FCC, cable industry spar over digital TV
In 2009, television broadcasts will go all-digital. Cable TV companies say their subscribers will still be able to watch television. But the FCC wants to require that the companies handle the change. It wants to know how the industry will manage it.

PS What is the difference between analog and cable TV? I am thinking my roommate and I use cable TV, but not sure.

What does the following mean? What does it mean by viewers who receive their signals over the air? Is that people who use an antena to get their TV channels with or something else. I wonder how one would know if they need a converter to watch TV with after Feb 18, 2009.

The greatest impact of the digital conversion will be on viewers of non-digital televisions who receive their signals over the air.

Cable operators can either convert the digital signal to analog at the point where their cable signal originates, or they can supply customers with a "down converter" device that will change digital signals to analog at the TV set.

Unless you have digital cable now my understanding is that you have analog, both basic cable and air (yes that means watching TV with an antena) will be phased out.

After tha implementation date if you want to keep basic cable there is going to be a converter needed, my guess is that the cable companies will install it (for a price)

Sigh, I didn't know this would happen so soon. Where is this article from?

The biggest thing is not to get overwhelmed with terms and other assorted jargon. Here are the facts:

The television standards of the past were known as Analog.

The future is known as digital or DTV. Now there are many different versions you may have heard of: HDTV, SDTV, EDTV, 1080P, 1080i, 720P, etc. They are all considered DTV and fall under the ATSC (Advanced Telecommunications Standards Committee) guidelines.

Most stations are currently simulcasting both analog and digital feeds now.

January 17, 2009 all analog signals will be terminated

Starting in early 2008, the government will provide up to two coupons worth $40 for each home good towards purchasing DTV decoders.

There are three main ways to get your programming. Cable, Satellite, and over the air antenna.

Although no one has said for sure, it is highly likely that Cable and Satellite companies will offer boxes that down convert to keep their competitive advantage.

If you want to use an antenna then you need a decoder or an HDTV (Not HD-Ready)


Here is a great website: DTV Answers : What you need to know about the February 17, 2009 switch to DTV.

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Originally Posted by Lowtax4eva

Unless you have digital cable now my understanding is that you have analog, both basic cable and air (yes that means watching tv with an antena) will be phased out.

After tha implementation date if you want to keep basic cable there is going to be a convertor needed, my guess is that the cable companies will install it (for a price)

Sigh, i didnt know this would happen so soon. Where is this article from?

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How does one know if they have digital cable? Does digital cable always use a box or some companies don't use a box for digital cable to work.

What do you mean by basic cable?

I think what is going to happen to TV in Feb 2009 is just a way for cable companies and people who make and sell TVs to make more money.

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Originally Posted by Gregisteredtrademark

The biggest thing is not to get overwhelmed with terms and other assorted jargon. Here are the facts:

The television standards of the past were known as Analog.

The future is known as digital or DTV. Now there are many different versions you may have heard of: HDTV, SDTV, EDTV, 1080P, 1080i, 720P, etc. They are all considered DTV and fall under the ATSC (Advanced Telecommunications Standards Committee) guidelines.

Most stations are currently simulcasting both analog and digital feeds now.

January 17, 2009 all analog signals will be terminated

Starting in early 2008, the government will provide up to two coupons worth $40 for each home good towards purchasing DTV decoders.

There are three main ways to get your programming. Cable, Satellite, and over the air antenna.

Although no one has said for sure, it is highly likely that Cable and Satellite companies will offer boxes that down convert to keep their competitive advantage.

If you want to use an antenna then you need a decoder or an HDTV (Not HD-Ready)


Here is a great website: DTV Answers : What you need to know about the February 17, 2009 switch to DTV.

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How do you know that January 17, 2009 all analog signals will be terminated? I thought this was going to happen Feb 17, 2009.

How will the government provide up to two coupons worth $40 for each home good towards purchasing DTV decoders? Will they mail them to homes or each cable company will get the coupons and send them to the people who use their service. If someone only uses an antenna to watch TV with then how would they get the coupons. Does anyone know how much the DTV decoders are going to cost and will it be a monthly fee or a one time price for a DTV decoder.

Will people be able to by a TV so they don't need to use a decoder to watch TV with.

Digital systems are ones where the information is transmitted as a data in a series of 0s and 1s. Anything else is analog, where the info can be transmitted in different ways.

