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| Yes | 33% | 209 votes | Total: 641 votes | |
| No | 67% | 432 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe digital transition was inevitable. We have used all the frequencies that television was displayed on, when it was purely analog. If we want to continue to have more television choices we needed the change. Since we had used all of the frequencies there was no more room for emergency use; ambulances, fire departments and police were not able to communicate as needed. This was not a process where un-named sources were making money, cable companies and television stations spent lots of money to switch to digital. We literally tapped out our frequency capability. If we had continued on the analog television route we would no longer have any new television channels, our public services would have suffered for lack of space to communicate and the consequences of staying in the analog age would have kept telecommunication from experiencing technology upgrades.
Analog television is the full picture screen sent through a frequency and displayed as it is sent at the television end. Imagine a movie reel. Each slide of the movie reel is a separate picture. These separate pictures are sent through separately, one after another, over and over again.
Digital television breaks the full picture down into little tiny pieces of information and then they are sent through a frequency. After they are on the end where they display a picture, the picture is re-put back together. Digital television is able to grab more than one separate picture slides at a time. It combines the numerous picture slides by breaking them down into smaller elements, like puzzle pieces. When they are ready to be displayed as a full picture the digital convertor takes the broken down pieces of info and puts them back into picture form.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie from 1971 explains this procedure in the scene about Wonka Vision. Do you remember holster wearing Mike Tee Vee? When Willy Wonka showed the kids how chocolate could be transported into people's television for them to enjoy. Mike Tee Vee decided he was going to be the first person to be transported. He jumped up on the contraption, pushed the button and broke into a million little particles and floated over to the television screen. That is what digital TV does!
One analog channel takes up an entire frequency. Digital television can share one frequency. More channels can use the same frequency at the same time, thus making more room for more channels. This is important for our public services that communicate on frequencies. Police, ambulance, and fire departments were running out of room so switching to digital freed up lots of space.
Not only was the conversion needed, it was also well planned. As of June 2007 all TVs that were sold in the United States were required to have a digital tuner built inside of them. The FCC gave 2 years to prepare. Citizens could even get $40 coupons to relieve the cost of a digital convertor. Households could get these coupons as early as January of 2008. Each household was entitled to 2 coupons. Charity organizations ran programs to help elderly and economically challenged individuals get the convertors free of charge and they would help set them up for people that didn't understand the new technology. Due to the cost and the lengthy process of changing over television stations the government extended the deadline to ensure that channels wouldn't go "black" in Febrary of 2009.
Televisions designed today are super smart. Some come with guide attachments, internet access, HD capabilities and radio. Technology is the era we live in. Leaving the analog age was a necessity. Analog service equipment is old technology. Digital is lighter, more secure, offers more possibilities of how communication can be stored and sent.
What could have been? The Roman Empire could have never fallen and people never established themselves into nations. The age of reason could have never happened and the reason why people get sick is because of magic. The industrial revolution could have never happened and industry could all still be done by hand. Television could have never been invented at all. Humans could still be living with no electricity, gas, sewage, or prime time entertainment. For good or bad, the digital transition is another step in the history. In 30 years, analog television will be a memory. Remember rotary phones? Who wants their rotary phone back?
Learn more about this author, Janelle Rafaele.
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No
Not just no, but HELL NO! The forced transition from analogue to digital technology is another example of how corporate America owns and dictates governmental policy and procedures. The FCC mandated the transition to digital broadcasting to "free-up" air space. This in no way benefits the consumer other than it makes many more channels of absolute drivel available to the masses. The benefit comes to the few corporations who monopolize the broadcast networks. They now have more air space available. They can sell more advertising (including political advertisements) which generates unimaginable income. They have more available avenues to shape and mold the mores and values of the viewing masses, including socio-political ideology. Let's not forget that the airwaves belong to us, and that this change was quietly and insidiously forced upon us without wide spread publicity or adequate avenues of redress, complaint, or objection having been forwarded on a preemptive basis.
The manufacturers of consumer electronics, namely televisions, also benefit from this forced transition. It in effect forces consumers to "upgrade" their reception capabilities or go without (God Forbid). Those companies that manufacture the digital-to-analogue conversion boxes are enjoying a financial feast of unprecedented proportions. The Manufacturers of televisions finally have the short-term recurring revenue mechanism they always wanted. Given how susceptible to electrical power supply variations solid state electronics are, plasma and LCD display screens are intolerant of power surges. As the cost of the replacement screen represents 85% (approximately) of the cost of replacing a unit, it becomes impractical to repair. This renders the unit "disposable" in the minds of consumers, and reinforces the planned obsolescence mentality that we as consumers have been quietly force fed over the last quarter century. It also very quietly serves to eradicate the profession of consumer repair servicing. Repairing a unit and sustaining its serviceability is in direct conflict with selling new replacement units.
The cable and satellite service providers are also enjoying the forced transition. People who have neither the time nor the technical expertise to modify their current reception systems/equipment are being both directly and indirectly encouraged to avail themselves of these company's services. They are being misled with the whole "Hi-Def" sales pitch. Most broadcasters do not have true high definition transmission capabilities. Most televisions (even current models) employ high definition simulation as opposed to true high definition technology. All of this is a sales pitch intended to manipulate consumers into accepting a forced transition under the guise of better video, better audio, and more channels when the truth is it has been a financial boon for the media and the consumer electronics manufacturing industry.
Learn more about this author, Victor Mikulin.
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