HDTV

That is one hell of a problem you´ve got there gezzy.I do not even know what HDTV is.Apologies.

Hebba- This will explain it all:


Link to article on HDTV

Well that´s just great.Thankyou Phoenix.I´ll stick to my 14 inch piece of junk that I never watch.

That's ok hebba. I know if I take the time to snoop around, I'll get my answers. HDTV is a new high definition tv that is already being sold. Come 2006 all programing is going to be switched over to this new HDTV system which can't be viewed with a regular tv without some type of special connector. When this happens everyone who has a regular tv will have to get this connector to be able to watch tv at all. I've heard that it's fantastic and that the picture you get from it is so much better than what we are getting now on our regular tv's. It sure is hard trying to keep up with the technology of today

LOL Hebba

hebba- After 2006, you can use it as a bookshelf!

Thanks for the link Phoenix

OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Phoenix, don't say that

Re: HDTV


You won't need to buy 4 new TVs. The FCC mandated that the industry develop "Translators" that will convert the broadcast HDTV (more correctly "DTV" but that's another story. ) signal to the standard NTSC signal so that older sets can still be used. From a user perspective they won't be any different than the exiting Cable Tv convertors we've had around for years.

Cost.. well. Not telling there... Like anything else I'd guess they be high at first and then plummet as people replace existing TVs and excess translators flood the market. Since there won't be any new TVs made with analog tuners after 2006 the need for translators will drop each year until they become useless. I'd guess Cable TV companies will rent them for a monthly fee as they do now for cable converters...

Bookshelf?That´s what I´ve used it for for the past decade.That and a clothes horse.

Jeez! You people type to fast! There was only 1 response when I started writing mine! lol

Hiya,..
Just wanted to add a few things:

Fishin' thanks for the great info!

HDTV converters are available now for around $140,..my guess is that they'll be ALOT cheaper when "D-day" arrives. (A date which is still in legislation.)

The converters will , most likely, only be necessary to receive broadcast TV,..cable subscribers will be able to get them from the cable company, the same way you get your other equipment.

Has it been mentioned that the TV has to be digital in order to receive HDTV? The one great thing about plasma and LCD is they can be hung on the wall. fishin' is right about the compatability and I wouldn't worry about replacing an existing set in the same size range by 2006 -- there won't be much difference in price to buying a standard set and it is true that standard sets will likely be almost completely obselete. Once one has seen the resolution (it's better than film), the thought of seeing a really good Discovery special in HDTV is awesome.

Wow!!! Thanks for all the great info everyone. I was all relieved until lightwizard said that the tv needs to be digital. Now I'm back to square one and getting worried all over again because none of my tv's are digital. I better start saving my pennies for new tv's now, so by 2006 I'll have enough to buy 4 new tv's. Looks like I'm going to be stuck with 4 perfectly great tv's. I should have did my research last week before I went out and bought another tv. If I had known, I would have gotten a digital. Does anyone have a spare shoulder I can cry on?

Gezzy,
Don't cry, you won't have to buy new TV's if you don't want to,
An analog TV (yours and mine) will be able to view HDTV with the use of a converter. They will be reasonable by 2006, cause thy'll have to be.

The whole world IS NOT going to have to throw out their old TV's.

That's not to say that you won't want to when you see the picture on the new ones,..but you certainly won't be forced to. That would be horribly illegal.

I saw a generic brand digital TV at the supermarket for $99.00! It also requires not only that the tuner is digital but that the TV is able to produce the resolution. Make sure it says HDTV ready and you're okay as the add on tuner is digital. On smaller screens, you're unlikely to see that much difference as the eye cannot pick up the detail when sitting six to eight feet from the screen. On digitally transmitted pictures, there's no picture noise such as ghosts, snow, etc. Unfortunately, FM wavy line interefeance can still intrude on the picture if there's a transmitter nearby on a set where the digital tuner is the cable company which introduces a decoded analog signal into an existing TV tuner. Again, on large screen TV's is where you'll appreciate the difference. A 27" picture with a live transmission will be hard to tell from a digital, high definition picture if you're sitting eight feet away. I've seen the front projector digital pictures and they are also amazing. The new Star Wars "Attack of the Clones" was done with digital equipment at the same time it was filmed conventionally. That's the image you get with the DVD and that alone is quite an improvement even at less than half the resolution of HDTV.
On pan-and-scan, this is a big improvement as they no longer have to rephotograph the film -- it's all done digitally. HD photographed documentaries like the recent "Sahara" on PBS don't just look like a photograph, they look real -- almost 3-D. So don't sweat it -- one HDTV is all anyone would like want in a big screen with the 16.9 ratio and by the time you were to replace other sets, they'll be no more costly that a conventional set (in fact, you probably won't be able to buy a conventional set by 2006). On a computer LCD screen and a high resolution image, you'll see a picture very similar to HDTV.

The 2006 "Deadline" for conversion to ATSC DTV is pretty much a dead horse. The current NTSC analog television signal that's been around essentially since prior to WWII will still be being broadcast by commercial stations well into the next decade. A provision of the law requiring the switchover delays the conversion of broadcast spectrum until such time as 85% of televisions IN USE are capable of receiving the new standard whether by built-in tuner or external converter. Currently, a staggered production mandate is in place, with at least 50% of US Market sets of screen sizes 36" and larger produced in 2004 being required to be capable of directly receiving Digital Television signals, with 100% of such sets being produced in 2005 being so capable. . Year by year, the smaller screen sizes fall under the mandate, incrementally bringing all US Market TV production into line by 2007. Recording devices, such as VCRs and recorders, are also affected. Meanwhile, increasingly inexpensive "Set-Top Boxes", or decoders, will proliferate, allowing older NTSC-Only TVs to display ATSC/DTV. Additionally, those viewers exclusively receiving their signals over cable or satellite (some 75% of the US Market) are more or less unaffected, as the transition applies only to BROADCAST television. Both cable and satellite providers are doing some serious footdragging here, with no near-to-mid-term resolution in sight.

Finaly, "HDTV" or High Definition Television, that fabulous "like looking through a window" viewing experience will remain, even with full adoption of Digital Television, a rarity, confined to special events and such things as Pay-Per-View movies. True HDTV eats a great deal of bandwidth ... bandwidth which the broadcasters would rather divide into multiple revenue producing streams such as messaging, "Interactive TV", and commercial data transmission. By and large, the typical DTV picture quality will be about what you get with current DVD or satellite.

If you intend to purchase a TV in the near future, decide carefully whether you require "HDTV" capability. If you are a committed technofreak and have to have the latest and greatest, go ahead and spend the extra money. The rest of you can pretty much ignore the hullabaloo ... its "Much Ado About Nothing", IMHO.

If you really care, lots more info is available at:

http://www.fcc.gov/dtv/



timber

Ok, I feel better now. Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to explain everything to me :-D

timber is right about not jumping on the bandwagon just yet or even worrying about 2006. If you've seen a DVD, cable or satellite digital image even in wide screen, large TV format, it's pretty impressive. The main thing that effects picture quality is picture noise which on digital signals is virtually gone. I don't see any reason to buy a rear projection HDTV which reduces the quality -- I'd wait until plasma and LCD flat screens come down in price. At that time, built in HDTV tuners will be so cheap you will be buying a TV and not even notice but a small difference in the price. On cable, they're offering seperate channels for an HDTV version of shows but it's happening about as slowly as color. Not all the channels will want to go HDTV - the only one now that is 24 hours HDTV is the new Discovery HD channel.