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Digital Television Transition Delayed

posted on January 26, 2009

Static TelevisionIt looks like the change to digital television is going to be delayed. I can’t blame the new administration for wanting to hold off. There is a huge backlog of people waiting for coupons for the converter boxes. One of the deals in the new deadline is an exception that will allow stations to change sooner than the new June deadline.

So, some might cutover on February 17th, some might wait.

I personally thought having the change in the middle of winter was stupid in the first place. If a person needs to make changes to their outdoor antenna, winter is a bad time to be doing that. Canada is planning its cutover for August 31st, 2011 which I am looking forward to as the picture quality is much better than analog.  And while I wish the changeover was sooner for us up here, having a summer time change makes it better to do work on the antenna, if you need to make corrections.

So far, I don’t have any indication what my local Watertown stations are planning on doing. I am thinking WWNY might change early as they plan on using their existing DTV transmitter to launch WNYF digitally in HD, but that could wait until June and might work out better weather wise. WWTI and WPBS are remaining on their existing digital allocations, so all they have to do is turn off their analog transmissions whenever they chose to do so.

No matter what happens, the extension helps add confusion to the changeover but will help with safety if people need to make corrections to outdoor antennas and the such.

Technorati Tags: DTV,Technology

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: ATSC, Digital Television, Digital TV, DTV

Digital TV Transition in Canada

posted on January 7, 2009

The Industry Canada plan for the transition to Digital Television in Canada has been released. You can download the plan at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/vwapj/DTV_PLAN_Dec08-e.pdf/$file/DTV_PLAN_Dec08-e.pdf

Nothing major crazy in the plan, but some stations are moving which will affect the type of antenna you have. If you are looking for an antenna, check out the antenna chart at Digital Home. It is a really good guide for selecting the proper antenna for your needs. Its is based on real life experience, not theory.

I had a Channel Master 4221 clone for a while here at my apartment for my flat screen LCD and I was very happy with the results for UHF and even VHF-Hi, which it is not supposed to be good. The antenna is now at my girlfriend’s parents place working as a their main antenna and they have been happy with the results for their analog reception. Once Tracey and I get a house, my plan is to get a Channel Master 4228 as well as a good VHF only antenna and a FM antenna for the stereo.

If you want more information on Digital television available Over The Air, checkout of the knowledge base and forums over at Digital Home

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: ATSC, Canada, Digital Television, DTV, High Definition

Future of Television

posted on November 23, 2008

I was setting up a new television for the museum the other day and I was joking with the receptionist if she had some rabbit ears, she could watch Young and the Restless. She laughed and said true, but rabbit ears won’t work past February as the American’s are not going to be broadcasting anymore. The archivist also said the same thing, friends of hers told her that her rabbit ears won’t work after February.

That not true but it is what people are hearing. The truth is come February, the US is turning off analog television transmissions and moving to full digital transmissions. Canada is moving to the new standard but has set a deadline of August, 2011. In the US almost all channels are broadcasting now in digital and the picture looks amazing. I have a flat screen at home with a digital tuner in it and I get 3 HD  and 4 SD channels from from Watertown, NY with just my rabbit ears. With an outdoor antenna, I can usually get 16  or so channels in the digital format, but no Canadian stations.  If you live in Toronto, there is about 30 some digital channels that can be received including almost all the Canadian broadcasters. Here is a list of Toronto and Buffalo Digital Stations courtesy the OTA forums at Digital Home.

The truth is, if you have an older TV that doesn’t decode digital transmissions, you simply need a tuner box. Pretty much the same idea behind a satellite receiver or digital cable box. You’ll hook that up to the television and plug it into the antenna, and then you are off to the races. The picture quality on the digital broadcasts is superb and works pretty much the same as satellite, either you get the picture or you don’t, it doesn’t get ghosted like the analog picture does.

If you are looking for more information here are some links to try

Digital home OTA forum – http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81

DTV Answers – http://www.dtvanswers.com/

Canadian Heritage Department – http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/ri-bpi/pubs/lincoln/05_e.cfm

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: ATSC, Digital TV, DTV, OTA

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