bfrank

WASHINGTON (AP) - Dissatisfied with the speed at which the industry is going digital, the Federal Communications Commission ( news - web sites) voted Thursday to require television manufacturers to have digital tuners on all sets by July 2007.

Commissioners voted 3-1 to require manufacturers to add the tuners to all TV sets with screens of 36 inches and larger by July 2004, while the requirement for smaller sets would be phased in over the following three years.

Congress has mandated that the nation switch to digital TV, which offers clearer pictures and better sound. But the transition to this new technology has been delayed by reluctance within the industry to make the switch before most households can receive digital signals.

"This action will take these electronic appliances from being HDTV (High Definition Television) ready to HDTV reality," said Michael Powell, the commission's chairman.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...e/digital_tv_8

ebertofsmut

LOL i was just about to post this but you beat me to it. Read the messages in the message board. There hillarious.

huzefa

It's nice that the govt is lighting a fire under the manufacturer's asses to get going; the more HDTV (and DTV) the better!

gcribbs

wow. that was some funny posts from some real idiots


now I guess i may need to get my digital tuner for my HDTV soon

broadwayblue

i don't see how this helps us directly. about 70% of the country gets their television through cable. as we speak my cable system (TWC) and many others are rolling out their HD services including HD set top boxes. so would i want to spend more money for something that i won't need? plus, the idea of having the tuner built in is stupid anyway as it is harder to upgrade/maintain. when the technology improves and new features are added we can either buy a new set top box or our cable company will swap ours out. tv's should last for 5 to 10 years....it won't be nearly that long before the built in tuner is obsolete. stupid decision in my opinion. the only good i see coming from it is that it might motivate more networks to start switching over (kind of bs as they were already required to by 2006 anyway) as they know that more people will have the hardware to view it. i think if the FCC really wanted to move things along they would have targeted the nations cable providers and instituted a must carry rule pertaining to HD channels.

Brian Shannon

Total waste of time.

I am ready willing and able to buy my own tuner right now.

Where is the programming?

I use Direct TV, that is an additional complication. Leave it to the government to find a way to make things worse.

bfrank

I think the idea is this will help the content issue.

boobietheclown

Darn now I am going to have to break down and get a 16:9 digital...man.

huzefa

It stands to reason that if people buy more tuners, manufacturers will notice and so will content providers and they will go ahead with more DTV programming. Plus this FCC mandate (is that what it's called?) is going to help as well since networks know that people have the capability.

hypeiv

I don't really understand this...

This just means digital tuners right, not HD? (even though maybe by all 2007 all tvs will be hd)

Do they want these digital tuners to work with dish network and digital cable systems?

if that is the case thats a bad idea b/c people are still going to want seperate boxes for personal video recorders and video on demand... if anyone can explain how this is good please let me know.

I think the best way is to just tell tv stations in 5 years you can't broadcast analog anymore so get moving on going to digital... these tuners sound like they will only help the less than 10% of the people who don't have cable or sat... if i am way off please let me know... thanks in advance..

huzefa

Actually these tuners are only for decoding OTA DTV signals, not cable/satellite signals.

Mammal

I've had satellite for about 4 years now, and get the locals. Recently I got a HDTV tuner and find that the broadcast digital picture, not just the rare HDTV material, is significantly better than the DirecTV locals. I live in a tough reception area, so analog OTA TV was a problem, but digital works fine.

I expect when people see how good the picture is they will watch network TV OTA rather than watching the inferior cable or satellite version. This is a good move by the FCC.

TheMadMonk

I'm still confused about this whole tuner issue. I live in a rural area, and NEVER watch any broadcast TV, due to the fact I can only get one channel, and that one doesn't come in well. I have DirecTV for my tv watching. So, is this tuner they are talking about only useful for getting/decoding the local stations (which I don't get or use anyway)? I am thinking about getting a widescreen HDTV pretty soon, mainly for watching Dvds and playing games, but is the current DirecTV system capable of showing a HD picture, or do you need a new tuner, or is there no option for this yet, but will be in the future?

In essence: I don't watch local broadcast tv. Should I care at all about this 2007 switch to digital tv?, or should I just go out and buy a nice new HDTV soon, since these future changes won't affect me?

--edit:
I think I found my answer. Looks like I don't have to worry about this, since I don't watch "over the air" signals.

Mammal

There are DirecTV tuners that pick up local broadcasts and satellite HD channels - currently limited to Showtime HD, HBO HD and HDNet. For what it's worth, with the digital tuner you might get an excellent signal from your signal station.

Tsar Chasm

Okay, I live in an apartment in Portland (one of three Digital TV zones in the US) and I would love to take the plunge and get started on HDTV. Apparently, we have tons of OTA programming here and I am missing it. curses.

I am seriously considering the 42" Toshiba or the 47" Panasonic. Both of these are "monitors" so I need a digital tuner.

Question 1: Have the manufacturers set on a specific tuner yet? I don't want something that is obsolescent in 9 months

Since I live in an apartment, there is no way I am putting an antenna on the roof, also, due to the way my setup is, there isn't much possibility of a dish.

