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U.S. DTV News & Discussion

155K views 600 replies 141 participants last post by  Robbers Bhell 
#1 ·
FCC Cites Dell For Failure To Label TV Sets
(Broadcasting & Cable)

Dell.com has joined the list of online TV sales Web sites cited by the FCC for failure to label analog-only TV sets.

As of May 25, sets without digital tuners must be clearly marked, either on the set or in close proximity, with the warning that the set will not receive over-the-air broadcasts after February 2009 unless equipped with a converter box.
http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=152842
 
#4 ·
FCC Head Proposes 2012 for LP DTV Cutover in U.S.

Martin is also proposing to help low-power TV stations make the transition to digital more swiftly, including opening up a filing window so that they can apply for DTV licenses. Currently, there is no hard date for the 4,700 low-power stations and translators that will still be allowed to broadcast in analog after the transition, but Martin said he is proposing to make that hard date 2012.
http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=301974

Maybe Vancouver-area folks will finally see some digital LP stations as SeaTac repeaters in Bellingham after all. We can only hope.

LP (low-power) stations in the U.S. are not regular TV stations. They are very local analogue retransmitters of distant Class A or B analogue stations that are not easily received OTA. The difference between an LP station and a simple translator (repeater) is that the operators of LP stations are permitted to simsub their own local commercials over the original ones.
 
#5 ·
LPTV

I think some of these stations will never see the light of day in digital form. Cost of transition will be one. But the other will probably be because their need will be lowered. These new Full Power DT stations can now have their signals travel further and arrive to the viewer in a much better & watchable condition. This will put added pressure on LPTV's. The same I figure will happen to low power translators. The translators will probably be the first to be dropped by most full power stations.
 
#9 ·
VHF channels 2 - 6 are not the best for digital broadcast so most stations in that range will either keep their new digital broadcast number 7 to- 5x (whatever the upper limit will be) or an all together different channel number if they are broadcasting on a temporary assignment.
 
#10 ·
Yep, there is ongoing debate about the VHF Low band being reassigned, with the Americans wanting to get rid of it for other use and the Canadian broadcasters apparently wanting to keep it for TV. Its still all clear as mud.

So far in Canada the post-2011 TV channel layout is expected to be:
  • 2 through 6 (VHF Low)
  • 7 through 13 (VHF High)
  • 14 through 51 (UHF)
The 52 through 69 channels will be reassigned.
 
#12 ·
The ERP (Effective Radiated Power) of a digital OTA station need only be a fraction of the ERP needed by an analogue OTA station to cover the exact same area.

Further energy savings are realized throughout the entire broadcast procedure due to digital OTA's inherent efficiencies.

Digital OTA is better for the environment in many ways. :)
 
#14 ·
Short answer is YES.

Shutting down the analogs will stop a LOT of the interference we're getting on digital channels.

For instance, I suspect my poor reception some days on WGRZ digital Ch 33, is because of a distant station Ch 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. Since i've already been challenged on this, when the weather gets better, i'll be up on the roof, turning the antenna to see if i can tune in analog 33. :)

The other issue is the power level of the analogs is so great, most tuners automatically reduce the gain on the input circuits to protect themselves. Our tuners won't be swamped anymore when they shut of analog in less than a year.

Unfortunately, we have to wait a couple more years after that for Canadian analog to go away.

Now, if we could just get digital radio going.......
 
#16 · (Edited)
The ERP (Effective Radiated Power) of a digital OTA station need only be a fraction of the ERP needed by an analogue OTA station to cover the exact same area.

Further energy savings are realized throughout the entire broadcast procedure due to digital OTA's inherent efficiencies.

Digital OTA is better for the environment in many ways.
Funny you say that because I have had at least one station engineer say the opposite to me much to my surprise. Unless they didn't understand the question, which I doubt.

I can watch a digital station that I can't measure on my SLM. I can't say the same for analog. The noise floor for the meter is -35dbm.
I have estimated that I can receive stations as low as -50dbm (using an attenuator with a known signal and subtracting the additional attenuation from the orginal signal reading).

