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Re: [Swprograms] The Reality of Digital Television Doesn't Meet theHype -- Whose Fault Is That? - washingtonpost.com
Mark Said: In the UK digital terrestrial television is standard definition,
not
high definition but it offers extensive text services and some degree
of interactivity. It obviously doesn't compare well to the Internet
as an information source in terms of breadth but it would meet most
of the promises in that article.
UK TV while being standard definition is in the 16x10 not 16x9 US format.
It already is superior to US's SD TV since it is a modification of the
analog PAL format but without the 50Hz flicker. You can see shortcommings
when final productions are shown as HD, like "Pimeval" (Series 2 is
currently running), as it is seen here on the Sci-Fi channel .
In addition, some US cable outfits, like Animal Planet, are carrying UK
programming or shows made of UK footage. The studio quality of the master
tapes look just as good as HD as long as they are shown in lettterbox
format. US HDTV's cannot properly "stretch" the 16x10 letterbox to full
screen format, they wind up overscanning the picture and it looks like the
above mentioned Sci-Fi.
While we're talking about anomolies in a TV picture, most older shows sent
by way of analog tape or bird wind up gettng mpeg distortion in the images
outlines when sent digitally, the live as you conversion just doesnt make
it. While we still have analog, you can see that those shows look better on
the analog channel
Teletext has never worked in the US. CBS affilaites used to carry it, but I
haven't heard any promotion for it in decades. It may still be sent in the
vertical blanking signal for all I know. My DVR's time sync against the CBS
channel instead of the PBS channel like the instructions say. The
Blackberry, I-Phone and PDA have more or less killed that method anyway.
Interactive over the air is kind of dumb when you think about it. If you
need a cable box, telephone line, or internet connection to return data,
then why not get your input data via those same connections?
Now I turn to New York City DTV.
Multiple TV channels on a physical channel is in some cases inferior. With
the bright idea of rerunning all local newscasts, public affairs and
infomercials, WABC-DT2 tried a format of Eyewitness News Now. It cost them
money so they killed it and leased DT2 to the LiveWell Channel so they could
turn a profit. WABC-DT1, and the entire ABC network, use 720p instead of
1080i HD, (so does Fox). LiveWell runs in HD as well, but trying to
squeeze in 2 720p and 1 480i signals isn't working very well. The DT1 is
the network, it has to look good. LiveWell gets a crappy sample rate and
pixel distorts during fast movements, disolves and fades. They've tweaked
this a few times since the station went on in mid May, the looser is the DT3
480i, a 24 hour weather channel that is mostly graphics.
Ironically, ION just converted WPXN-DT1 to 720p, DT2, DT3 and DT4 which are
480i and still all look the same. WNET-DT had been in 1080i since it's
inception and has 2 480i stations in their DTV package. A 4th was tried but
was moved to WLIW-DT, a suburban PBS station they operate.
John Said: While cable television systems here offer specialized digital
music
packages, neither broadcast nor cable nor satellite television uses
their spectrum to deliver radio services.
As for radio on DTV stations there are a pitifull few in NYC. Family Radio
operates WFME-TV channel 66 (DTV on 29). They have 10 DTV subchannels, 1
main WFME-TV video, 8 audio, and 1 audio in reserve. The audio services are
their 2 on air radio stations, WFME and KEAR, also the leased feeds to
WFME-FM's 2 FM subcarriers, WYFR international relays, and NOAA weather
radio.
Mark Said: It also includes some 10's of radio channels (including World
Service
- a nod towards the topic here !)
Does WYFR qualify? God, I hope not!
NJ public station, WNJM, has the New Jersey Network (Public TV) in High Def
on DT1, a 2nd NJN service on DT2 (480i) and In Touch Radio, an all volunteer
radio service for the blind on DT3, audio only.
John Said: The complaint with
this transition comes from subscribers who up to now have been able
to just plug the cable into the back of their sets and watch analog
television without need for a converter. The switch to digital
renders their older, perfectly well functioning analog televisions
unable to display digital television without the rental of a
converter at roughly $8 a set per month. Many people have two,
three, even four or five sets in their homes.
Rural subscribers mostly I take it? Try to plug in a cable without a box in
an urban area. The interference to broadcast stations from over the air
signal leak-in is highly disrupting. Try to plug in a cable without a box
now and while you'll still get most of your local over the air signals,
(with ghosting from leak-in), the few public access channels, and a
handfull of free cable channels like TV Guide, The Weather Channel and
Galavision. Almost everything else that was free is now digitized.
-Steve
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