DTV and HDTV appeared at
precisely the same time, with DTV, the enabling technology, being
necessary for HD.

So who cares how many lines are on your set? You either have a set
that supports the new technology - DTV - or you do not. Lines of
resolution have just about nothing to do with it. - other than bragging
rights.

right, which is why to say "I have a 7 inch HDTV" is false, when what
you mean is "I have a 7 inch TV that receives digital signals".

The point is, stupid people have been brainwashed into thinking that all
ATSC is HDTV.

This really getting old and doing nothing but wasting bandwidth. A 7"
screen with resolution of 400x200 has a pixel resolution of ~57 dpi. A 32"
wide 1280 pixel hdtv screen has a pixel resolution of 40 dpi, which is
considerably lower than the 7" wide screen, thus making the picture
resolution higher on the 7" tv. So now the HDTV moniker doesn't really
mean much. It's all relative to screen size and the definition of HD,
which really has nothing to do with resolution.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/HDTV.html

On 11/3/14 PDT, 3:40 PM, Wes Newell wrote:
On Mon, 03 Nov 2014 05:44:17 -0400, Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:

In article ,
George Cornelius wrote:

In Japan, HDTV came in without a digital conversion. For some reason
the powers that be in the U.S. decided not to go along with that - not
invented here syndrome? - so in this country DTV and HDTV appeared at
precisely the same time, with DTV, the enabling technology, being
necessary for HD.

So who cares how many lines are on your set? You either have a set
that supports the new technology - DTV - or you do not. Lines of
resolution have just about nothing to do with it. - other than bragging
rights.

right, which is why to say "I have a 7 inch HDTV" is false, when what
you mean is "I have a 7 inch TV that receives digital signals".

The point is, stupid people have been brainwashed into thinking that all
ATSC is HDTV.

This really getting old and doing nothing but wasting bandwidth. A 7"
screen with resolution of 400x200 has a pixel resolution of ~57 dpi. A 32"
wide 1280 pixel hdtv screen has a pixel resolution of 40 dpi, which is
considerably lower than the 7" wide screen, thus making the picture
resolution higher on the 7" tv. So now the HDTV moniker doesn't really
mean much. It's all relative to screen size and the definition of HD,
which really has nothing to do with resolution.
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/HDTV.html

Up to— or down to— some minimal size where having more dpi is
meaningless. Take a 2" screen with 75 dpi. Personally, a 7" screen
isn't HD to me. The URL is very dated and doesn't speak to size. There
has to be some minimum size.

"Ant" wrote in message
...

On 10/24/2014 12:41 PM PT, Jim Wilkins typed:

On 10/23/2014 8:47 AM PT, Patty Winter typed:
... AFAIK, no one has yet managed that with a satellite dish. :-)

I always wondered why you couldn't do it with a dish. Completely
different materials?

Completely different signal modulation and frequency
characteristics.

Patty was making a joke; the smiley was a clue to that...

Also satellites are 1000 times further away and transmit 1/1000 as
much power as broadcast stations.

I know that, but I was hoping there was a way to do with the dish. Like
Gene said, different signals and stuff.
=================================================

There are some ancient UHF TV antennas that have dish-shaped reflectors made
by Channel Master and Finco. I don't think they're manufactured any more
but they can occasionally be found, used.

http://freetoronto.tv/images/upara.jpg shows a picture of one.

I have one on my roof, now and it works very well. It was a gift from a guy
who replaced it with a yagi when it blew down. His wife said, "Get rid of
it before it kills somebody." The repairs were minimal when I got it home.
I've had it for many years

Getting technical, the gain of any dish antenna is a function of the size of
the reflector (the dish portion) expressed in wavelengths. UHF TV has a
much longer wavelength that a satellite TV signal, so the equivalent gain at
UHF would require a massive reflector, NG for home use. The gain of my UHF
antenna is in the range of 15 dB; DirecTV, with its shorter wavelength,
gets much more gain with a smaller dish. I hope that clears it up.

"Sal"

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message ...

major snippage

I'm not sure how well we have passed on the ability to
create tech rather than only the desire to consume it.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/emsi/201...-workers-ages/

-jsw
================================================== ====================
Yes.

