[OT] DTV switch-over (was: Mythtv users + Comcast subscribers)

[Jarod Wilson]

On May 29, 2009, at 4:21 PM, Ben Scott wrote:

> On Fri, May 29, 2009 at 3:20 PM, Greg Rundlett (freephile)
> <greg at freephile.com> wrote:
>> ... Comcast is distributing little Digital to Analog converters  
>> (along
>> with their switchover to DTV broadcasts) ...
>
>  I thought the DTV switchover was mainly a problem for people
> receiving TV via OTA broadcast (over-the-air, i.e., antennas).  I
> thought the CATV companies could basically keep sending analog signals
> forever.  Or are they jumping on the digital-only bandwagon, too?


Bandwagon jumping for self-serving purposes. If I recall correctly,  
the digital version of a standard-def program actually consumes less  
bandwidth to transmit than the analog variant of the same, so they can  
cram more digital channels into a multiplexed QAM channel than they  
can analog channels. On top of that, they can encrypt the digital  
channels, making it harder for 3rd-party tuners to be useful (be they  
tuners in a mythtv box or the built-in tuner in an HDTV), thereby  
requiring subscribers to rent more cable boxes...

My own Verizon FiOS TV service has been purely digital for quite a  
while now. But at least they provided digital->analog adapter thingies  
for free, so I can still record all my SDTV channels if I really want  
to (usually, I don't anyway though).


-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod at wilsonet.com