T.V. digital broadcasting by 2006

[smiles 0]

2006 may turn out to be a pretty interesting year. Consider- TV will become digital broadcasts in MPEG-2 format and we'll likely see the birth of Windows: The Next Generation.

Will you need a new TV tuner card for your computers. Or will you need a card at all?

HDTV is broadcast in 16:9 ratio. People who have lately bought $700 or $800 LCD monitors are NOT going to want to run right out and plunk down another $1000 for a wide-screen version of the same.

Those of us with cruddy old CRT monitors that are due for replacement may be the only ones wearing smiles.

Should one assemble the resources for HTDV-ready Media Center Edition PC?? Are images really THAT much better than those of traditional broadcasts? I've heard the difference in clarity is amazing (even on an LCD monitor).


SMiles

[PhillyKev 0]

yeah...except there's no way in hell that will be ready by 2006. Clinton put through an exec order to have the FCC mandate that as the deadline, but it's not going to happen. They haven't even settled on a standard format for HdTV yet.

[Remster 30]

The UK already has digital broadcasting in 16:9 ratio.... for the last 2 years!

Remster

[souleh 0]

Yep, and I'm watching some dodgy Ibiza program on Sky Travel right now.. gotta love freeview! (haha)

'buttplugs? where?' - geno

[smiles 0]

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

As of May 2003, more than 1,000 stations were on the air with DTV signals, and every major TV market was served by at least one DTV station. The target date set by Congress for the completion of the transition to DTV is December 31, 2006.

However, that date may be extended until most homes (85%) in an area are able to watch the DTV programming. At that point, broadcasting on the analog channels will end and that spectrum will be put to other uses. Until the transition to DTV is completed, television stations are required to broadcast on both their digital and analog channels.

SMiles

[PhillyKev 0]

Yeah...but what they don't tell you is that there are 3 different formats being used, and not all sets support all formats, and each station has decided on their own which to use. Until they standardize on a format, you can expect that A) many people won't buy decoders that only work for a third of the stations; and B) Many stations won't even begin putting the infrastructure in place until a standard is chosen.

The other point missing is that just because a station can broadcast in DTV, doesn't mean that the shows are being filmed that way. They probably have one or two shows a week, max.