TV's evolution offers hope for technology that's still languishing
E-mail him at homerbrickey@theblade.com
Many of us old-timers remember our first glimpses of television in the late 1940s, perhaps at a neighbor's home or in an appliance-store window.
Many Toledoans got a peek at the future of television in 1928, 13 years before the Federal Communications Commission approved commercial TV and 20 years before Toledo got its first TV station.
But for several years before 1928, readers of The Blade had been seeing stories about television experiments. Many, though, probably didn't grasp all the implications.
In January, 1928, General Electric Co. demonstrated the first TV broadcast outside a laboratory, beamed to sets in homes of three GE executives. The following month, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird sent a TV image of a man and a woman 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, from London to the Westchester County, NewYork, home of a short-wave radio operator.
By spring, American Telephone &Telegraph was showing off its own Bell Laboratories television technology in a movie that the former Ohio Bell Telephone Co. provided to organizations and clubs around the state, including some in Toledo. And by the end of 1928, a dozen experimental TV stations operated around the country.
Once they saw the promise of revenue, numerous companies jumped onto the bandwagon.
It was a long time coming, considering that the first of many inventions leading to TV dated to 1884: a spinning disk, with holes that could capture images on photo-sensitive surfaces, designed by Paul Nipkow, a German engineer.
By the late 1920s, inventions were fast and furious, leading to patent fights between such inventors as Philo Farnsworth and Russian-born Vladimir Zworykin.
TV also had attracted the interest of corporate giants like Radio Corporation of America and Westinghouse and also entrepreneurs like Charles Jenkins, who sold kits to hobbyists who wanted to build their own sets.
The technology for black-and-white TV was pretty much complete by 1939, when it was demonstrated at the New York World's Fair, and by 1941 the country had set industry standards for commercial broadcasts. However, World War II caused production to be suspended, and it was 1946 before the industry really took off.
Toledo got its first TV station, WSPD-TV, Channel 13, on July 21, 1948. The station broadcast a test pattern at 6 p.m. that evening, followed by programming at 6:30 that included a children's show, a western movie, cowboy songs, and a speech by Mayor Michael V. DiSalle.
The station was Ohio's third and the nation's 28th, and the Toledo had only about 500 sets.
Before that, early owners of TV sets in the city had to have tall antennas to get a signal from Detroit, or they had to watch TV at dozens of taverns that had invested in sets to offer sports programs from Detroit.
After the introduction of TV on a mass scale, developments were rapid and frequent - including color, communications satellites, cable, videotaping, big screens, VCRs, flat screens, and high-definition TV.
That should give us hope that some technology that now seems to be languishing - solar power, alternative fuels, cancer cures - will take off when investors see the possibilities.
Perhaps it's just the American way: Money moves life-changing technology.
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( 3 / 253 )The following is a letter to the editor of The Lima News.
Dear Editor,
February 17, 2009 is the date that television broadcasters have been working towards for several years. This is the date when, under a Federal Communications Commission and Congressional mandate, full power television stations nationwide will switch to digital broadcasting and return their analog signal back to the federal government. This exciting change will be as monumental and memorable as the switch from black and white to color in the mid 1950's.
As a result of the number of phone calls and emails we are getting at WLIO-TV these days, it is time to set the record straight. It is time to clear up the confusion about just what will happen with our signal on February 17th. The transition will only impact viewers who do not have a television set with a built-in digital tuner manufactured in the last two years, or who do not subscribe to cable or satellite TV. If you currently have an older set and receive your WLIO-TV signal on the UHF band channel 35, you will need to purchase a digital converter box from a local television dealer or electronics store. The federal government is offering discount coupons for these converter boxes at www.dtvanswers.com. Just click on the "Converter Box Details" link and you are all set.
I have been assured by area cable systems that carry WLIO-TV that you will notice no change in your service on February 17, 2009. This will be a totally seamless transition. Those cable systems include
BR Cablevision, FJ Communications, Kalida Telephone, NK Telco, OTEC Communications, Q1 Technologies, RTEC Communications, Shertel Cable Inc., Time Warner Cable, TSC Cable and WATCH-TV.
You can get additional information from our website at www.wlio.com. Simply click on the WLIO HDTV link and you will find a list of FAQ regarding the transition. If your question is not addressed there, please call Fred Vobbe our Chief Engineer at 419-228-8835 during normal business hours. Here's to a smooth and enjoyable digital transition on February 17, 2009.
