[Pinza]

Will manufacturers drop the NTSC Tuners with the impending transition in Canada to Digital OTA transmissions.?

And am I correct in saying that an ATSC Tuner will not tune in to Analog Channels.?

 

[scampbell]

ATSC tuners will receive both analog and digital channels.

I would be surprised if manufactures make TVs with NTSC tuners for much longer (if they still are).

 

[ScaryBob]

NTSC tuners will remain for some time. There are still some analog broadcasters in the US, mainly low powered community channels. It will be some time before all stations in Canada transition to digital as well. Most smaller market stations will remain analog for the foreseeable future.

 

[hugh]

I believe there are still some some countries that use NTSC.

I suspect its embedded on a chip with the ATSC tuner so the cost is probably negligible so I think we can expect to see it for some time to come.

 

[tvlurker]

ATSC tuners will receive both analog and digital channels.

I would be surprised if manufactures make TVs with NTSC tuners for much longer (if they still are).

Not sure what you mean here -- ATSC tuners by definition can only demodulate ATSC signals. To receive NTSC signals, you also need an NTSC tuner.

For example, the "ATSC tuner" in a digital converter box does NOT tune NTSC signals.

Most, but not all, TVs with ATSC tuners also have NTSC analog tuners, too.

Digital converter boxes never have HTSC tuners.

Some USB tuner sticks or PC cards contain both tuners, but many contain only one or the other.

Some TVs and PC or USB tuners also include digital cable (QAM) tuners, as well.

Cable company Set Top Boxes generally contain ONLY a QAM tuner, although some (many?) also tune NTSC, but never ATSC.

 

[stampeder]

scampbell, I'm guessing you mean 480i resolution, which ATSC handles, but as far as NTSC modulation tvlurker is correct... when it is gone it is gone. ATSC is a digital medium incapable of receiving analogue TV broadcasts.

To directly respond to the OP's question, there will be NTSC-capable new TVs on the market as long as it takes for stocks to be sold off. Nevertheless if a person lives in an area serviced by NTSC transmitters after the DTV transition they can still receive those channels with an ATSC-only TV by using a present day VCR as their TV tuner, plugged into an auxiliary Composite or S-Video input as the case may be.

 

[scampbell]

ATSC is a digital medium incapable of receiving analogue TV broadcasts.

Oops. I stand corrected.

I guess I assumed that since my ATSC TV can receive analog broadcasts, that my ATSC tuner was doing the job of receiving them. So do some newer TVs not receive analog signals?

I would think that, in Canada, we will want the ability to receive analog for some time yet.

 

[Dalek Prime]

Only those tvs with ATSC-only tuners, if there are indeed any w/o NTSC, which I doubt.

I don't want the ability to continue receiving analogue. I want every broadcaster to switch.... NOW!

 

[Tom.F.1]

I suspect there will be some hold-outs, who are still looking to keep old analog equipment working, far into the future. For instance, I still have vinyl records. My cassedt deck quit, just haven't thrown it out yet. I have a friend who still has a working BetaMax player/recorder and a whole collection of Beta movies. AM radio is still around.
Every Cable STB, Satelite RX, VCR, DVD player and Laserdisc player has a modulated NTSC output. Usually Ch 3 or 4, but a lot of newer ones are capable of many channels.
Oh, and then there are security cam systems. Lots of apartment/condos have door cams and the best(cheapest) way to get them to every dwelling is modulated on an NTSC channel.
New technology doesn't really replace old technology, just slowly pushes it out of the way. NTSC modulators must be pretty cheap by now. A 25.00 DVD player has a ch 3 output, as well as Vid/aud and s-vid. I suspect NTSC tuner chips cost only pennies.
So, my guess is about the year 2025 before we see the end of NTSC.

 

[classicsat]

Every Cable STB, Satelite RX, VCR, DVD player and Laserdisc player has a modulated NTSC output. Usually Ch 3 or 4, but a lot of newer ones are capable of many channels.

Not true.

Some satellite receivers, at least the Bell HD receivers beginning with the 6000, and the Shaw Direct DSR6xx series, have A/V only.

DVD players since day one, never had RF out (in North American models), except sometimes on units that incorporate a DVD or VHS recorder with a tuner.

I don't know enough about Laser disc, or the current generation cable boxes to say.

Beginning with the Sega Genesis at least, game consoles dropped built in RF, in favor of an RF modulator accessory.

Most of the above have A/V output, so would be stupid to connect with RF usually, to a modern HDTV.

 

[JamesK]

Every Cable STB, Satelite RX, VCR, DVD player and Laserdisc player has a modulated NTSC output.

That will provide the worst possible video quality. Those devices should also have some video outputs. Even composite is better than RF and TV sets have had composite* inputs for years. Also, BDUs, such as Rogers, have a lobby channel, which can be used for that purpose.

I expect NTSC tuners will go away at some point after the last broadcaster goes digital. Come next Sept., there won't be much need for NTSC tuners in most areas in Canada. At the moment, in Toronto, only TVOntario (Ch 19) is still broadcasting analog only. Of course, at some point, analog TV broadcast will likely be banned.

*My old JVC 27" set, which I bought about 9 years ago, had composite, S-video and component inputs.

 

[Michael DeAbreu]

The limiting factor is the digital transition date for cablesystems not OTA. Despite a huge push by Shaw, I refused to buy their cheap digital STB. Why would I pay $2.99 per month/per TV when I was splitting the analog source for free! But, I've since cut the cable and gone HD-OTA. So I no longer have a stake in that fight.