Question 2: Have the cable operators started with HDTV programming yet?

I read the industry rags regularly and can't answer these questions.

Question 3: This will make my Tivo less and less useful, won't it?

navajo

Couldn't DirecTV and now merged Dish Network, send out new boxes to everyone because they were probably going to do it anyway whenever the merger is officially complete. In the new recievers include the digital TV format.

huzefa

I don't think so, because the cost, as the FCC sees it, should be borne by the TV manufacturers. The reason is that all those people who don't have Dish/Directv should still be able to get OTA DTV channels.

hypeiv

i still think in the next 5 or 6 years people are going to replace their vcr's with tivo devices so these internal tuners will not be used by the masses... there are way to many benifits of having external tuners.

icondude

I bought a nice new TV late last year. I don't want to replace it anytime soon, but I suspect that my cable signal will be analog well past 2007. Now if I could buy a VCR with a digital tuner that gets me the digital TV stations without me having to pay extra for cable then that would be nice.

Zodo

My post in another threat got closed, so I'm repeating myself here:

I have a few questions about this, since I haven't heard the details. First: what happens to my regular 32" TV that I bought a year ago once 2007 comes around? Second: will I be paying a higher cable bill because of this. Third: what happens to people with regular old tv's and antenna's?


It sounds to me like I'm gonna have to buy a new TV, and then I'm gonna have to pay for some sort of digital cable (which is much more expensive than the 10 dollar a month cable I have now). Also, it seems like all those using antennas are screwed as well.

Can anyone clear things up for me?

OldDude

Probably the answer to all your questions is "Stay tuned. No one knows for sure."

People doubt whether the FCC will really mandate end to analog broadcast on schedule. However, this move means they might. As time gets closer and looks firm, I'm sure someone will make a set top box that converts the digital content to analog, its not hard. FCC does want those vhf channels back for other use, so it may stand firm. Forcing TV sets with digital tuners will probably get people to try the digital OTA channels and note they look better. It probably will put more pressure on the cable people too. Right now, the separate set top boxes are major ripoffs, so if you want a tuner, this will lower prices, if you don't want a tuner, it will raise prices. TVs with digital tuners may be able to receive digital cable without a set top box just as analog systems do now (except for premium content that needs decoder)

In fact, if you have digital cable and analog TV, that is happening now. No real reason for digital cable to cost more, except they can charge more and get away with it. Standard digital (as opposed to high def.) takes less bandwidth than analog. Digital sounds sexy so they rip you off.

Your antenna should be fine. The new digital frequencies given to all TV stations are UHF frequencies. Once you migrate, you only need the UHF portion of antenna, so it will be smaller.

Mammal

Either the chicken or the egg (programming or receivers) will have to lead the way. The approach the FCC is taking in choosing the chicken is the least upsetting to corporate America, so it's not surprising. The TV manufacturers can pass their costs on to consumers. Meanwhile, the NAB and the cable industry can set their own pace.

Tsar - if you're in Portland, you will probably be able to get a good digital signal with an indoor antenna - rabbit ears or a bowtie setup for UHF. As to cable, that depends on the willingness of your provider to invest in the technology. A few systems have HDTV now, I think.

For those who want to hold on to their old TV sets, there probably will be inexpensive converter boxes available before 2007.

OldDude

Cable can set their own pace, NAB can't. There are some mandates to have digital up and running in major markets side-by-side with analog, but it is time phased. Although I don't have digital TV, I known in Detroit, all the majors have some digital programming. Trouble is, most of it is standard definition digital, not high def. On that, I think they can set their own schedule. Also the publicity for it is near zero.

Joe Schmoe

Tsar,

I live in an apartment too. I'm about 60 miles from most of the networks' transmitters. On a good day (when the wind isn't blowing), I can pick up the HD signal with a set-top antenna I got at Radio Shack. When it's windy though, I've noticed that's when I start losing the signal.

I also have Tivo, but I have regular cable going to it. Maybe it's possible to downgrade the HD signal and feed it through Tivo with S-Video? But why? You'd lose the beautiful HD picture that way.

I've had a set-top box for OTA HD for about a month now. When I get a steady signal, it's great. But that's the problem--it's not steady. That being said, how can the FCC mandate that the country must switch to digital when OTA is so unreliable? I lived in this area before there was cable. Trying to receive analog signals from stations 60 miles away was hard then. Trying to receive digital signals from those same stations now is just as hard. Analog cable is ugly compared to HD, but at least it's a steady signal.

I didn't read the article, so can someone tell me if there's a compelling reason why the FCC is forcing the nation to switch to digital, like a financial reason? It can't be just because HD is prettier. As much as I like HD, I don't see how the FCC can force everyone to spend money on new sets or converters if they don't want to, especially when you consider that people in rural areas can't receive the signal for free OTA, and the only way to record the signal is with a VERY expensive VCR. There's nothing wrong with the analog system except that it's uglier, so what's the real reason why we "have" to switch?

hypeiv

actually i think the fcc sets cable prices too