One of the most avid participants of the Maine HDTV community is a guy named Dave from north/central Maine. I was recently going through my email and discovered that since August of this year, Dave and I have emailed back and forth 63 times. I have tried to assist him in any way possible and have given him lots of advice and suggestions for avenues he could try.
Dave has been struggling with the loss of reception when he started using a digital converter box. Since all of the channels he should be receiving are broadcasting in digital, he should not have a problem. However, as we have found out, when it comes to digital TV and HDTV nothing is as simple as it might sound.
This all started quite some time ago. I don't even remember when. I do remember Dave contacting me through the forum with lots of questions and he was frustrated at how much wasn't working.
Maine television stations, the Maine Association of Broadcasters, and the FCC all say that there are not any reception issues to speak of. Their party line is that if you were able to receive the analog signals, you should be able to receive the digital signals.
As Dave and many others have found out this is simply not true. And I take it personally that I have not been able to help more. I have some decent contacts in the business but sometimes you just reach a dead end.
Dave contacted WVII - Channel 7 in Bangor, Maine when he realized he could not receive their digital signal. They said they couldn't help him except to say he was on the "fringe" of their coverage area and there was nothing they could do to help. Dave then tried to get ABC out of New York from his satellite provider. He had to apply for a waiver and was eventually turned down so now he will be left with no ABC channel after the February 17, 2009 conversion.
There is a small chance that Dave might be able to receive WMTW-Channel 8 out of Portland depending on WMTW's signal strength at the time of conversion.
So after many email and phone calls to television stations, the Maine Associate of Broadcasters, and a reporter doing a story on this forum as it related to the digital conversion, Dave is still frustrated that nobody in the TV industry seems to care how many viewers will actually lose signals after the conversion. Dave is not the only person with these problems. We have received emails for all over Maine, New Hampshire, and from around the country - even from other countries.
Unfortunately, and as usual, it is the less fortunate, the elderly, or anyone on a fixed income that will lose out on the deal. These are the people who can't afford expensive rooftop antennas, a new digital TV, and a monthly cable bill. And some don't have Internet access to even reach a site like this to get resource information.
I'm sure Dave and I will still communicate as we all go through this together. This site has received a lot of traffic lately. And I suspect it will only increase as we get closer to conversion time and as the economy weakens. In economic downturns, one thing that gets cut from family budgets is cable TV. Those that haven't been paying attention, because they didn't have to, will suddenly find themselves in a position where their older TV set won't receive a signal without cable and without a converter box. They will need information and resources to understand everything they have not been paying attention to. We at the Maine HDTV Forum are here to help. We have tons of articles about how things work and even a 6 part online tutorial for beginners.
As we near February 17, 2009, we need to keep in mind that this is not the end. In some cases it will only be the beginning as the fallout appears.
My recent conversation with Dave reminded me how precarious TV still is we aren't even aware of some of the problems people will encounter during the transition.
Take care and thanks for stopping by.
Showing posts with label 1 - Online Class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 - Online Class. Show all posts
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Online Class - Digital Television - Part 6 - Mastering High Definition
High Definition TV will reach your TV in one of two way. You can receive it over the air from your local TV stations for free (see article on what HD programming is actually available on the big broadcast networks) or through your cable/satellite provider.
When I refer to cable here I am referring to cable or satellite (like Dish TV, for example).
There are many cable networks that now have a separate High Definition version of themselves. Examples of these are TBS, TNT, A&E, Food Network, etc.
Keep in mind that just because these channels are supposedly all high definition, the truth is most are not. Keep in mind that these channels are showing current programming but in many cases reruns as well. TBS for example, shows reruns of Seinfeld, King of Queens, and other sitcoms and dramas that were never produced in High Definition. So how could a station like TBS broadcast them to you now in HD if they weren't produced in HD. The answer is, they can't. So in order to fill up the whole HDTV screen (remember it is a 16:9 ratio), they stretch the 4:3 picture to fit. Because the stretching originates from the source broadcaster, you have no control over it. You can use your TV's controls to "unstretch" it but that never works very will and you are left with black bars on the side and a picture that now looks squashed instead of stetched. There's just no way to win.
On the contrary, there are lots of HD channels including TBS that run either original programming or reruns that were produced in high definition. For example, TBS airs "House of Payne", an original sitcom, produced in HD. TNT airs "Saving Grace" and "The Closer" where this is also true. And they air reruns of shows like "Law and Order" and "The Office" which were originally produced in HD. So if a show was originally produced in HD and is airing on an HD network, you are truly seeing HD programming.
