Computers & Technology >
TV
RSS FeedShould we be forced to have only digital TV?
Results so far:
| Yes | 24% | 53 votes | Total: 222 votes | |
| No | 76% | 169 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesOn 17 February 2009, the federal government will mandate that all television signals broadcast in the United States utilize digital technology. Americans will finally be able to access a dizzying array of on-air and on-line services, the likes of which have never before been available in such profusion.
Digital broadcasts that are already in place offer more information and entertainment than most of us can use, and these streams of data make extremely efficient use of the radio spectrum. This, in fact, is the primary reason for the coming changeover from analog broadcasting. There is another reason that people need to consider before they cry foul at the sudden shift to a "new" service.
If Money Only Grew on Trees!
Digital and analog broadcasts use very different equipment to reach the same objective. Each intends to entertain or to inform us, and each is at the business end of the same studio and sound-stage system. Similarities begin to fail, though, when we examine how much we will do with digital signals in a limited broadcast spectrum.
Have you thought about those folks who do the local evening news and weather? For some time now, they have been broadcasting four or five times the programming on digital channels. The sound and picture are wonderful, and many more of us will benefit from their work than ever did before. This is a great reason for news, the arts, education, and weather channels to expand into the new territories the FCC has opened for them.
Unfortunately, since the analog signals are alive now only because some people are slow to change (for some years now) or because they believe they will never have to change (someone will always "not get the memo"), 2009 will bring some pain with it. Analog broadcasting is expensive; so is digital. Even with the enhanced revenue streams that digital will open for broadcasters, it makes no sense to maintain two incompatible media forever.
We Are Moving for Convenience
You probably have noticed, especially in larger markets (big cities), that local radio broadcasts have been mentioning this same move to digital mode. While they won't stop broadcasting analog signals right away, we should be glad that these changes are coming. Why?
In a world whose communities increasingly want more information more quickly, it makes great sense to transmit that information in ways that allow more of it to be received simultaneously. As more of our citizens become accustomed to digital broadcasting, both in radio and TV, they will find the richness of those media indescribably useful in their daily routine.
It is clear from our history that movement into new territories, be they geographical, political, or technological, has always caused upheaval among those most affected. Sometimes the moves were not announced as quickly as they should be, and people were unable in some cases to join in the move for their own good.
That is not the case here. We have had years of preparation, both publicly and privately, for the upcoming transition to a new and better kind of broadcasting. Audio, video, and print media have frequently published information about what is happening and, very importantly, why; we have little room to complain, though some people always will.
What Will Happen to My TV?
Included in the government's campaign to "sell" digital to the public has been information about inexpensive ways to continue receiving signals in your area despite your televisions' analog tuners. Consumers may either purchase newer digital television sets, or they can get a government grant to help pay for a converter that works with their old sets. Either way, they don't have to "miss" anything they could watch before, and they will find that much new programming is available to them.
Suddenly, or so it will seem, many people are going to get much more out of their TV than was once possible. It may take a while for them to get used to the new options, but after a few months they will like the choices so much they will wonder why changing seemed so hard.
No force will have been involved, and a good thing will have been delivered to our homes in a new way, more effectively and with a lot more bang for the buck. That's not too bad for a "government operation"!
Learn more about this author, Jon Dainty Sr..
Click here to send Author comments or questions.
No
We are more and more becoming a society that where are choice is being taken away and being forced to digital TV is just one more thing,
True, if you are poor and do not own a digital TV you can buy a converter box, and get a coupon towards the cost of one, but that is not the point, to me anyway. The point is being told I have to change the way I view TV.
It is bad enough I do not have cable or a dish and rely on local programing that I can get in on my set, now it is digital. There are just some people who really can not afford the luxury of digital tv's, cable or satellite TV and this is just one more thing that the poor and the elderly are being forced to change to if you want to watch tv. In my opinion it is not fair.
Did we, the citizens of the United States vote on whether or not we wanted digital TV only? No, our representatives voted this through for us. Just another way to appease big business and the TV business is big.
Who needs 250+ television channels any way, really, do you watch all those stations? It's bad enough there is not a lot of decent shows on TV now without adding hundreds more of the same or 10 sports stations or more. It's like do we have a life any more, or are we all just zoning out in front of the television set?
Going digital is suppose to give us better quality television and sound, but what difference does it make if you have nothing decent on TV to watch? And it is just another way to get dvd's to cost more and to get you buy high defition recorders, and TV's. To some it is a blessing but to those of us on disability, social security, laid off, jobless, etc., it is anything but. The cost of going digital is going to effect more than just television in the long run, and those who can not afford it will be without a source of entertainment, and that is unfair.
I do not feel the Government should force something unto the whole nation unless it was voted on by the people since this is not a matter of national security. I feel they are doing the poor and elderly a great disservice by this and television as it is to now is just fine.
Television was a source that only the elite could afford when it was first made, then the price came down and after World War II television became more common place. Then color TV came out and again only those with money could afford it until the price came down for the common man to be able to afford it. But we still had a choice, color or black and white. Cable and satellite came in and we still had a choice to buy it or not. But now, with digital we have no choice. It is something that the TV's may come down in price but cable and satellite will not, they will keep going up in price and that is unacceptable. So, now we are the stage where our choice is taken away, we have to get a converter box if we want to view limited television after February 9, 2009. So for the first time in history the choice is taken away, and I find that very unsettling. For everyone who has a small television to travel with, it will need a converter box, if you have a palm television you will need a converter box, so a lot of televisions will be obsolete and unusable once the digital TV takes affect. But there are still plenty of places selling these TV's and that bothers me too, since they know the changes are coming but yet they are not really telling the consumers what they need to know in regards to the fact their television will not work without a converter box. Example, I have a small black and white set that can run on batteries, good for when we have no power, but it will not work without a converter box come February 2009.
The coupon from the government is only for one converter box, so one set will not work, and when you have no power, disconnecting one to hook up to the other can be hard to do.
I am not against change, but change that is forced on me is something I do not like, and I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way.
Learn more about this author, Samantha Pratt-Tyler.
Click here to send Author comments or questions.