Digital systems can give you faster and better performance because its more quick to send data that way and more quick to put it back together on the reception side.

Comparing analog and cable is comparing apples and oranges. Analog and digital are forms of signal transmission. Cable (vs broadcast or satellite) is a form of delivery of the signal. So a cable signal can be either analog or digital.

You wonder how people will know? You don't think their cable provider will tell them? C'mon THINK about this. The move to all digital has been in the works for years. Its been delayed a few times and the Feb 2009 deadline may also be pushed back.

And no its not a way to make more money. Digitial TV has benefits that analog doesn't (don't ask what they are, ask your cable provider).

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Digital systems are ones where the information is transmitted as a data in a series of 0s and 1s. Anything else is analog, where the info can be transmitted in different ways.

Digital systems can give you faster and better performance because its quicker to send data that way and quicker to put it back together on the reception side.

Comparing analog and cable is comparing apples and oranges. Analog and digital are forms of signal transmission. Cable (vs broadcast or satellite) is a form of delivery of the signal. So a cable signal can be either analog or digital.

You wonder how people will know? You don't think their cable provider will tell them? C'mon THINK about this. The move to all digital has been in the works for years. its been delayed a few times and the Feb 2009 deadline may also be pushed back.

And no its not a way to make more money. Digitial TV has benefits that analog doesn't (don't ask what they are, ask your cable provider).

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How does one know if the TV signal the person is using is being transmitted as a data in a series of 0s and 1s?

I would hate to wake up on Feb 18, 2009 and find out that the TVs I am using won't work and I either need a new TV or a converter box to watch TV with.

If digital TV happens in Feb 2009 than will the cost of TV go up as well.

Oops did I say January... I meant February

The truth here is that you are worrying about this way too early. A lot of what if's can happen in the next year and a half. I would only be concerned if I was buying a new TV now and wanted to make myself informed. There will be plenty of notification and guides to make this transition smooth.

To know if your television is ready for the future without a converter it would have to have an ATSC tuner built-in. Check your owners manuel. I am going to guess, based on your questions, that your TV's are not compatible.

Read here to answer most of your questions:
TV buying guide - CNET reviews

*Sarcasm Alert*
Did you worry this much when they transitioned from rotary dial to tone dial?

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Originally Posted by Gregisteredtrademark

The truth here is that you are worrying about this way too early. A lot of what if's can happen in the next year and a half. I would only be concerned if I was buying a new TV now and wanted to make myself informed. There will be plenty of notification and guides to make this transition smooth.

To know if your television is ready for the future without a converter it would have to have an ATSC tuner built-in. Check your owners manuel. I am going to guess, based on your questions, that your TV's are not compatable.

Read here to answer most of your questions:
TV buying guide - CNET reviews

*Sarcasm Alert*
Did you worry this much when they transitioned from rotary dial to tone dial?

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I don't see how asking now about the new way people will view TV in Feb 2009 is a bad thing. It's always good to know things a head of time. When you say there will be notification and guides do you mean from the cable company a person is using will inform them about the change?

Why do you think the TVs I am using are not compatible for the new TV change in 2009?

One TV I use was bought in fall of 1998 and another TV I use was bought 2 or 3 years ago.

I hope if one does have to buy a new TV(s) to be able to still watch TV there will be TVs priced under $500 a person can buy.

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Originally Posted by snowflake22

How does one know if the TV signal the person is using is being transmitted as a data in a series of 0s and 1s?

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How does one know if the car they purchased as automatic or manual transmission? How does one know if the computer they purchased runs Windows or MAC OS? You should know what you paid or are paying for!

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Originally Posted by snowflake22

I would hate to wake up on Feb 18, 2009 and find out that the TVs I am using wont work and I either need a new TV or a convertor box to watch TV with.

If digital TV happens in Feb 2009 than will the cost of TV go up as well.

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So discuss this with your cable provider. They should be able to answer your questions.

I doubt if service fees will go up on that date, since many providers already offer digital and HD broadcasts.

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Originally Posted by snowflake22

One TV I use was bought in fall of 1998 and another TV I use was bought 2 or 3 years ago.

I hope if one does have to buy a new TV(s) to be able to still watch TV there will be TVs priced under $500 a person can buy.

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ANY TV should work with a settop box, since it's the settop box that does the tuning.

There are already digital TVs under $500, though in smaller (under 32") sizes. As we get closer to 2/09 prices will come down further.

