Digital TV deadline pushed back

[admin]

The Federal Communications Commission has issued new rules for the 2009 Digital Broadcast Switchover. This latest regulation change insures that cable subscribers will still be able to watch standard broadcast programming after the transition until the year 2012, even if they don’t yet own a digital TV.

Beginning February 18, 2009, broadcast networks will stop transmitting the standard analog signals to over-the-air viewers and cable companies. Cable companies will need to convert the digital signal to analog at the source or supply their customers with a "down converter" unit. However, small cable companies will be able to request a waiver.

The extension of the availability of analog broadcast signals through cable companies to 2012 was put in place because the FCC is concerned that approximately 40 million U.S. households are still analog-only subscribers. This appears to be a generous extension as the majority of households now use digital cable or a satellite signal and have migrated to digital televisions, many of which are high-def.


http://www.avrev.com/news/0907/13.fcc153.shtml

[Ortwin]

EDIT: Ug. I misread the link above. I didn't catch the analog cable statement...Ignore me (like most of the posters did below anyway) :D

[MrK]

I'm glad the cable companies can't use this as an excuse to drop support for analog cable. Digital cable compatibility is non-existent with third party devices and I'm sure the cable companies would love to force their customers to lease cable boxes for the 3-4 TVs that are now receiving an analog signal via a splitter.

[MikeD]

It's nice to see the date formalized. If the cable company I use had tried to force me to go digital, I would have dropped cable and switched to rabbit ears, since most of what I watch is on broadcast TV. I suspect that many of the other 40% of customers in the same boat would have made the same choice.

[tnas]

Not sure I follow your thinking....
After Feb 29,2009 your "rabbit ears" will have to be connected to a digital tuner or else it will be receiving nothing. If you have a digital tuner in your tv, then you won't need a converter box from your cable company anyway.

[MikeD]

Not sure I follow your thinking....
After Feb 29,2009 your "rabbit ears" will have to be connected to a digital tuner or else it will be receiving nothing. If you have a digital tuner in your tv, then you won't need a converter box from your cable company anyway.I see your point. I neglected to mention that I already have a DTV receiver set-top box that works fine for OTA reception of HD signals on my analog TV. Those are the devices that the government is offering to subsidize via coupons for people who need them. With so many of those boxes available for cheap in the marketplace, it will be no big deal for people to swap cable for the crystal clear reception of HD signals via antenna.

[MrK]

Not sure I follow your thinking....
After Feb 29,2009 your "rabbit ears" will have to be connected to a digital tuner or else it will be receiving nothing.


If you are receiving cable, the rabbit ears switchover has nothing to do with you. The analog cable signal is not mandated to be shut off on 2/2/2009. (This thread shows it is in 2012.)

I know many families that receive analog cable and split it off to 2-3 TVs. When the cable companies shut down the analog signal, they will need boxes for each of those TVs.



If you have a digital tuner in your tv, then you won't need a converter box from your cable company anyway.

Actually, you will. If the TV has a digital-cable capable tuner, it will still only tune in the unencrypted digital stations. (i.e. the locals.) Everything else will be scrambled and require a cable box.

If your TV can take a cable card (which is rare in new TVs), you may lease one (usually for the same cost as a box) from the cable company in place of the box. Either way, the cable companies are successfully moving to a pay-per-TV model.

[caddickj]

I know many families that receive analog cable and split it off to 2-3 TVs. When the cable companies shut down the analog signal, they will need boxes for each of those TVs.
Actually, the cable company did that for me. They're the ones who ran cable throughout my house.


Either way, the cable companies are successfully moving to a pay-per-TV model.
Yeah. And that just plain sucks. The bill keeps going up, and now they're going to force me to buy new hardware, too.

What they ought to do is create a central descrambler that opens up all the channels you pay for after it gets into your house, so you only have to have one box per house. Keep it in your basement and pipe out to all the TVs from there.

(Obviously I don't have a clue what I'm talking about, technically. There's probably a fundamental flaw in that idea somewhere, or somebody would have done it already. But it should still work like that, dammit.) :rolleyes: