Just say No to pay TV
I beg to differ with the story in Wired News that says end of analog TV broadcasts in 2009 will cause US households to switch to cable instead of buying a converter box or a new TV. I actually think the net effect will be fewer cable subscribers.
My reasoning is that people still using old analog TVs are looking for cheapest way to receive TV and as such wont want to pay at least $50 a month just to receive the local programming they can get over the air anyway. Plus switching to cable means you'll have to install cable outlets in all rooms that means a lot of expense putting in wires and outlets - and splitting cable is notoriously problematic because cable companies often provide a marginal signal to households that isn't strong enough to split (as any multi-family dwelling cable user can attest).
Also I believe that once people discover that ATSC (digital transmission) provides interference free reception and many more channels than they ever received before they will actually start dropping basic cable packages for the free over the air programming. As low end TVs increase in capabilities the ability to view 720p and 1080i high definition programming (in particular sports) will also be a big draw. In a recession people are always looking to save money and cutting the cable is an easy fix.
Labels: tv
posted by The Editor @ 2/17/2008 11:07:00 AM
2 Comments:
Does your last paragraph mean that it will be easier to receive network TV with the new digital broadcasts? Right now, I can't get any TV because I don't want to pay for cable. None of the networks even come in, except for KTVU, but that's really fuzzy.
Yes - we had a similar experience, one watchable channel (also KTVU) but still ghosted and two others that were barely watchable. We could get Channel 11 if we moved the antenna then we lost KTVU.
With ATSC digital TV (search this blog for ATSC for more info) we have 20+ crystal clear digital channels all in HD and thast not counting all the non-english, info mercial and other channels we pruned from the list. Although not all content is high definition - most reruns of old shows are old 480i TV broadcasts resampled to hi res - it still come in crystal clear - oh and you get surround sound too when available.
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