Let's go back to you local TV station for a minute. My local NBC affiliate airs "Law and Order" in the afternoons (because NBC has absolutely no daytime programming other than "Day of our Lives" so there's lots of room for reruns and/or "judge" shows). My local station can't record and play back at a later time, HD programing (see earlier posts). So in this case I am watching a channel that is HD capable and I'm watching a show that was produced in HD, but my local station can't record that show and play it back in HD so I end up with a plain old digital program with black bars on the side. I hope that makes sense.
The next example of HD is what I call "Fake HD". There are HD Channels out there like Discovery HD, Food Network HD, Science Channel HD who commit even bigger sins. There are certain shows on these networks that are broadcast in a strange format. It is as if they re-recorded a 4:3 program in close up and the outcome is that it ALMOST fills up the screen. It was originally a 4:3, non-HD program. They cleaned it up or something to get the picture to be a bit crisper, then zoomed in on it so make the picture bigger. But if you look, there are still black bars on the sides of the screen. The are smaller and a lot less noticeable than the typical black bars, but they are there.
The last and in my opinion the worst kind of HD programming is what I call "Horizon HD". On some HD Television sets, you can stretch a 4:3 picture to 16:9 (stretching) but everything looks a little off, so there is another setting called "Horizon Stretch". It's hard to explain but the picture is stretched out in a strategic way, not quite stretched evenly, to give the illusion that people are objects aren't so stretched. That's the best way I can explain it. But as the camera moves, let's say it pans the room, the picture looks like there are two rolling pins underneath the screen giving a wavy or undulating appearance. It can make you sea sick. And with all those makeover shows on TLC and HGTV where they pan the room before and after, Horizon HD is NOT a good choice. I find I must change the channel when I come upon these shows.
The moral of this story: HDTV is not necessarily HD so be careful what you're willing to pay for.
Stay tuned for more.
When I refer to cable here I am referring to cable or satellite (like Dish TV, for example).
There are many cable networks that now have a separate High Definition version of themselves. Examples of these are TBS, TNT, A&E, Food Network, etc.
Keep in mind that just because these channels are supposedly all high definition, the truth is most are not. Keep in mind that these channels are showing current programming but in many cases reruns as well. TBS for example, shows reruns of Seinfeld, King of Queens, and other sitcoms and dramas that were never produced in High Definition. So how could a station like TBS broadcast them to you now in HD if they weren't produced in HD. The answer is, they can't. So in order to fill up the whole HDTV screen (remember it is a 16:9 ratio), they stretch the 4:3 picture to fit. Because the stretching originates from the source broadcaster, you have no control over it. You can use your TV's controls to "unstretch" it but that never works very will and you are left with black bars on the side and a picture that now looks squashed instead of stetched. There's just no way to win.
On the contrary, there are lots of HD channels including TBS that run either original programming or reruns that were produced in high definition. For example, TBS airs "House of Payne", an original sitcom, produced in HD. TNT airs "Saving Grace" and "The Closer" where this is also true. And they air reruns of shows like "Law and Order" and "The Office" which were originally produced in HD. So if a show was originally produced in HD and is airing on an HD network, you are truly seeing HD programming.
Let's go back to you local TV station for a minute. My local NBC affiliate airs "Law and Order" in the afternoons (because NBC has absolutely no daytime programming other than "Day of our Lives" so there's lots of room for reruns and/or "judge" shows). My local station can't record and play back at a later time, HD programing (see earlier posts). So in this case I am watching a channel that is HD capable and I'm watching a show that was produced in HD, but my local station can't record that show and play it back in HD so I end up with a plain old digital program with black bars on the side. I hope that makes sense.
The next example of HD is what I call "Fake HD". There are HD Channels out there like Discovery HD, Food Network HD, Science Channel HD who commit even bigger sins. There are certain shows on these networks that are broadcast in a strange format. It is as if they re-recorded a 4:3 program in close up and the outcome is that it ALMOST fills up the screen. It was originally a 4:3, non-HD program. They cleaned it up or something to get the picture to be a bit crisper, then zoomed in on it so make the picture bigger. But if you look, there are still black bars on the sides of the screen. The are smaller and a lot less noticeable than the typical black bars, but they are there.
