hdtv question from non-hdtv country (1 Viewer)

[Simon B]

hi guys

a few questions here from south africa where we are a few years off from hdtv. currently we have ota and satellite.

1. if somebody cannot afford satellite or cable in the us, will they still be able to get hdtv from the national free channels, like nbc, cbs etc with no decoder or cable box.

2.what will happen to the people who don't have digital tv's when the analogue broadcasts stop?

 

[Allan Jayne]

I expect (1) yes, (2) yes.

You would buy an decoder box for OTA broadcasts for a one time charge (the purchase price at the store) and connect it between your antenna and your older TV set. At least this is the way it will be done in the U.S. where the same situation with broadcasters changing over to HDTV exists.

This could be the same decoder box that sits on top of the TV that today's HDTV owners buy when the TV's own channel selector does not tune in OTA HDTV channels. Many of these boxes have SDTV converted output (S-video, composite video) as well and work with any TV set with video input jacks (or connected through a VCR to any old TV).

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Jack Briggs]

1) HDTV was first available over the air, for free. To receive and display it, one's monitor must be HD-capable and a separate tuner/decoder purchased — or one must have purchased a fully integrated HDTV set.

2) When the analog broadcasts are stopped — which, now, appears to be likely in 2009 — yet one has not purchased an HD-capable display, well, game over. Though talk abounds of special decoders/tuners to enable people with analog-only displays to receive and display such broadcasts.

 

[ChuckSolo]

1. Yes, HD channels are broadcast over the air (OTA) by the major television networks, but you still need an HD receiver built into your TV or a separate receiver if your TV is HD Ready and has no HD receiver built in.

2. Even when all broadcasting goes to "digital" I'm sure that there will be set top devices to do a digital to analog conversion for viewing digital broadcasting on non-digital TVs.