Digital TV in an Analog World

Don't Panic.

TV sets made since 1939 all scan 525 lines (480 viewable) but none will become "obsolete" in the new digital era.

 

• For those viewers that currently watch over-the-air television using an antenna, set-top tuning adaptors will become generally available in 2008. LG plans to offer theirs at $60, and some people will qualify for federal $40 discount coupons. Most of your favorite stations will be UHF delivered, so compact, efficient antennas will work just fine.
• For those viewers that currently watch via DSS, you are already watching digital delivered television. Same goes for DVD movie players. Starting in Y2K you will also be able to watch your local TV stations in many larger cities with digital clarity by satellite.
• For those viewers that currently watch cable delivered television, they will continue to use the converter boxes provided by the cable company. It will be several years before those boxes will be capable of delivering anything digital to the customer's set. Analog outputs will continue to be available for a long time to come on all cable provided boxes.

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Don't Worry.

TV sets made since 1939 all have a 4:3 shape factor on the CRT display screen but none become "unviewable" in the new digital era.

 

• Old movies made before the television era were all 4:3 shape factor. It was only after TV became popular that Hollywood movie makers started making "wide-screen" shows. Films shot for B/W era television, such as the "I Love Lucy" series are also in 4:3 shape factor. When broadcast for DTV, they will continue to show up on your old set just the way they used to.
• Newer movies, made for television movies and most prime-time programming has been shot on 35mm film for decades. Thus you have been viewing only the "center portion" of wide-screen programs all along!! When you switch your old set over to DTV reception, you will continue to see them as you remember. New HDTV programs will favor action in the central screen area for at least as long as analog television transmission continues.

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Trash the Tape.

VHS tape system was developed using the concept that it would play an acceptable picture on cheap 13" color TVs.

 

• Today's better and larger TVs (20" and bigger) clearly show the low resolution defects of the VHS videotape system.
• A world-wide standard for consumer digital videotape (called DV) was established for the eventual replacement of VHS. Home movies never looked so good, especially when played back on big screens. Make your next camcorder one that uses miniDV tape. It's so good that many television stations now use professional versions of the system for broadcast use.
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• Another improvement for movie watchers is DVD. Players cost about the same as a good VCR. The most exciting part, aside from the outstanding digital sound and picture quality, is that it is actually LESS expensive to manufacture copies than traditional videotape duplication. Of course the lower pricing will take awhile to trickle down to the consumer, just like with audio CD's. Most "public domain" and many other non-major studio films can now be purchased at the "Dollar Discount Store" for $1.00 on DVD format. You can burn your own DVD, using blanks that sell in drug stores for a cheaper price than VHS blank tapes.
• And some lucky people already have TiVo or similar digital based video recorders.

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  Keep the Set.
  101 uses for an old fashioned analog television set in the digital television future.
   
• If you have been tracking what has been presented so far, then you should realize that there is no reason to trash a good quality TV that you are already using and find to be adequate for you viewing needs. Investing in DV or DVD equipment might be a better strategy for extending the value of your current TV set.
• If your current set is failing or otherwise inadequate, purchasing a new analog TV of the quality that you require can still be done with full confidence that it will give a lifetime of satisfactory service. Upscale TVs with the 3D process chip can reduce noise and sharpen resolution of conventional analog signals. A set with A/V inputs (especially S connectors) will benefit from the better picture quality delivered by DVD players.
• The Panasonic HDTV set top tuner is also compatible for use with all good quality standard definition sets. 
• Use the old set to watch episodes of American Idol and other memorable shows.

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• Gotta have it.
• I've seen the high definition gorilla and I really got to have it.
   
• OK, reality check time. If you are watching cable now, then remember, it's going to be 2 or more years before the cable box will provide HDTV to your set. Wait until the cable provider announces HDTV service as being available before you frustrate yourself with untimely buying decisions. Currently digital TV requires that you install an outside antenna for over-the-air reception.
• Conventional wisdom says that prices are coming down and quality is going up. This is only a very misleading half-truth. The technology to make HDTV front and rear projection displays has long been perfected. Second generation sets were actually priced higher for an odd reason. People who bought the first generation sets, while getting a perfect HDTV display, complained about the way the old fashioned analog TV pictures looked!! New sets have extensive additional computer circuitry to try and make standard analog video sources look more pallatable when intermixed with HDTV viewing. The pricing tier for popular size 55" HDTV 16:9 rear-projection displays will remain steady for the near future as features are added.
• Thomson (RCA Brand) with 17 models and Mitsubishi with 5 models are the leaders in HDTV displays. Both companies produce their sets in Mexico for economy and easy access to the US market.
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• What can be expected at more reasonable pricing are "pseudo" HDTV units. These have wide-screen displays that scale down the resolution required for authentic HDTV presentation by 40-50% or so. These are essentially standard definition sets with a 16:9 screen, priced more than a conventional TV but much less than a real HDTV unit. But why pay anything extra for a set that doesn't deliver all the pixels??
• And if you wait long enough, your next set will have the Digital TV tuner built in! Larger sets (36 inch and up) will be 100% digital by July 1, 2005. Medium screens (25 inch and up) will be all digital by July 1, 2006. Small TVs and interface devices (VCR/DVD) will be digital by July 1, 2007. Manufacturers will have digital models in the stores long before these cut-off dates.

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  Bill Gates waits.
  You won't see HDTV on your Y2K non-compliant Windows 95 computer any time soon.
   
• Computers is the industry that invented the term "vapor-ware".
• Come to think of it, computer screens are still 4:3 shape except for Vista which has HD management to restrict TV viewing, yeesh.
• All things considered, do you really want to read eMail while watching the "Super Bowl" in a quarter size window.... Speaking of Super Bowls, did you see the ad for domain registrations from Go Daddy at ridiculous prices? We use Go Daddy and so should you, check it out!
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• Pinnacle Systems has announced it has "indefinitely delayed" the release of its HDTV card
• However the Hauppenage WinTV-D will decode digital TV and output HDTV at less than standard TV resolution. At least a thumbnail view shows you what the DTV people are broadcasting these days, but for the money you might as well watch internet video. The most downloaded girl in internet history, Danni Ashe, now offers internet HD video!
• Check out Alexa Rae from Danni.com

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• Los Angeles television stories.