The last and in my opinion the worst kind of HD programming is what I call "Horizon HD". On some HD Television sets, you can stretch a 4:3 picture to 16:9 (stretching) but everything looks a little off, so there is another setting called "Horizon Stretch". It's hard to explain but the picture is stretched out in a strategic way, not quite stretched evenly, to give the illusion that people are objects aren't so stretched. That's the best way I can explain it. But as the camera moves, let's say it pans the room, the picture looks like there are two rolling pins underneath the screen giving a wavy or undulating appearance. It can make you sea sick. And with all those makeover shows on TLC and HGTV where they pan the room before and after, Horizon HD is NOT a good choice. I find I must change the channel when I come upon these shows.
The moral of this story: HDTV is not necessarily HD so be careful what you're willing to pay for.
Stay tuned for more.
Online Class - Digital Television - Part 5 - What are those Black Bars?
OK, here we go. For the purposes of this post, I am going to assume that people either have a High Definition TV or an old style Analog TV. The other types (SDTV and EDTV) are not as popular and those who have them can figure out where they fit into these scenarios.
High Definition Televisions are wider than regular TVs. That's why they call them Wide Screen. Not to get too complicated but Analog TVs use a 4:3 ratio (picture it 4 inches across and 3 inches high). HDTVs us a 16:9 ratio (16 inches across by 9 inches down). That's a big difference. An HDTV is almost twice as wide as it is high. To make things more confusing, movies in the theater are in a 1:2 ratio, twice as wide as they are high. So when a movie plays on TV, even in HD, they still have to cut off part of the picture.
I want to talk about the most common scenario so let's assume you have a High Definition TV, subscribe to cable or satellite, and pay extra for the high definition TV package offered by your provider. You are channel surfing. Some of the channels are High Definition channels (meaning they are HD capable) and some are regular or non-HD channels. In this scenario sometimes you will have control over how the picture fills your screen and sometimes you won't.
If a digital TV broadcast is simply that, digital, and not high definition, then by default it will be in 4:3 format. A digital 4:3 format displayed on a 16:9 screen leaves black bars on both sides of the picture. Those black bars originate from the source (meaning the broadcast TV station you are watching or the cable channel you are watching). You will not be able to stretch the picture yourself using your TV controls. If you have a cable or satellite box, there is typically an option to stretch the 4:3 picture to fill the screen. If this is your case then the box itself is stretching the picture. Things will look out of shape, people will look fat and squatty, but it will fill your screen.
If you are watching an analog 4:3 format (which is what you have been watching for years until digital and HD came along), you will also see black bars but those originate from your TV, not from the source broadcaster. So you could stretch the picture yourself using your TV controls. Again at the cable or satellite box, if you subscribe to one of those, should also have options to override this and stretch the picture.
There is one more scenario; black bars (pillars) on the sides as well as along the top and bottom. Sometimes, those who produce programming or even commercials, use the letterbox black frame for special effect purposes. In these cases there is nothing wrong with your TV, the broadcaster, or anything else. But sometimes you will be watching your 4:3 analog TV or your 16:9 digital TV and you see black bars on all 4 sides of the picture. This happens because a television program is produced in high definition and is only being broadcast in high definition. It is not simulcast in standard definition. In addition to that, the program is being broadcast from a TV station that is not showing it directly from the network feed, it is being recorded and played back at a later time. And because most TV stations can not (yet) record and playback HD programming (as we discussed) they can only broadcast this HD programming in non-HD format. That's why you'll get black bars on the top, bottom, and both sides of your picture. If you have a digital TV and can zoom in, you will be able to get rid of them, but the picture quality will suffer severely. The program, at this point, will most likely be in 480i or 480p which is not conducive to zooming; the picture will look grainy and blurry.
The moral of this story: Sometimes the picture doesn't look right; and just because the picture takes up the whole screen doesn't mean its High Definition.
Stay tuned for more.
High Definition Televisions are wider than regular TVs. That's why they call them Wide Screen. Not to get too complicated but Analog TVs use a 4:3 ratio (picture it 4 inches across and 3 inches high). HDTVs us a 16:9 ratio (16 inches across by 9 inches down). That's a big difference. An HDTV is almost twice as wide as it is high. To make things more confusing, movies in the theater are in a 1:2 ratio, twice as wide as they are high. So when a movie plays on TV, even in HD, they still have to cut off part of the picture.