Bruce A. Opperman
President/General Manager
WLIO-TV/NBC & The CW Network
Lima, Ohio 45805
419-228-8835
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( 3 / 241 )
What are my choices in DTVs
Frederick R. Vobbe, VP/Chief Operator
A lot of people call the TV station asking, "what should I buy?" The question is about as simple as me asking, "what color drapes should I have in my den?" You can't answer the question without asking more question!
A good web site to visit to review TVs is Smart Review. A couple things to keep in mind:
How far will you sit from the TV?
Don't get a TV that is 40" or more if you sit less than 10 feet from the set. My rule.... Less than 5 feet, no more than 20" screen size. Less than 10 feet, no more than 40" screen size. Less than 15 feet, no more than 50" screen size. Less than 20 feet, no more than 60" screen size. And so on.
Do I Need Plasma?
Not really. Look at the pictures before you buy. Plasma can be typically more money, but you have to judge the picture. Some people are happy with a simple picture, but some want a look that is movie quality film quality. I work in TV, and I'm happy with our 42" LCD.
Do I need 5.1 Surround Sound
No, not unless you sit in a theater like setting and watch a program that supports Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound.
Will my new DTV work on Cable or Satellite
Well... we don't really know. Locally, the cable company says they will convert our digital to analog for reception, and they will have a plan for receiving our digital on the cable somewhere. I was told by a friend of a friend that it will be at no charge, but there is no official confirmation nor guarantee. Personally, I think they will probably make you buy one of their converter boxes, but we will see. The best thing is to CALL your cable company and ask them.
As far as satellite, (Direct or Dish), they have no plans to offer WLIO even though they are suppose to, and have promised to carry WLIO as the Local NBC and CW. But late in 2007 both companies suddenly said they were not interested. So if you want to get WLIO, you need to put up an antenna. See the link in the upper right of the page. If you feel that they owe you the ability to watch WLIO, I agree with you. But neither I or the station can help you.
If you were promised that you can watch NBC and the CW, by FCC rules you are entitled to see WLIO. If they don't provide reception of WLIO, then keep on them to make sure you get it!
Make sure they don't offer a pair of rabbit ears that work only 20% of the time. You should get WLIO all the time without signal breakup.
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( 3 / 275 )Switching to the Recycling Channel
Area Girds for Digital TV Changeover
By Kim Hart, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, April 26, 2008; Page D01
A stack of old television sets towered above Tim Webster as he put his own dust-covered, 20-year-old set onto the heap. He had replaced it with a new flat-screen TV and decided it was time to part with his old living-room companion.
"We were just waiting to see if this one had any use and, it turns out, it really doesn't," said Webster, who lives in Arlington. "It was time to move on."
Recycling centers and landfills across the country are preparing for a surge of unwanted sets in coming months. Next February, most TV broadcasts will be available only in digital form. As a result, sets that rely on antennas to receive over-the-air analog signals will no longer work on their own. At the same time, prices of digital TV sets continue to drop, luring consumers to upgrade.
"I think a lot of people are going to use the digital switch as a reason to buy a new TV," said Barbara Kyle, national coordinator for the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which runs a campaign urging electronics manufacturers to collect old TV sets from consumers and recycle them for free. "The question is what happens to all the TVs people are getting rid of."
Last year, about 68 million TVs were thrown out, given away or recycled, according to the Consumer Electronics Association's estimates. That number could grow this year: About 14 million households rely on over-the-air broadcasts, according to the Nielsen Co.
Tossing the old TV isn't an analog user's only option. Consumers can purchase converter boxes, which generally cost $40 to $100, to translate the digital signal back to analog, allowing people to keep using their current sets. They can apply for government-sponsored coupons worth $40 to help pay for the converters. Subscribers to cable or satellite services will not have to do anything to continue watching TV on older analog sets.
Webster said he considered getting a converter box for his old TV but instead decided to spring for a digital set because the prices have become more affordable.
He was one of hundreds of Arlington residents who dropped off a total of 16,500 pounds of discarded TVs for recycling last Saturday at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. The county, which holds recycling events twice a year to collect electronics, household hazardous waste and other hard-to-dispose-of items, took in a record number of TVs to be dismantled and recycled.
Electronics pose environmental threats because they contain hazardous chemicals, including mercury in batteries, cadmium in displays and toxins in circuit boards. Old-style TVs and computer monitors with cathode ray tubes, or CRTs, contain between four and eight pounds of lead. Environmentalists say such substances can be harmful when buried in landfills, potentially leaching toxins into groundwater supplies.