Way back when, there were converter boxes to add UHF to VHF TV's. This is similar, but a more complicated and expensive transition.

Over the Air - means antenna
Right now there are both UHF nad VHF frequencies that are broadcasting Digital TV and you need an ATSC tuner to receive them.

The cable companies also have two options:
Broadcast in digital only. i.e. Require an ATSC tuner -or-

The traditional converter box performs the conversion using any of the
Possible outputs: NTSC video, NTSC RF (Cha 3 or 4), or the Hi Definition
Connections. There is the smart card that supposed to eliminate
The requirement of a separate box for premium channels.

I am not saying it is a bad thing. I am just saying that you are kind of putting the cart before the horse by asking about prices for products in 2009.

I am sure you will learn about the change as it becomes more pertinent news. It will come from the government, your cable company, your satellite company, the newspaper, the local news, etc. It will be everywhere because it effects everyone with a television.

As for the TV's... any TV imported into the US after March 1, 2007 is suppose to have an ATSC tuner built in. Before this date it was mostly the larger screens that offered it. These televisions would have been highly marketed as HDTV, EDTV, or even SDTV. They would more than likely have logo on the front of them. Unless you screen size is rectangular or larger than say 36 inches I would say it is not. (based on the timeframe you provided)

Based on current television prices, I don't think you will see a big jump in prices. But. Television prices are based on screen size and quality.

Someone told me the following. I wanted to know if the following is true.

If you have the manual that came with your TV's, you might find in the list of its qualities some mention of being digital-capable. Also, on the front or the back of the TV somewhere there might be some printing or a label that tells that it is digital-ready. Also, on the web site for your brand of TV, there might be a place to enter the model or serial number of your TV and you might be able to look up its qualities and abilities.

Cable has been broadcast in digital mode for a while now. If your TV gets a picture with cable now, it is probably digital-ready and will continue to work.

Of course the first paragraph is true. Most TVs have some indication as to their capabilites. You may also be able to tell by the type of inputs it has. If there is no indication, you can look the model up on WEB and usually find the info.

The second paragraph is also true if you use a settop box.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Of course the first paragraph is true. Most TVs have some indication as to their capabilites. You may also be able to tell by the type of inputs it has. If there is no indication, you can look the model up on WEB and usually find the info.

The second paragraph is also true if you use a settop box.

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What do you mean by types of inputs the TVs have? How can inputs tell you what capabilites the TVs have?

Will the new TV change affect DVD and VCR players from being able to work?

One TV I use says 181 channel selections-All VHF/UHF channels plus up to 125 cable channels. Does this tell anyone if the TV is digital ready?

VHF (channels 2-13) = Very High Frequency
UHF (Channels (14+)- Ultra High Frequency (usually directional)

ATSC non-whole number channels like 6.1. Go to TVguide.com and select your zip code and broadcast and you'll get a list. The NTSC (whole numbers) will go away. The aspect ratio (Width:height) is more like a movie screen.

NTSC - An analog mechanism of broadcast that uses lines drawn every other one to paint a picture on the screen. The aspect ratio is not like a movie screen.

As the screen size got larger, the lines started to become objectionable. The analog frequency spectrum uses a lot of bandwidth. ATSC does open the possibility for 3D TV with special glasses.

Your older VCR used channel 3 or 4 or video/audio and later s-video to playback on your TV. Only sets with ATSC capability will be able to use the Channel 3 or 4 capability.

I'm not so sure what I am going to do yet. Lots of TV's, all analog with a rooftop antennae. The distribution system is extensive, but the antenna's (separate UHF and VHF) need to be upgraded with a rotor. I do have a CH 4 modulated channel that's whole house. UHF and VHF separate antennae's with an attic and distribution ampllifier with taps rather than a splitter. The UHF antenna doesn't have a rotor, but needs it the most.

The most used TV's are: Living room (console), Kitchen, Bedroom, downstairs kitchen, VCR (modulates throughut house) with monitor in workshop, A slingbox (watch on any computer).

Hardly ever used: Porch and downstairs Rec room.

A Flat panel TV is planned for another bedroom, probably wall mounted.

Antennae upgrades and a rotator are needed.

The upgrade could be very costly.

