This is happening nationwide. The "PBS HD Channel" feed is being dropped by more and more stations and replaced with an HD simulcast of the regular PBS feed (so, HD if they have a particular show in HD, SD if they don't, just like the other networks. It happened to WGBH (Boston) a few months ago.
"The PBS Board endorsed the plan last week, reallocating satellite capacity for the fall and discontinuing the original HD Channel, a loop of eye-candy video used to demonstrate the great looks of high-def."
which sounds as though the PBS HD Channel is not long for this world in any case. The same article does indicate that more and more shows will be produced in HD going forward, so stations will probably be able to weather the storms of viewer outrage.
A similar test by station KING in Seattle was deemed inconclusive because all the cable/satellite viewers who were watching the analog channel also got the "take action now" message, when they didn't actually have to (take action, that is). Hope the last directive to get cable/satellite service will clue those people in to the fact that they're actually set (for now).
Comcast in The City of Boston proper (and neighboring Brookline) , but NOT the rest of the Boston area, added many of these channels Wednesday (Fuse, Bravo, CNBC,ESPN News,Bio,IFC,WE,FX,Fox News).
The large (and widening) gap between these two cities (acquired from AT&T Broadband as one system) and the rest of the Boston area is due to the formers' requirement (several years old) for a box to get Expanded Basic - those channels appear to have gone digital recently. Across the Charles here in Watertown, we may have to wait a couple of months to get a few of those. We did get seven adds in July, 'tho (a few analogs were migrated).
The same kind of thing is happening in the Boston area (*except* for the City of Boston proper and Brookline, which already have less analog) on the same day (7/15). So the "rest of us" should get the new channels that Boston/Brookline got last month (Disney/ABC Fam/Science/AMC/TLC) not too long after. B&B also have had Weather Channel for awhile, so maybe we'll get that one too.
For "Boston" read "City of Boston and Brookline only". They have more bandwidth due to the digital-only status of Extended Basic in those two communities. Best guess for when the rest of the Boston area will get them - soon after 7/15, when some analogs are scheduled to move to digital-only.
Great gallery, but you should know that I had to switch from Firefox (Mac) to Safari to see more than the first few shots. No idea what the issue might be.
Good to see some areas are catching up to some channels that have been around for awhile in some other areas (like mine). More exciting is the fact that Comcast is pushing ahead, adding TBS, CNN, USA and History Channel in my area in the next month.
Hmmm, seems like they're saying they're going to sell these directly through their website. So when an individual American orders one, possibly they're thinking that's somehow not "importing" them into the USA, thus avoiding the mandate?
(He's the only one who talked about pulling things from shelves.) Mr. Leopold simply misread the FCC mandate, which only mentions importation and interstate shipping, not retail. Mr Satyr, I am looking *right now* at the Best Buy, Circuit City and Target Sunday circulars for MARCH ELEVENTH - all of them feature at least one "illegal" TV on sale. Go to their dotcoms and you'll see many more (the vast majority of sets listed under 25" still lack ATSC tuners, and will until most of those older models sell out). If I'm wrong, there's a lot of very open criminality out there!
"I need help! I want a small pocket camcorder but I'm not sure which one to get. I don't want to fall into the hype of the Flip because I worry two hours won't be enough. What should I be looking for when considering a small camcorder and where can I get a good quality one with expandable memory? Thanks!"
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According to current.org (back in February):
http://www.current.org/dtv/dtv0802hd.shtml
"The PBS Board endorsed the plan last week, reallocating satellite capacity for the fall and discontinuing the original HD Channel, a loop of eye-candy video used to demonstrate the great looks of high-def."
which sounds as though the PBS HD Channel is not long for this world in any case. The same article does indicate that more and more shows will be produced in HD going forward, so stations will probably be able to weather the storms of viewer outrage.