http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/ Engadget HD Comments for The beginning of the end for analog TV http://hd.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://hd.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
ATSC TVs are going to accept the NTSC standard, but NTSC broadcasts will cease in 2009. NTSC will still be supported by cable tv.]]>Mar 2nd 2007 5:54PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
]]>Mar 2nd 2007 5:55PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/Mar 2nd 2007 6:32PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
The analog cutoff date has already been pushed back several years...does everyone really think it can't happen again?

Even if it does happen "on time, this time" in 2009, it will only affect the less than 15% of viewers who receive TV over the air (cable & satellite subscribers are NOT affected)

In 2010 there will still be tens of millions of viewers watching standard definition TVs fed by analog cable.]]>Mar 8th 2007 11:32AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
Chances are that your wrong there, Sears and many other retailers have been advocating the change to ATSC and/or HD sets for atleast the last 4 years that I know of.
And cable subscribers are affected, around 70 channels of "basic" cable are analog and will be migrated to a digital signal on or before feb 17th of 2009.
http://www.dtv.gov/ has a ton of great info for this topic.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 12:11AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
This article actually pertains to TVs with built-in ATSC (aka over-the-air) tuners. After March 1, all new TVs shipped to stores must have these built-in tuners, regardless of size. The ONLY people that MUST have these types of TVs are the ones who don't have cable or satellite.

Cable/satellite customers won't be affected at all by the 2/17/09 transition to digital.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 2:23AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/Mar 7th 2007 5:56PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
Isn't that misleading? I am under the impression they can SELL them (what is already in the country), but no longer import new ones. For example, large stores have another few weeks or months of inventory to purge, then the new ATSC tuner ones will come out.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 8:38PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
A lot of TVs are not digital cable ready. They may not have QAM tuners and or cable card slot. At the least all TVs should have QAM tuners. The important thing here is that most cable systems are bandwidth starved because analog channels hog a lot of bandwidth. It is in cable companies' best interest to cut off analog broadcasts and go to 100% digital (like the satellite companies). Why? Because that will clear a lot of bandwidth for other things like HD channels and more ethnic channels. However, the cable companies are slow to do that because people who have basic analog cable without a set top box will now need a set top box. A time will come when a cheap set top box will actually be a cheaper thing for the cable company to distribute rather than keep analog channels around.]]>Mar 4th 2007 10:58AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/
I do believe that stores are allowed to sell out of their existing stock - the FCC order addresses shipping and importing only. Given that it may difficult to replace some of these lower-end products with digital versions at a price point acceptable to their intended audience, I wouldn't be shocked if stores have stocked up on these products to a greater degree than they did with the 25"-and-up sets that disappeared pretty quickly last year.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 7:47PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/http://hd.engadget.com/2007/03/02/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-analog-tv/Mar 3rd 2007 7:50PM