TV stations will soon be broadcasting their signals in a digital format, instead of the analog format they've been using for the past 50+ years. Cable TV and many (if not all) satellite services have already switched their signals over to digital.
Advantages: Smaller bandwidth (range on the frequency spectrum) required per channel, more picture information can be broadcast (thus, a higher picture resolution), and therefore, sharper pictures (for those people who own high-definition TV sets).
A few years ago, the FCC decreed that at the end of 2006, all TV stations will be broadcasting digital signals only. It's been a chicken-and egg problem: People don't want to buy digital TV sets because few stations are broadcasting in digital. And broadcasters don't want to switch to digital because there are too few digital TV sets out there.
For the benefit of those of us who can't afford to get a new TV, or don't want to buy a new TV, there should be a conversion box that we can buy at a retailer so that we can receive the digital TV signals but display it on an non-digital TV (with some signal degradation, of course).
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-01-10 04:25 pm (UTC)TV stations will soon be broadcasting their signals in a digital format, instead of the analog format they've been using for the past 50+ years. Cable TV and many (if not all) satellite services have already switched their signals over to digital.
Advantages: Smaller bandwidth (range on the frequency spectrum) required per channel, more picture information can be broadcast (thus, a higher picture resolution), and therefore, sharper pictures (for those people who own high-definition TV sets).
A few years ago, the FCC decreed that at the end of 2006, all TV stations will be broadcasting digital signals only. It's been a chicken-and egg problem: People don't want to buy digital TV sets because few stations are broadcasting in digital. And broadcasters don't want to switch to digital because there are too few digital TV sets out there.
For the benefit of those of us who can't afford to get a new TV, or don't want to buy a new TV, there should be a conversion box that we can buy at a retailer so that we can receive the digital TV signals but display it on an non-digital TV (with some signal degradation, of course).