Standard broadcast analog television signals from the major networks will cease on February 17, 2009. After that time, if you receive your TV signals from a standard antenna right off the airwaves, you will either need to upgrade to a digital television or buy a converter box for your standard analog TV (supposedly, cable and satellite TV customers will not have to do anything, as those services will do the signal conversions for you). At least, that’s the official word.
But, how well is this really going to work? To see some of the really cautionary tales of how big government can’t overrule, or ignore, the laws of physics, check out the links on this Web page from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics engineers.
Don’t be scared. Many of these articles are not written for engineers, but rather for “the rest of us.” And, there may be an awful lot of trouble on the horizon.
For example, that promise that all is well if you use a cable service – well, maybe not.
And, it looks like all converter boxes are not created equal. This article also indicates you may need more than just the converter box – perhaps a totally new antenna and wiring system is in your expensive future.
So, stand by. We are going to find out in February exactly how well our nation’s technical leaders really did their homework. If the IEEE stories are any indication, it looks like the dog got a hold of it.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Digital TV Changeover – Watch Out – Big Government’s Involved!
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2 comments:
Most of the articles talked about the longevity of the digital screens. CRTs last longer.
That should come as no surprise. That's the way its been since the inception of the computer industry.
If you're lucky (or a Mac owner) you're likely to get about four good years of use. Apple has an "Apples for Apples" trade-in policy. As the technology improves it's advantageous to trade up.
That's not a whole lot of different than taking old, used books to a second hand bookstore buyer and selling them back. You're still only going to get a fraction of what you paid.
"Big Government" has nothing to do with it. You're still spouting the Reagan-Palin nonsense that government is the problem. That philosophy can be summed up:
Backward, turn backward
Oh time in thy flight!
The future's unpleasant
The present's unbright.
Our founders understood that good government is necessary for human happiness. They recognized that we're not angels.
Welcome to the 21st century!
Hempy apparently missed the message from the decline and fall of the USSR. Overly centralized big government control can most definitely lead to big problems. It's obvious to a lot more people than Reagan and Palin.
Anyway, in the particular case of the HD TV changeover, congress and the FCC mandated this expensive changeover before all the technology was really up to speed, and before the true costs of compliance were really understood.
Big government, bowing to a special interest, has everything to do with this.
By the way, Hempy, why do liberals have such a limited sense of direction? There are lots of ways to navigate that don't require going backward. In fact, there are 359 different choices on my compass. This idea that any direction you don't like is "backward" is nonsense.
That said, I agree that we need good government. I also agree that we are not angels.
The problem is that big government isn't synonymous with good government (and I am confident the Founding Fathers never could have conceived of what we now have). Plenty of non-angels (who kowtow to special interests at the expense of the majority) seem to be winding up there.
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