Many municipalities have set up recycling sites and hold events specifically geared toward electronics, including cellphones, computers, stereos and VCRs. Bulky TVs are not always accepted, partly because they are more expensive to transport and recycle. Consumers often have to pay a fee of $10 to $50 to recycle a TV, which creates an economic incentive for them to toss it into the landfill.
Some regions are anticipating a 30 percent increase in the number of TVs dropped off at recycling centers, according to Anne Reichman, program director for Earth 911, an Arizona-based company that helps coordinate recycling efforts across the country.
"We're seeing retailers provide sales that will entice consumers to upgrade to a better, more energy- efficient, cooler TV," she said. "But we're not confident the old TVs aren't going to landfills."
An estimated 32 million new televisions are expected to enter U.S. homes this year, while consumers expect to get rid of about 44 million, based on a survey of 1,000 people released this month by the Consumer Electronics Association. The survey indicated that most of those TVs will be sold, donated or recycled rather than thrown in the trash.
A previous survey by the association showed that about 14 percent of antenna-dependent households plan to buy a new digital TV before the transition occurs Feb. 17, 2009. About 60 percent of the 2,000 people surveyed said they intend to buy a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite service to keep using their current TVs.
A dozen states, including Maryland and Virginia, have set up recycling programs for electronics, often requiring manufacturers to contribute to the recycling effort.
This year, Virginia passed a law requiring all manufacturers doing business in the state to help fund recycling programs for computers. But the law, which takes effect in July 2009, does not include TVs or other electronics.
Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, as well as Alexandria, host regular collection events. In some cases, collection fees are waived for county residents.
In Maryland, electronics manufacturers must pay a fee to do business in the state, which goes toward funding for county recycling programs. Starting this year, counties must accept TVs at their recycling centers to be eligible for state grants.
Seventeen of the state's 24 counties have set up permanent electronics recycling facilities. Hilary Miller, manager for the Maryland Department of the Environment's recycling program, said Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Baltimore counties usually collect the largest quantitiesof electronics.
"We don't envision a serious problem" with an influx of TVs coming to the county facilities, Miller said.
Some TV makers have started their own programs to take back their brand's TVs and pay to have them safely recycled. Sony said it has collected 6 million pounds of electronics since its program started in September. In response to various state laws, Panasonic, partnering with Toshiba and Sharp, has started holding collection events and last year recycled 3.4 million pounds of TVs.
Mark Sharp, group manager of Panasonic's Corporate Environmental Department, said the company does not expect a big uptick in sales of new TVs. He added that recycling efforts have improved in recent years.
"We really don't forecast this deluge of products going into the waste stream" as a result of the digital transition, he said.
Brent Young, director of business development for E-Tech Recycling, which has drop-off centers for electronics in Chantilly and Portland, Ore., said he has seen the largest spike of TVs come in during public collections. He recently collected more than 2,500 pounds of TVs in three hours at an event near Portland.
"I think we'll see the largest increase before the transition happens in November and December, during the holiday shopping season," he said.
Tim Felegie of Arlington couldn't wait that long. When he pulled up to the recycling event last weekend, his 20-year-old Sharp TV, complete with push buttons and faux wood, was in the passenger seat to be dropped off.
Waiting in the car behind him was Mitt Mittendorff, who had bought a new flat-screen and had hauled his old 31-inch TV to be recycled.
"It's huge, and you have to hit it sharply in the corner sometimes to make it work."
LINK to story on Washington Post.
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( 3 / 256 )Digital TV switch won't give you high-definition TV
By Seth Sutel, AP Business Writer
Q. I've heard that TV broadcasts are going all-digital next February. Is that the same thing as high definition?
A. Not exactly. High-definition television or HDTV refers both to a high quality broadcasting standard as well as the class of TV that you need in order watch those shows in their full resolution.
That's not going to change next February, when all major U.S. TV stations will stop broadcasting traditional analog signals and continue only with digital broadcasts.
HDTV broadcasts are one kind of digital broadcast, but there are others that aren't as high-end. Like today, many TV shows will still be broadcast in "standard definition" following the end of analog broadcasting on Feb. 17, 2009.
Still, even standard-definition digital broadcasts will provide way better pictures than standard-definition analog broadcasts.
That's because digital transmissions are more efficient than analog and better able to strip out shadow images, static and interference. Know how running a vacuum cleaner near a TV can distort the image? That's far less likely to happen with digital TV.
Since they're more efficient, digital signals also allow stations to broadcast additional "side" channels using the same amount of spectrum.
Even today many stations are broadcasting digital side channels with supplemental programming like weather reports, which you can see if you have a new TV equipped with a digital tuner.
Major TV networks broadcast much of their prime-time lineups today in high-definition, but you still need an HDTV set to see them in their full glory. Several cable channels such as ESPN also use high-definition.
Part of the confusion between digital and high-definition seems to be a result of the many references to DTV for digital television, while HDTV is often used as shorthand for high-definition TV.
"It's safe to say that all television will be DTV, but not all television will be HDTV," said Jay Adrick, vice president of broadcast technology at Harris Corp., a major manufacturer of broadcasting equipment.
Unless your TV is brand-new and is equipped with a digital tuner, you'll need a converter box in order to watch over-the-air broadcasts after the changeover next year. In most cases cable and satellite subscribers aren't affected.
Converter boxes are already on sale now, generally for about $60, and the government is offering two coupons for $40 each to every household to defray the cost of getting them. You can order a coupon online at http://www.dtv2009.gov.
A main difference between standard and high-definition broadcasts comes down to how many lines are displayed in the picture.
Standard-definition broadcasts and sets have 480 horizontal lines, while high-definition TV standards use 720 or 1080 lines. You'll sometimes see these expressed as 720p or 1080i.
Also, all high-definition broadcasts are in the widescreen, or 16:9 format, while standard-definition can be broadcast in either wide-screen or the traditional 4:3 format.
HDTV sets have been steadily coming down in price, and more people have them. Some 28 million HDTV sets were installed in U.S. households as of the last quarter of 2007, for a penetration rate of 25 percent, according to DisplaySearch, a retail research firm.
___
Online:
FCC site on transition to digital TV: www.dtv.gov
Ordering a coupon for a converter box: www.dtv2009.gov
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( 3 / 254 )The Commission adopts an Order on Reconsideration and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. (Dkt No.07-148). Action by: the Commission. Adopted: 04/23/2008 by ORDER. (FCC No. 08-119). MB
FCC-08-119A1.pdf
FCC-08-119A2.pdf
FCC-08-119A3.pdf
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( 3 / 139 )Government wants expansion of coupon program
By John Dunbar, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The government wants to expand a coupon program meant to ease the transition to digital television broadcasting to cover nursing home residents and users of post office boxes.
After Feb. 17, 2009, all full-power TV stations in the U.S. are required to stop broadcasting the old analog signal. Anyone who gets programming through an antenna and does not have a newer-model digital TV set will need to buy a box that converts the digital signal to analog.
The government is providing two $40 coupons per household that can be used to buy these boxes. But people who live in nursing homes or whose mailing address is a post office box are not eligible.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Thursday will seek public comment on a plan that will remedy the oversight.
The agency has been most concerned about nursing homes, which it says "constitute a vulnerable community that may rely on free, over-the-air television to a greater degree than other members of the public," according to the proposal.
The agency would allow nursing home residents to receive a single coupon. The rules would allow a resident to apply for a coupon on his or her own behalf. If the applicant is incapacitated, a personal representative or someone from the nursing home can apply on their behalf.
NTIA spokesman Todd Sedmak said the agency is working with "more than 220 trusted intermediaries" such as the AARP and other organizations to "to ensure that everyone, including the most vulnerable communities, are aware of what they need to do to make this transition," he said.
Residents who use post office boxes were excluded from the coupon program over concerns about possible fraud. But the agency has reconsidered after learning that "many applicants have sound reasons for utilizing a post office box for mail receipt."
Under the proposed rules, post office box users are required to submit proof of residency to get two coupons. Proof may include a valid driver's license, a utility bill or rental agreement, for example.
Thus far, more than 11.6 million coupons have been requested by more than 6.1 million households, according to the NTIA.
It is not certain how much of a burden the expansion of the program will place on the $1.5 billion coupon program. The proposed rule estimates 420,000 nursing home residents and 340,000 post office box holders will seek coupons.
Sedmak said the agency is "monitoring coupons redeemed and keeping Congress and the administration informed about funding."
The NTIA will allow 45 days for comment on its proposal. The rule change is expected to be implemented by this fall.
Also on Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, who oversees the NTIA, noted that the transition is 300 days away.
