The FCC has notified US television broadcasters that the standard for
transmitting TV over-the-air shall change from analog to digital. The three
main types of digital TV are Standard Definition ("good", offering the same
resolution as the traditional analog system), Enhanced Definition ("better"),
and High Definition ("best").
As of early 2006, it appears that analog over-the-air broadcasts will be shut
down February 17, 2009, causing every analog TV hooked up to an ordinary
antenna to be unable to receive TV stations. The TV could be made functional
again by hooking up a digital tuner box between the existing antenna and the
TV's antenna-input terminals. Or the viewer could buy a new digital TV. Most
viewers will not be affected, as this change will probably not immediately
affect cable television and satellite television customers, since those are not
over-the-air (RF or Radio-Frequency) transmissions. It is estimated that about
60 million TV's in the US are hooked up solely to antennas. Congress is
arranging to offer cash vouchers ( at least this report says so ), for the
purchase of digital tuners, available to people unable to buy new digital TV's.
This is the first time in over 50 years that the entire standard for TV
transmission has changed. The last major TV transmission standard change was
when color was added. That time, the change was backwards-compatible, meaning
that black-and-white TV's still worked. This time the change is not
backwards-compatible.
Why am I sending this to you??? Because eventually it will affect us all and
some of us sooner .... like today. Last week one of my large screen TV vendors
called to let me know that as of February 28th, 2006, manufacturers of TV's 25"
and larger could only produce TV's with a "Digital Tuner", or no tuner at all.
The FCC mandate also requires manufacturers to get rid of all their stock of
"Analog" tuner TVs larger than 25" and the FCC will or may impose a fine for
manufacturers found with those machines in stock after March 1, 2006.
So, manufacturers have sold their current stock of analog TV's to large dealers
who are selling to places like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc... who do not want
to get caught with a large stock of these products either.
The Good news may be that consumers should be able to find a bargain on TV's
incorporating analog tuners that are over 25" in size. And, if you are not
using these TV's to get over-the-air broadcasts then purchasing these analog
tuner units won't bother you a bit. In the future you will be able to purchase
a digital tuner converter box, if you would need it.
The Bad news, for the IEC AV/Computer Co-op, is that our vendors are running
out or have run out of stock for these units. I have been in contact with all
of our vendors and they have very few, if any, of these machines available. I
have a bid out right now for the Spring 2006 IEC AV/Computer co-op. I will
probably have to re-bid the large TV's later in the spring. By doing so these
products may not show up in the AV catalog right away so keep checking the
online catalog or give us a call for an update.
It looks like the new digital tuner models for 25" or larger TV's won't be
available to ship until late March or early April. Basic information on these
may not even be available until the middle of March. Manufacturers of TV's
smaller than 25" can continue to produce and stock these products until spring
of 2007. At that time we may experience this same problem again.
I am including a link that gives you more information on this topic that, I
think, is interesting reading....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television_in_the_United_States
Call or email me if you have questions or need a large screen TV before Spring
2006.
Bud Carruthers, IEC Coordinator x1157
3601 West Avenue Road, Box 1065
Burlington, Ia 52601
319-753-6561
319-752-7525 Fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Kathy Petersen
Media Secretary/Receptionist
Prairie Lakes AEA 8
330 Ave M, Lower Level
Voc-Tech Bldg
Fort Dodge, IA 50501
515-574-5548
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Life is a journey, not a destination.
Laughter is harder, friendship is stronger, and trust is deeper when it comes
from the heart!!!
--
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