Being retired, I'm an example of that. in 1962, when I joined the Navy, I
went to 38 weeks of Electronics Tech School. We learned detailed circuit
theory and learned to troubleshoot to the component level BECAUSE WE HAD TO.
At my first duty station, we had only one piece of equipment, called the
FRR-23, which was partially modularized but we still had to repair any
failed module. (The modules just made it possible to swap-out suspected
failed parts and troubleshoot more quickly.) The station was about an
hour's drive from civilization, so we were it. We could fix almost anything
if we had the prints and spare parts.

Newer equipment has no prints available and the components are sealed or
potted and have no test points. (I encountered this when I visited my
sister's house. Their TV went out and when she called a repairman, there
was one main board which he changed out. He said they junk them because
it's cheaper to make one than to repair one. *SNORT*

Nobody is getting the same detailed theory that I got fifty years ago,
except maybe in college, learning to design. They better teach soldering,
too! :-)

"Sal"

In article ,
Sal M. O'Nella wrote:

"Ant" wrote in message
...

I know that, but I was hoping there was a way to do with the dish. Like
Gene said, different signals and stuff.
=============================================== ==

There are some ancient UHF TV antennas that have dish-shaped reflectors made
by Channel Master and Finco. I don't think they're manufactured any more
but they can occasionally be found, used.

"Ant" was talking about satellite dishes, not OTA dishes.


Patty

On 06 Nov 2014 05:30:24 GMT, Patty Winter wrote:

In article ,
Sal M. O'Nella wrote:

"Ant" wrote in message
...

I know that, but I was hoping there was a way to do with the dish. Like
Gene said, different signals and stuff.
================================================ =

There are some ancient UHF TV antennas that have dish-shaped reflectors made
by Channel Master and Finco. I don't think they're manufactured any more
but they can occasionally be found, used.

"Ant" was talking about satellite dishes, not OTA dishes.

Patty

Sal seems to have been aware of that...

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
In article ,
George Cornelius wrote:


It's just a TV. A modern TV, that interprets digital broadcast signals.
But it's certainly not an HDTV.

So you want to lord it over everybody else that you've got
more pixels than the other guy. A resolution snob.


?????

Where did THAT come from?

OK, sorry for the slur. I have no idea what your motivation
is. But you leave yourself open to that interpretation.

I have a single small screen 720p television which I paid
$170 for. What I watch, though, is DTV converted to NTSC
via a cheap converter box, allowing me to use my old
(Hitachi based) Commodore 64 monitor while I sit at my
computer desk.

[Quite capable of going out and buying something better,
but I do not have a need for it. Bought a larger
1080i JVC set awhile back but gave it to my sister.
She must think as I do - or does not want to update
her Dish subscription - because she then gave it away
to a grandson, who uses it as a computer monitor
instead of a TV.]

George

On Fri, 07 Nov 2014 07:35:55 -0600, George Cornelius wrote:

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
In article ,
George Cornelius wrote:

It's just a TV. A modern TV, that interprets digital broadcast signals.
But it's certainly not an HDTV.

So you want to lord it over everybody else that you've got
more pixels than the other guy. A resolution snob.

?????

Where did THAT come from?

OK, sorry for the slur. I have no idea what your motivation
is. But you leave yourself open to that interpretation.

I have a single small screen 720p television which I paid
$170 for. What I watch, though, is DTV converted to NTSC
via a cheap converter box, allowing me to use my old
(Hitachi based) Commodore 64 monitor while I sit at my
computer desk.

[Quite capable of going out and buying something better,
but I do not have a need for it. Bought a larger
1080i JVC set awhile back but gave it to my sister.
She must think as I do - or does not want to update
her Dish subscription - because she then gave it away
to a grandson, who uses it as a computer monitor
instead of a TV.]

George

It's people like you who can make up your own minds and do things the
way you want that drive advertisers & manufacturers crazy :-)

Confession: they are happier with me than with you, although I'm not
planning to get a 60" 4K set any time soon. Or any time at all...

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)