"Already, more than 650,000 households have acted by purchasing a converter box and are now experiencing the benefits of digital television with a clearer picture and more programming choices," he said in a prepared statement.
The secretary also warned that the coupons have a 90-day expiration date, and some of them are set to expire at the end of May.
Do you need a digital converter box?
On Feb. 17, 2009, major U.S. television stations will stop broadcasting analog signals and send only digital transmissions. Some questions and answers about the transition:
Why is this happening?
Stopping the analog broadcasts will free up a huge amount of airwaves. The government has auctioned off some of them for use by wireless broadband and cell-phone TV. There's also a drive to use some of the spectrum for a network that can be used in emergency situations by public safety officials.
Do I need a digital converter box?
If you have cable or satellite TV, only extra sets that are not hooked up will be affected. If you get TV over the air — which more than 19 million U.S. households do, according a survey by Nielsen Co. — your TV might not work come Feb. 18. Most new TVs sold today, including flat-panel sets, have digital tuners, sometimes called "ATSC" tuners after the technical standard they use, and won't need a converter box.
"NTSC" is the old, analog tuner standard. Retailers can still sell older TVs if they are labeled as being analog-only.
How much do the converters cost?
Go to http://www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009) to get up to two $40 coupons per household. The converter boxes generally cost $50-$60, so the final cost is between $10 and $20 per box.
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( 2.9 / 248 )Suzanne Choney of MSNBC had a great story today which I would like to pass on. Links are below.
Samsung's 20-inch, flat-tube standard-definition TV retails for around $250, and is among the offerings for lower-cost digital TVs.
Just the basics: Buying a plain digital TV
Don't want to shell out for an HDTV set? There are other ways to go digital
By Suzanne Choney, MSNBC - Thurs., April. 17, 2008
By the end of 2007, more than 50 percent of American households owned a digital television, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
That doesn't mean that by Feb. 18, 2009, when the nation's television broadcasters switch from analog to digital formats, 100 percent of U.S. households will have made the switch to digital TVs.
They will, however, need to be able to receive digital broadcasts. The main ways to do that are by buying a converter box for analog TV sets, subscribing to a cable or satellite service or buying a digital TV.
If you choose the latter, you don't have to purchase an expensive, high-definition set in order to have digital television. HDTV is one kind of digital TV; others are enhanced-definition TV (EDTV) and standard-definition TV (SDTV).
The alphabet soup is important, to a degree. It helps to know what not to worry about if you just want a basic, digital TV, also known as DTV.
“We’re seeing a lot of consumer confusion in the marketplace,” said Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports.
“We’re extremely concerned that confusion will result in consumers spending money on equipment that they shouldn’t have to, or that they don’t need.”
Checking the labels on a set is important. Since March, 2007, all TVs imported into the U.S. or shipped in interstate commerce have been required to have digital tuners. TVs with analog tuners can still be sold, but are supposed to be labeled prominently for buyers because of next year’s switch to digital.
The label starts with these words: “Consumer Alert: This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after Feb. 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation’s transition to digital broadcasting.”
Last week, federal regulators fined several large companies, including Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears and Target, a total of $3.9 million for not properly labeling analog TV sets.
The mental checklist
With the digital deadline less than 10 months away, analog TV sets are starting to disappear from store shelves, and “digital TVs are everywhere,” said Megan Pollock of the Consumer Electronic Association, an industry trade group.
And, figuring out which type to buy is a challenge.
TVs, she said, “are changing, much like other consumer purchases. If you went out to buy a computer, you ask yourself, ‘Do I want a laptop? A desktop? How much RAM do I want? How much memory?’ Those are things you’re going to think about before you walk in the store to shop.”
Buying a TV now involves a similar thought process: Do you want standard-definition TV or HDTV? How many connections on the TV will you need for additional devices, like DVD and video game players? LCD or plasma?
“TV now has those kinds of options,” she said. “It does make the decision process a little more robust, but that’s not a bad thing for consumers because it’s such a great marketplace right now.”
“Robust” is one word for it. “Confusion,” as Kelsey suggested, is another.
And if your comfort level about TV shopping is the same as for car shopping, it can be intimidating.
Here are some points to consider if you’re shopping for a basic digital TV:
Expect to spend around $250 for a 20- to 27-inch standard-definition TV, which displays 480 interlaced scanned lines in widescreen or letterbox (traditional TV) format. Enhanced-definition TVs have at least 480p (progressively scanned) quality; high-definition TVs have at least 720p.
Make sure the set has an ATSC tuner, which is a digital tuner, vs. an NTSC, or analog, tuner. Some sets come with both, and that’s fine, but the ATSC tuner is the most important.
“If it’s an HD set, make sure it’s actually an HD set with an ATSC tuner,” said Kelsey. “There’s not many HD sets out there anymore that are analog, but there were 15 or so models that came on the market three or four years ago. For the most part, you can’t really find them anymore. It’s very rare to come across it.”
Digital tuner labels or words to look for include “Integrated Digital Tuner,” “Digital Tuner Built-In,” “Digital Receiver” and “Digital Tuner,” according to the Federal Communications Commission.
The words “digital monitor,” “HDTV monitor” “digital ready” and “HDTV ready” do not mean the set has a digital tuner, although it may.
Consider buying a TV with a cable card, even if you don’t now subscribe to cable or satellite TV, so that you have the option to add cable or satellite later, said Kelsey.
If you have cable or satellite service, it’s a good idea to check with your provider to see what, if anything, needs to be done in your household, said Rob Stoddard, of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, an industry group.
“If your TV set today is hooked up to cable, your operator will manage that digital TV transition for you,” he said. “In essence, you won’t have to take any action.”
Satellite customers, he said, “by nature of that technology, are digital customers. The satellite technology delivers the signal to a digital cable box, which is then hooked into a TV set.”
If you are drawn to HDTV, in order to watch television in high-def, you’ll also need to have a high-definition receiver, either built into the set or provided by a cable or satellite provider, and receive high-def programming from that provider, usually at an additional cost.
“Just because you turn on the TV and it says ESPN HD doesn’t mean you’re watching ESPN in HD,” said Pollock.
If you have an analog set, and don’t want to buy a new set, “the cheapest alternative” remains a converter box, which changes digital signals to analog, said Kelsey.
The federal government, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is issuing two $40 coupons per household to be used for the purchase of the converter boxes, which can cost up to $70 each.
So far, nearly 11 million coupons have been requested, with more than 500,000 of them redeemed, said Todd Sedmak, NTIA communications director. Consumers have until March 31, 2009 to request the coupons.
Once consumers receive the coupons, they have 90 days to use them. Consumers Union has asked the NTIA and Congress to give consumers longer than 90 days.
Kelsey said some $40 converter boxes are due on the market this summer, meaning the cost of the box could essentially be free for consumers who have not yet redeemed their coupons.
“The 90-day expiration remains unless Congress changes the law,” Sedmak said.
This story from MSNBC
Other stories...
Cable, satellite could gain from digital switch
Concern over converter-box coupon expiration
DTV Buyer's Guide from FCC/DTV web site.
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( 2.9 / 253 )Yet another company not disclosing analog sets.
LCD DIGITAL ELECTRONICS, INC. Issued an Official Citation to LCD Digital Electronics, Inc. for failure to provide appropriate Consumer Alert disclosures on analog tuner only television receiving equipment in violation of Section 15.117(k) of the Commission's Rules. Action by: Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division, Enforcement Bureau by LETTER. (DA No. 08-876). Enforcement Bureau
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -876A1.pdf
This is just my opinion, but would not these companies do better, and protect their reputations by saying to the customer...
"Allow me to show you a really nice analog TV. After Feb 17th, 2009, it won't receive over-the-air television signals, but I can sell it to you for 50% off, and if you would like to buy a converter then it would work."
Yeah, I guess that's why I'm an engineer and not selling TVs. :)
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( 3 / 242 )The following was a question posed by one of our viewers and my answer.
Comment:
I recently had DirecTV installed and have the HR-20 HD DVR receiver. It has OTA input and when I set it up to list Lima stations, I see that I receive a fairly good signal strength from the CW station (35-2 on the DirecTV guide), however it never displays a picture. Even with other stations that have far less signal strength/quality, we will at least see a picture but we never do with either of the Lima stations. DO you know what could be the problem here? Is it the DirecTV receiver? Are DirecTV's mapping incorrect?
Do you know of anyone that is able to use the DirecTV HR-20 to view and record any of the Lima Digital stations?
Thanks,
Jim
DirectTV has some erroneous info that we have not been able to get them to correct.
WLIO-DT is not on 35-1 or 35-2. We’re on 8-1 for NBC, 8-2 for The CW, 8-3 for WeatherPlus.
Channel 8 is our digital channel.
Fred
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