I want to talk about the most common scenario so let's assume you have a High Definition TV, subscribe to cable or satellite, and pay extra for the high definition TV package offered by your provider. You are channel surfing. Some of the channels are High Definition channels (meaning they are HD capable) and some are regular or non-HD channels. In this scenario sometimes you will have control over how the picture fills your screen and sometimes you won't.
If a digital TV broadcast is simply that, digital, and not high definition, then by default it will be in 4:3 format. A digital 4:3 format displayed on a 16:9 screen leaves black bars on both sides of the picture. Those black bars originate from the source (meaning the broadcast TV station you are watching or the cable channel you are watching). You will not be able to stretch the picture yourself using your TV controls. If you have a cable or satellite box, there is typically an option to stretch the 4:3 picture to fill the screen. If this is your case then the box itself is stretching the picture. Things will look out of shape, people will look fat and squatty, but it will fill your screen.
If you are watching an analog 4:3 format (which is what you have been watching for years until digital and HD came along), you will also see black bars but those originate from your TV, not from the source broadcaster. So you could stretch the picture yourself using your TV controls. Again at the cable or satellite box, if you subscribe to one of those, should also have options to override this and stretch the picture.
There is one more scenario; black bars (pillars) on the sides as well as along the top and bottom. Sometimes, those who produce programming or even commercials, use the letterbox black frame for special effect purposes. In these cases there is nothing wrong with your TV, the broadcaster, or anything else. But sometimes you will be watching your 4:3 analog TV or your 16:9 digital TV and you see black bars on all 4 sides of the picture. This happens because a television program is produced in high definition and is only being broadcast in high definition. It is not simulcast in standard definition. In addition to that, the program is being broadcast from a TV station that is not showing it directly from the network feed, it is being recorded and played back at a later time. And because most TV stations can not (yet) record and playback HD programming (as we discussed) they can only broadcast this HD programming in non-HD format. That's why you'll get black bars on the top, bottom, and both sides of your picture. If you have a digital TV and can zoom in, you will be able to get rid of them, but the picture quality will suffer severely. The program, at this point, will most likely be in 480i or 480p which is not conducive to zooming; the picture will look grainy and blurry.
The moral of this story: Sometimes the picture doesn't look right; and just because the picture takes up the whole screen doesn't mean its High Definition.
Stay tuned for more.
Online Class - Digital Television - Part 4 - What am I watching?
OK, now that you know why digital TV exists and how it works, it's time to discuss the realities of everyday television watching. The truth is, there is relatively very little High Definition programming that reaches your home everyday, no matter how that TV signal gets to you and no matter what the cable or satellite company tells you, and no matter what you THINK is happening, there really is very little HD programming getting to you.
I'm going to skip over specialty HD network for now and talk about just broadcast TV. I'll touch on cable and satellite High Definition in another post.
I'll run through the day for you quickly. Starting a 7:00 AM "Good Morning America" and "The Today Show" are broadcast in high definition. The CBS Early Show is not. From there "The View" is in HD and "The Young and the Restless" is in HD and that's about it until the evening news. Both NBC and CBS (just recently) are broadcasting the evening news in high definition, ABC is not. It really makes no sense. Supposedly it's all about cost. Producing a TV program in high definition is more expensive. As to why ABC broadcast GMA in HD but not their evening news, I have no idea. Conversely, why CBS broadcast their evening news in HD but not "The Early Show", I have no idea. I thought is was about ratings, meaning a highly rated show with more viewers means more revenue. But to me, you'll get more viewers if you broadcast in high definition because those of us who have HD capability would rather watch a program in HD than one that is not. But that's just my opinion.
Next comes Prime Time (8:00 pm in the East, 7:00 PM Central). Most non-reality type programming, meaning your TV dramas and sit-coms are in high definition (with very few exceptions). Reality shows like "Extreme Home Makeover" or "Big Brother" are not broadcast in HD. Neither are most news magazine shows and game shows, although when "The Price is Right" did their Prime Time specials, they were in HD. So basically it's hit or miss. Almost all of FOX's prime time programming, and most of the CW's prime time programming is in HD.
As for late night here we go again. Conan (NBC), Jay Leno (NBC), and Letterman (CBS) are in High Definition. Nightline (ABC), Jimmy Kimmel (ABC) and Craig Ferguson (CBS) are not in HD. See I told you, there's no rhyme or reason to it.
