So ---
June 12th is here and government-mandated digital television is finally upon us. So far, I don't see all that much difference, except for the picture being a bit brighter, and some channels having bar on the top and bottom, like letterbox. Why do some channels have bars, and some not? (I have cable) Maybe it's just my TV, which isn't all that old.
How does it look to you?
The "New" Television
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silentscreen
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Re: The "New" Television
I don't have cable, but an old analog t.v.with a roof antenna and a converter box. When I change channels now, it says "scanning" before it picks up the channel,(or not.) and all the channels are 31.1, 31.2, etc.-they are a number and then a decimal and another number. On the plus side, I have a much brighter picture and several more channels that I didn't have before! I now have two or three weather channels, two or three music channels, a movie channel, a sports channel, a leisure travel channel. I'm not complaining so far! The bars at the top sometimes give a description if one is available, and then go away.They do have to be rescanned periodically. I can't wait to see how many more stations are going to be added-it looks like some are in process.
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
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silentscreen
- Posts: 701
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Re: The "New" Television
I just found out that you get more bandwidth with digital, so the other channels I'm getting are "sub channels." I'm getting whatever stations I used to get, plus whatever sub channels now come in with them that wouldn't come in on analog before. I swear I'll figure this out as I go along! 
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
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jdb1
Re: The "New" Television
Some of the channels I receive which had bars the first day are now covering the full screen -- I wonder if this is due to the broadcasters themselves scanning for the best reception.
I notice, also, something that was mentioned on one of the "Digital is Coming" shows shown on some local channels in the days before June 12th: the picture is doing a lot more "pixilating," that is, the picture is breaking up into little squares in various places on the screen a lot more than it used to. The informational program I watched said that this would happen, and that the digital signal is more sensitive to outside disturbance. I thought they said that was the case with the scanner box, but even with my cable, the picture is breaking up a lot more.
On the whole, I think the picture is sharper this week than it was on Friday.
I notice, also, something that was mentioned on one of the "Digital is Coming" shows shown on some local channels in the days before June 12th: the picture is doing a lot more "pixilating," that is, the picture is breaking up into little squares in various places on the screen a lot more than it used to. The informational program I watched said that this would happen, and that the digital signal is more sensitive to outside disturbance. I thought they said that was the case with the scanner box, but even with my cable, the picture is breaking up a lot more.
On the whole, I think the picture is sharper this week than it was on Friday.
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moira finnie
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Re: The "New" Television
So it sounds as though this new digital form of broadcasting might really benefit the consumer?! How novel! Thanks for letting us bound-to-cable viewers know what to expect.
Btw, has anyone heard a coherent explanation of what happens to the Emergency Broadcast System that used to be on UHF in an emergency? I sort of wonder if that doesn't need to be addressed in the media to give people some assurance that this will still operate somehow. Having been through more than a few hurricanes and one major flood, it really is not a boondoggle for the government, but gives vital info to residents at times. Is this only going to available on radio now?
Just curious.
Btw, has anyone heard a coherent explanation of what happens to the Emergency Broadcast System that used to be on UHF in an emergency? I sort of wonder if that doesn't need to be addressed in the media to give people some assurance that this will still operate somehow. Having been through more than a few hurricanes and one major flood, it really is not a boondoggle for the government, but gives vital info to residents at times. Is this only going to available on radio now?
Just curious.
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jdb1
Re: The "New" Television
Moira, we now have something called the Digital Emergency Alert System. Here's info from FEMA:
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/media/2006/deas_fact_sheet.pdf
I wonder if the thing actually works.
You know, only once in my life did I ever hear the Emergency Broadcast System activated, that was about 20 years ago in NYC when we had some kind of really fierce hurricane or nor'easter. As a child of the 1950s who went through those useless air raid drills at school (you know -- "Get under your desks! No talking during a nuclear holocaust!"), hearing that old-fashioned signal on the radio (not like the signal used today) was one of the most frightening moments of my life.
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/media/2006/deas_fact_sheet.pdf
I wonder if the thing actually works.
You know, only once in my life did I ever hear the Emergency Broadcast System activated, that was about 20 years ago in NYC when we had some kind of really fierce hurricane or nor'easter. As a child of the 1950s who went through those useless air raid drills at school (you know -- "Get under your desks! No talking during a nuclear holocaust!"), hearing that old-fashioned signal on the radio (not like the signal used today) was one of the most frightening moments of my life.