Occasionally picking up 66.1 (only three times so far and only for a couple of hours at best) is one of the best proofs.
Shutting down the analogs will stop a LOT of the interference we're getting on digital channels.
Goodby Gilligans Island. (at least some of it) ;)
 
#17 ·
Funny you say that because I have had at least one station engineer say the opposite to me much to my surprise. Unless they didn't understand the question, which I doubt.
Well, it may be true if an analog channel 2 is replaced by UHF. Even at 1MW ERP, the digital station won't be able to replicate the coverage of the 100kW ERP channel 2 analog station. And that MW probably needs 35 to 90 kW of tranmitter output power, more than would be needed to power the channel 2 analog antenna.
 
#19 ·
The request to convert channels 5 and 6 to FM uses was denied by the FCC. See FCC 08-72 "Memorandum opinion and order on reconsideration
of the Seventh report and order and eighth report and order

Adopted: March 3, 2008 Released: March 6, 2008

"1.
Mullaney Engineering, Inc. (“MEI”) and EME Communications (“EME”) have filed petitions requesting that the Commission eliminate the requirement in Section 73.525 of the Commission’s rules that new FM stations protect channel 6 DTV allotments or, alternatively, that it altogether eliminate channel 6, and possibly channel 5, from the digital TV allotment process and allocate that corresponding spectrum to the FM service.[1] Dan Priestley and Robert E. Lee’s comments supported MEI’s proposal to reallocate TV channels 5 and 6 to FM broadcasting.[2] For the reasons discussed below, we deny these requests."
 
#20 ·
#21 ·
I have the sad feeling that even with all the warnings and press there will still be jammed telephone switchboards at the TV stations with frantic, confused callers wanting to know why Judge Judy, Judge Hatchett, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Maria Lopez, etc. etc. are not on TV.
 
#23 ·
U.S. OTA LP Stations Struggle With DTV Transition

Low Powers Seek $450M in DTV Aid

Community Broadcasters Association Eyes $150K for Each Low-Power TV Station

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/9/2008 1:47:00 PM

Just smacked down by the courts, the low-power TV industry's lobby is asking Congress for $450 million to make the conversion to digital as soon as possible, saying that many in the industry face bankruptcy and potential ruin due to government policies.

Low-power stations aren't required to make the DTV transition by any set date, but the Community Broadcasters Association is concerned that if stations don't make the switch soon, they could be left behind in an analog world that few people can access.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6559392.html?industryid=48696
 
#24 ·
This topic is of interest to Canadians who live in Border areas that are not major U.S. cities.

LP (Low Power) stations are a product of the Reagan de-regulation era of the early 1980s and are considered ugly stepchildren by regular broadcasters. LP stations are analogue and are allowed to operate at a mere fraction of the ERP of regular stations in non-competing locations, but they are also allowed to take another distant channel's programming at no cost to themselves and rebroadcast it using simsubbing of local commercials.

Nobody has told LP stations to go digital, but with the fact of the DTV conversion going forward, the LP stations went to court to force a decision to keep analogue tuners available to consumers. The court would not intervene, so the DTV changeover continues full speed. Now the LP stations are asking for government funding to convert to digital.

People from the Vancouver area and Vancouver Island have been hoping for quite some time that DTV LP stations will come up as SeaTac station repeaters since the original stations seldom reach most of the Canadian areas.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Info program on DTV switchover FOX (Buffalo) 12:30 Sunday

"Countdown to DTV - Are You Ready?" is the name of the show. It runs 30 minutes. No word on the content level. BTW that's 12:30 around lunchtime, not 12:30 around late movie time. We need to switch to 24 hour clocks.
 
#28 ·
"Countdown to DTV - Are You Ready?" is the name of the show. It runs 30 minutes. No word on the content level.
Pity I missed it. :(

BTW that's 12:30 around lunchtime, not 12:30 around late movie time. We need to switch to 24 hour clocks.
For what it's worth I always use a 24-hour clock for text communication. On the bright side only three hours are then ever potentially ambiguous.
 
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