Now a footnote about PBS. They run things a bit differently. PBS has its own HD channel where all of the programming is in HD. As for local PBS stations, it depends. Some have the ability to produce and/or broadcast HD programming apart from the network.
I have read, however, that all news programming produced by CBS will be in HD by year end. The same is supposedly true for ABC and I suspect the other network will follow suit but there's no way to tell, or be sure, until I see it for myself.
So as you can see, the picture I am drawing here is that local TV stations can only broadcast HD programming when the network is broadcasting HD programming. These local TV stations are basically operating as a pass-through, passing the programming fed to them from the big satellite in the sky from the network to you. They can not record it and play it back later, they can only broadcast it when the network broadcasts it. Getting the picture?
The moral of this story: There's not a lot of HD programs to watch especially if you're not paying your cable or satellite company lots of extra money.
Stay tuned for more information
I'm going to skip over specialty HD network for now and talk about just broadcast TV. I'll touch on cable and satellite High Definition in another post.
I'll run through the day for you quickly. Starting a 7:00 AM "Good Morning America" and "The Today Show" are broadcast in high definition. The CBS Early Show is not. From there "The View" is in HD and "The Young and the Restless" is in HD and that's about it until the evening news. Both NBC and CBS (just recently) are broadcasting the evening news in high definition, ABC is not. It really makes no sense. Supposedly it's all about cost. Producing a TV program in high definition is more expensive. As to why ABC broadcast GMA in HD but not their evening news, I have no idea. Conversely, why CBS broadcast their evening news in HD but not "The Early Show", I have no idea. I thought is was about ratings, meaning a highly rated show with more viewers means more revenue. But to me, you'll get more viewers if you broadcast in high definition because those of us who have HD capability would rather watch a program in HD than one that is not. But that's just my opinion.
Next comes Prime Time (8:00 pm in the East, 7:00 PM Central). Most non-reality type programming, meaning your TV dramas and sit-coms are in high definition (with very few exceptions). Reality shows like "Extreme Home Makeover" or "Big Brother" are not broadcast in HD. Neither are most news magazine shows and game shows, although when "The Price is Right" did their Prime Time specials, they were in HD. So basically it's hit or miss. Almost all of FOX's prime time programming, and most of the CW's prime time programming is in HD.
As for late night here we go again. Conan (NBC), Jay Leno (NBC), and Letterman (CBS) are in High Definition. Nightline (ABC), Jimmy Kimmel (ABC) and Craig Ferguson (CBS) are not in HD. See I told you, there's no rhyme or reason to it.
Now a footnote about PBS. They run things a bit differently. PBS has its own HD channel where all of the programming is in HD. As for local PBS stations, it depends. Some have the ability to produce and/or broadcast HD programming apart from the network.
I have read, however, that all news programming produced by CBS will be in HD by year end. The same is supposedly true for ABC and I suspect the other network will follow suit but there's no way to tell, or be sure, until I see it for myself.
So as you can see, the picture I am drawing here is that local TV stations can only broadcast HD programming when the network is broadcasting HD programming. These local TV stations are basically operating as a pass-through, passing the programming fed to them from the big satellite in the sky from the network to you. They can not record it and play it back later, they can only broadcast it when the network broadcasts it. Getting the picture?
The moral of this story: There's not a lot of HD programs to watch especially if you're not paying your cable or satellite company lots of extra money.
Stay tuned for more information
Online Class - Conversion to Digital Television - Part 3 - High Definition
In order for a TV station to broadcast high definition (HD) programming they must first be broadcasting in digital. HD is an extension of digital television. Just because a TV station is broadcasting in digital does not mean it is broadcasting HD. And further, just because you have a High Definition TV set doesn't mean that all programming you watch will actually be in high definition.
Two things must be true in order for you to watch high definition television. The TV station (or cable network, which I will get into later) must be sending an HD signal out over the airwaves AND you must have a TV that is displaying high definition receiving that signal.
