Adventures into HDTV in Peoria #1
For a while now I have been eyeing HDTVs. They are pretty nice to behold but also quite expensive. Prices are falling and like all electronics (esp TVs), the features added are just enough of a trickle that you can't get quite what you want. So once you do buy one, there will be a 'better' one next year. Nevermind the manufacturers could pour them all in and make a final decent product. No.. we are being milked. Well 2004-05 was not the year I would buy one. New models come out in the fall so we will soon see if 2005-06 is the magic year or not. I'm discouraged but HDTV is coming whether you want it or not.
January 2007 is the original cut off date, when analog over the air broadcasts are supposed to cease. What? Yes that means your old TV is supposed to stop working. Yes we are being coralled into buying HDTVs. Of course many broadcasters won't make that deadline. Instead they went to Congress and are lobbying for an extension of the cut off to say... .2009...2012... never? Time will tell, but HDTV is coming.
In Peoria, it seems most of the local broadcasters have started broadcasting HDTV over the air (except TBN). Everyone cheer. But does anyone care? It seems only 11.5% of folks get their television over the air with an.... antennae. The rest get their television via cable or satellite. I am one of the few, the proud, the bunny ear wielding minority.
Now, not too long ago, I bought an HDTV capable monitor for the computer. Since then I have been pondering getting an ATSC Tuner (thats HDTV folks) for it. Trying to locate and get information on ATSC Tuners is hard. There don't seem to be many models or manufacturers. Locally... Circuit City has a few. Wal-Mart had one. Best Buy had nada. But that is only half of the solution. You need an antenna too. The little bunny ears with the wire loop isn't going to cut it. There are not many indoor, set top, antenna's out there for HDTV. They tend to be big and ugly, not that bunny ears are a joy. No.. the impression I am getting is that indoor antenna's simply don't work well for ATSC broadcasts (psst thats HDTV). HDTV needs more antenna for the greater bandwidth that it requires. This means one needs to hoist a mast on the outside of their house.
Ah... now we begin to understand why you don't see too many HDTV tuners. Unless you are one of the lucky few who still has one of these behemoths on their house from the 70s, odds are you won't be putting one up. They are pretty ugly. Thus no need for the tuner. There are only 11.5% of us or less. I would guess most of that 11.5 are country dwelling folks and not in the heart of Peoria. The market really is not there.
So... it seems safe to say that unless you already have an antenna or plan to put one on the outside of your house, you DO NOT need an ATSC tuner. Don't need one on that HDTV nor a separate little box for one. The notion that houses all over America are going to spring up antenna's again, just so they can get free HDTV is ludicrous.
This brings me to cable, in Peoria... and the imminent discussions between Peoria and Insight Communications over cable rates !!!!! Next Post... which I promise will be soon... maybe even today : )
Mahkno
January 2007 is the original cut off date, when analog over the air broadcasts are supposed to cease. What? Yes that means your old TV is supposed to stop working. Yes we are being coralled into buying HDTVs. Of course many broadcasters won't make that deadline. Instead they went to Congress and are lobbying for an extension of the cut off to say... .2009...2012... never? Time will tell, but HDTV is coming.
In Peoria, it seems most of the local broadcasters have started broadcasting HDTV over the air (except TBN). Everyone cheer. But does anyone care? It seems only 11.5% of folks get their television over the air with an.... antennae. The rest get their television via cable or satellite. I am one of the few, the proud, the bunny ear wielding minority.
Now, not too long ago, I bought an HDTV capable monitor for the computer. Since then I have been pondering getting an ATSC Tuner (thats HDTV folks) for it. Trying to locate and get information on ATSC Tuners is hard. There don't seem to be many models or manufacturers. Locally... Circuit City has a few. Wal-Mart had one. Best Buy had nada. But that is only half of the solution. You need an antenna too. The little bunny ears with the wire loop isn't going to cut it. There are not many indoor, set top, antenna's out there for HDTV. They tend to be big and ugly, not that bunny ears are a joy. No.. the impression I am getting is that indoor antenna's simply don't work well for ATSC broadcasts (psst thats HDTV). HDTV needs more antenna for the greater bandwidth that it requires. This means one needs to hoist a mast on the outside of their house.
Ah... now we begin to understand why you don't see too many HDTV tuners. Unless you are one of the lucky few who still has one of these behemoths on their house from the 70s, odds are you won't be putting one up. They are pretty ugly. Thus no need for the tuner. There are only 11.5% of us or less. I would guess most of that 11.5 are country dwelling folks and not in the heart of Peoria. The market really is not there.
So... it seems safe to say that unless you already have an antenna or plan to put one on the outside of your house, you DO NOT need an ATSC tuner. Don't need one on that HDTV nor a separate little box for one. The notion that houses all over America are going to spring up antenna's again, just so they can get free HDTV is ludicrous.
This brings me to cable, in Peoria... and the imminent discussions between Peoria and Insight Communications over cable rates !!!!! Next Post... which I promise will be soon... maybe even today : )
Mahkno
posted by Mahkno at 2:50 AM
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