Not much of a change than what everyone expected would happen.After yesterday's ruling, cable operators will have two choices come February 2009. They can either convert the digital SD signal to analog SD and pipe it across their lines (which means using more bandwidth and carrying three versions of a single channel) or they can offer digital SD only and roll out converter boxes to all their subscribers (which could be expensive).
reading the post isn't good enough now? You want me to read the linked story to confirm the post is actually true?Marco said:Might want to read the whole story, smeeky ... Broadcasters will still be starting digital-only broadcast in Feb 2009 ...
While I am happy about this as it gives me a little more time to save up for an HDTV and increased cost in cable packages, I wonder about this quote from above:After an 11-hour delay to the start of its monthly meeting, the FCC voted 5-0 at about 10 p.m. to require cable systems to distribute local TV stations that demand carriage in both analog and digital formats for a three-year period starting Feb. 18, 2009. Thats the day after all 1,756 full-power TV stations must turn off their analog signals and rely exclusively on their digital feeds. Cable systems that are all-digital are exempt from the FCCs dual carriage mandate.
This gives the cable companies the opportunity to shift to "all-digital" at the OTA cutoff point and not have to follow the analog must-carry. We all knew this was going to be the case, but I guess they have at least formalized it.Cable systems that are all-digital are exempt from the FCCs dual carriage mandate.
For cable companies that are all-digital, all their subscribers already have STBs, or QAM capable TV's. Thus they're logically excluded from all of this.This gives the cable companies the opportunity to shift to "all-digital" at the OTA cutoff point and not have to follow the analog must-carry. We all knew this was going to be the case, but I guess they have at least formalized it.
Am I reading this correctly?
It would have been nice to see a mandate that they don't compress the signals.Lobbying pressure from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association forced Martin to yield not only on perpetual dual carriage but also on a second priority: Requiring cable systems to transmit all content bits in a digital TV signal, thereby eliminating the use of signal compression and statistical multiplexing that husband bandwidth.
I believe the fee must be "reasonable".kdmorse said:Cable companies that are not all-digital, are permitted to go all-digital, but *only* if they provide all customers with STB's for each TV. (I'm not sure who pays for the new STB, I'm not sure charging the consumer is prohibited).
I believe the point is quite the opposite: They can't blame the FCC, because the FCC said explicitly they can comply with the regulation either by converting digital to analog at the head-end or via converter box.kdmorse said:Really - all this ruling means is that cable companies can not just drop their existing analog lineup of broadcast channels the day of the OTA shutoff, point their fingers at the feds, and say "Sorry! It's not our fault!".
A company called Broadlogic has developed the chips that would be the core of such a device.jlb said:Could set-top boxes just be digital to analog converters of somesort, as opposed to a box you use to tune your channel? If so, could you then input the resulting signal into a dual tuner TiVo and be able to tune two channels? Would updated guides be necessary?
Nothing.yunlin12 said:What happens now to the folks in Chicago that just lost all their analog channels?
http://www.broadlogic.com/tpix.htmvman41 said:A company called Broadlogic has developed the chips that would be the core of such a device.
Technically yes, but it would be prohibitively expensive for a typical homeowner. Such a system would involve a tuner per channel, and a cable RF modulator, which could cost in the neighborhood of $100/channel. Practically, just get a TiVo HD.jlb said:Could set-top boxes just be digital to analog converters of somesort, as opposed to a box you use to tune your channel? If so, could you then input the resulting signal into a dual tuner TiVo and be able to tune two channels? Would updated guides be necessary?
You don't need a new TV just yet. A TiVo HD will work fine with your old one, for like cable STBs, it outputs old style analog TV signals, albeit in just A/V, so you will need an inexpensive RF modulator to work with an older TV that has RF in only.I would love as much time as possible to save up for the TV I would really like, as opposed to affording right now. But I guess it gives me the ability to go to the WAF with the following: Honey, we have to get a new TV and a TiVoHD. Without it, we won't be able to record our programs.