What is High Definition? A super clear, superior picture with more dots of color to comprise that TV picture than was ever available with analog. There are really 2 types of high definiton. "P" for progressive and "I" for interlaced. You don't need to understand the difference other than "P" puts the image on the screen all at once and "I" put the image on the screen line by line. Television shows are not broadcast in 1080p, really only video games are capable of diplaying this high end of high definition. Television highest dots per inch is 1080i. The other type of high definition picture of TVs is 720p. As an example, the ABC network broadcasts its HD programming in 720p. The CBS network broadcast its HD programming in 1080i. The human eye, under normal circumstances would have an impossible time telling the difference between these two different type of HD. Both are very high quality.
The step-child of 1080i and 720p is "480". 480 is really the lowest number of dots per inch on the screen that you can have and still call it digital. 480i and/or 480p are not high definition, just regular digital TV.
The moral of this story: There are a lot of different kinds of digital TV
Stay tuned for more.
Two things must be true in order for you to watch high definition television. The TV station (or cable network, which I will get into later) must be sending an HD signal out over the airwaves AND you must have a TV that is displaying high definition receiving that signal.
What is High Definition? A super clear, superior picture with more dots of color to comprise that TV picture than was ever available with analog. There are really 2 types of high definiton. "P" for progressive and "I" for interlaced. You don't need to understand the difference other than "P" puts the image on the screen all at once and "I" put the image on the screen line by line. Television shows are not broadcast in 1080p, really only video games are capable of diplaying this high end of high definition. Television highest dots per inch is 1080i. The other type of high definition picture of TVs is 720p. As an example, the ABC network broadcasts its HD programming in 720p. The CBS network broadcast its HD programming in 1080i. The human eye, under normal circumstances would have an impossible time telling the difference between these two different type of HD. Both are very high quality.
The step-child of 1080i and 720p is "480". 480 is really the lowest number of dots per inch on the screen that you can have and still call it digital. 480i and/or 480p are not high definition, just regular digital TV.
The moral of this story: There are a lot of different kinds of digital TV
Stay tuned for more.
Online Class - Conversion to Digital Television - Part 2 - How?
Part 2 will focus on more of the guts of the digital TV revolution.
If you own a digital TV then you can receive digital broadcasts. If you don't have a digital TV, you'll need a converter box (to convert the signal from digital to analog so your TV will be able to read the signal and make a picture come through on your TV).
There are many types of digital TVs. First there is SDTV which means "Standard Digital Television". The picture is the same size and shape as an analog TV but the innards of the TV are more space age. Then there is EDTV or Enhanced Digital TV. EDTVs have the ability to project High Definition images but need another piece of equipment (like an HD cable box or HD satellite box) in order to get HD images. Without this middle piece of equipment, and EDTV is not much different than an SDTV. Next is a true DTV also referred to as HDTV or High Definition Digital Television. An HDTV is capable of displaying high definition images all by itself as it receives them either through the air, or through a cable or satellite provider.
Broadcast TV stations have been broadcasting in digital for several years now. They have ALSO continued to broadcast analog signals so that anyone with an older TV can still get their signal, and anyone with a newer digital TV would be able to reap the benefits of what digital TV can accomplish.
For a few years now I have owned a Digital TV. DTVs come in two type, Plasma or LCD. It really is about cost, preference, and performance. My TV is LCD. I have an antenna (similar to the old "rabbit ears") and because TV stations in my area are broadcasting in digital and because I have a digital TV, I get a clear, sharp picture, better than anything that could be done with analog.
I could accomplish the same thing if I subscribed to digital cable. I would get all of my local stations in digital format (and a lot of other channels that may or may not be in digital format) but for quite a monthly cost.
If your analog TV is hooked up to cable or satellite, your provider will send out a digital signal for digital TVs AND an analog signal for older TVs.
The moral of this story: Figure out what kind of TV you have and what kind of TV you want.
Stay tuned for the next chapter.
If you own a digital TV then you can receive digital broadcasts. If you don't have a digital TV, you'll need a converter box (to convert the signal from digital to analog so your TV will be able to read the signal and make a picture come through on your TV).
There are many types of digital TVs. First there is SDTV which means "Standard Digital Television". The picture is the same size and shape as an analog TV but the innards of the TV are more space age. Then there is EDTV or Enhanced Digital TV. EDTVs have the ability to project High Definition images but need another piece of equipment (like an HD cable box or HD satellite box) in order to get HD images. Without this middle piece of equipment, and EDTV is not much different than an SDTV. Next is a true DTV also referred to as HDTV or High Definition Digital Television. An HDTV is capable of displaying high definition images all by itself as it receives them either through the air, or through a cable or satellite provider.