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Originally Posted by KeepItSimpleStupid

VHF (channels 2-13) = Very High Frequency
UHF (Channels (14+)- Ultra High Frequency (usually directional)

ATSC non-whole number channels like 6.1. Go to TVguide.com and select your zip code and broadcast and you'll get a list. The NTSC (whole numbers) will go away. The aspect ratio (Width:height) is more like a movie screen.

NTSC - An analog mechanism of broadcast that uses lines drawn every other one to paint a picture on the screen. The aspect ratio is not like a movie screen.

As the screen size got larger, the lines started to become objectionable. The analog frequency spectrum uses a lot of bandwidth. ATSC does open the possibility for 3D TV with special glasses.

Your older VCR used channel 3 or 4 or video/audio and later s-video to playback on your TV. Only sets with ATSC capability will be able to use the Channel 3 or 4 capability.

I'm not so sure what I am going to do yet. Lots of TV's, all analog with a rooftop antennae. The distribution system is extensive, but the antenna's (separate UHF and VHF) need to be upgraded with a rotor. I do have a CH 4 modulated channel that's whole house. UHF and VHF separate antennae's with an attic and distribution ampllifier with taps rather than a splitter. The UHF antenna doesn't have a rotor, but needs it the most.

The most used TV's are: Living room (console), Kitchen, Bedroom, downstairs kitchen, VCR (modulates throughut house) with monitor in workshop, A slingbox (watch on any computer).

Hardly ever used: Porch and downstairs Rec room.

A Flat panel TV is planned for another bedroom, probably wall mounted.

Antennae upgrades and a rotator are needed.

The upgrade could be very costly.

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I don't get what VHF and UHF is for. Why not just have one of those instead of both?

Why would a cable company have channels that are not whole numbers?

How could going to TVguide.com and select your zip code and broadcast and you'll get a list show what you are talking about? The NTSC (whole numbers) will go away. The aspect ratio (Width:height) is more like a movie screen.

Yes, the VCR I have you do have to use channel 3 or 4 to use it?

What do you mean by only sets with ATSC capability will be able to use the Channel 3 or 4capability? How does one know if the TVs they have use ATSC?

Maybe if I tell people what TVs I am using now I might get an answer back to let me know if the TVs are digital ready for the new change. The Apex was bought in 1998 and the Sylvania was bought 2 or 3 years ago. I do hope the Apex really is digital ready since it says digital when I looked up the model number.

Apex Digital GT2011S
Sylvania SRT2319A

UHF/VHF: Way back when, they needed more TV stations, hence UHF was born. Then they nneded space for cellular, so the upper half of the UHF TV space went to cellular. There once was a Channel 1, but that was eliminated to add color to a black and white signal.

Cable - whole numbers. It would be their choice. A single staton in my area has 6, 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 each with different programs.

VCr's can use composite video, but the TV has to support that. New TV's likely will.

ATSC tuner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think I need to change my response. TV's with NTSC tuners can use the coax output of a standard VCR with Ch 3 or 4 outputs.

I looked at some of the links and I don't agree with the responses to "Will my VCR work after the change". It's going to be crippled. If it only has an NTSC tuner, then forget it being able to record programs "INDEPENDENTLY" since it won't be able to tune ATSC stations.

It's going to need a helper device of some sort. It could be a set-top box. Both would then have to be set to turn on and record, so the set-top box will need a timer.

The TV might be able to help, but them who wants the TV om when your time-shifting. Again, it depends on the conversions available in the TV and the inputs to your VCR.

Playing back is yet another issue. There might be an external converter required or the TV can do it directly.

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Originally Posted by snowflake22

What do you mean by types of inputs the TVs have? How can inputs tell you what capabilites the TVs have?

Will the new TV change affect DVD and VCR players from being able to work?

One TV I use says 181 channel selections-All VHF/UHF channels plus up to 125 cable channels. Does this tell anyone if the TV is digital ready?

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Again, don't you think? If a TV has an HDMI input, then wouldn't it follow that its High Def ready?

It may affect older DVD/VCRs that may not have a compatible interface.

No it means the TV is CABLE ready. Meaning it can receive unscrambled cable channels without a settop box. I have a few cable ready TVs that are not digital.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

No it means the TV is CABLE ready. Meaning it can receive unscrambled cable channels without a settop box. I have a few cable ready TVs that are not digital.

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What do you mean by no it means the TV is CABLE ready? How do you know some of your TVs are cable ready TVs that are not digital? Are you saying the two TVs I use are cable ready?