You STILL need rabbit ears to pick up digital free-to-air TV

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 13 March 2007 20:59

Your IT - Entertainment

Once the analog frequencies are no longer used for TV broadcasts, the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, will be auctioning the spectrum for uses such as broadband and other services, while part of the spectrum will be retained for ‘emergency communications’.

There are also concerns that because the NTIA plans to ‘electronically track’ the ‘uniquely numbered’ coupons to ensure there is no fraud, the database that will be created will have to follow FTC guidelines to ensure privacy regulations are strictly adhered to.

Other concerns revolve around people simply waiting until the very last minute before upgrading to a newer digital television, or buying the required set-top box, resulting in some having their TV service summarily switched off on Feb 19, 2009, leading some to ask whether a definite, absolute switch off date is a good idea or not.

There are also the issues of quality of TV reception. With an analog TV, when the signal is bad, there is ‘snow’ on the screen or a ghosting effect with the TV image, but at least the image effectively remains watchable.

When a digital TV signal is somehow interrupted, frames are dropped and the action can become stuttery, like a streaming Internet video clip that isn’t receiving enough bandwidth to play smoothly.

In these cases, TV watching ability is much more seriously degraded than with analogue reception difficulties, meaning broadcasters will have to ensure their signal is strong enough, while consumers will have to ensure that their antennas are properly tuned to ensure the best possible digital TV reception.

The shift to digital is ultimately a good thing, but it certainly reminds us all that sometimes, digital doesn’t automatically mean better than analog. Still, the switchover appears set in stone, with some US TV viewers set to be dragged kicking and screaming into a fully digital era at long last.