Broadcast TV stations have been broadcasting in digital for several years now. They have ALSO continued to broadcast analog signals so that anyone with an older TV can still get their signal, and anyone with a newer digital TV would be able to reap the benefits of what digital TV can accomplish.
For a few years now I have owned a Digital TV. DTVs come in two type, Plasma or LCD. It really is about cost, preference, and performance. My TV is LCD. I have an antenna (similar to the old "rabbit ears") and because TV stations in my area are broadcasting in digital and because I have a digital TV, I get a clear, sharp picture, better than anything that could be done with analog.
I could accomplish the same thing if I subscribed to digital cable. I would get all of my local stations in digital format (and a lot of other channels that may or may not be in digital format) but for quite a monthly cost.
If your analog TV is hooked up to cable or satellite, your provider will send out a digital signal for digital TVs AND an analog signal for older TVs.
The moral of this story: Figure out what kind of TV you have and what kind of TV you want.
Stay tuned for the next chapter.
Online Class - Conversion to Digital Television - Part 1 - Why?
There are so many misconceptions about digital TV, HD TV, the conversion from Analog to Digital, even those who think they understand it, might not really get it. So much has been written and those annoying pulbic service announcement about the "conversion to Digital TV" are incessant. What really bugs me is when people think they are watching High Definition TV, when in fact they are not. I'm going to try and clear some things up and simplify them.
Every broadcast television station (meaning they have a local TV station and a broadcast tower near you) is already broadcasting in digital as well as analog. The famous February 17, 2009 date is the LAST day that these stations can broadcast in Analog (as set forth by the Federal Communications Commission). TV stations may cut off all analog broadcasting as early as 11/19/08, and even earlier if the station applies to the FCC to do so. All analog broadcasting must cease as of 2/17/09.
Now, these rules only apply to "high powered" broadcast television. The rules DO NOT apply to cable TV or satellite networks (e.g. USA Network, Comedy Central, A&E, etc.) because this type of network does not broadcast their signals directly to your home through the airways like local TV stations do. The rules also do not apply to "low-powered" TV stations. An example of that might be one of the several thousand local faith-based TV networks. You may not even know about them because they are not broadcast on cable and satellite, and their signals are so weak that if you use an antenna to receive TV signals, then you probably don't pick it up unless you live underneath the low-powered tower from which they broadcast.
The whole point of the conversion from Analog to Digital is to free up noise in the air that is preventing or hindering other more important things from using space in the air like Emergency Services (911), Cell Phones, and other Radio and Microwave signals. There's just too much stuff floating around up there and not enough room for everybody. So the Federal Communications Commission said, 10 years ago, that TV Stations must switch from Analog to Digital because digital takes up less space, thereby leaving more space for others.
The moral of the story: Don't wait until February for the conversion to digital, it already happened and now you know why it happened.
Stay tuned for the next installment
Every broadcast television station (meaning they have a local TV station and a broadcast tower near you) is already broadcasting in digital as well as analog. The famous February 17, 2009 date is the LAST day that these stations can broadcast in Analog (as set forth by the Federal Communications Commission). TV stations may cut off all analog broadcasting as early as 11/19/08, and even earlier if the station applies to the FCC to do so. All analog broadcasting must cease as of 2/17/09.
Now, these rules only apply to "high powered" broadcast television. The rules DO NOT apply to cable TV or satellite networks (e.g. USA Network, Comedy Central, A&E, etc.) because this type of network does not broadcast their signals directly to your home through the airways like local TV stations do. The rules also do not apply to "low-powered" TV stations. An example of that might be one of the several thousand local faith-based TV networks. You may not even know about them because they are not broadcast on cable and satellite, and their signals are so weak that if you use an antenna to receive TV signals, then you probably don't pick it up unless you live underneath the low-powered tower from which they broadcast.
The whole point of the conversion from Analog to Digital is to free up noise in the air that is preventing or hindering other more important things from using space in the air like Emergency Services (911), Cell Phones, and other Radio and Microwave signals. There's just too much stuff floating around up there and not enough room for everybody. So the Federal Communications Commission said, 10 years ago, that TV Stations must switch from Analog to Digital because digital takes up less space, thereby leaving more space for others.
The moral of the story: Don't wait until February for the conversion to digital, it already happened and now you know why it happened.
Stay tuned for the next installment
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