March N&V issue...

[philba]

Is it just me or does the cover seem to be to some other magazine??? Some points:
- HDTV as the cover item - "THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION". hello???? old news... and the article is a rehash of what HDTV is.
- On the cover in the corner under "Build it" - hacking a gameboy. The article is about an LED side scrolling display controlled by a hacked Gameboy. No GB details beyond general info on hacking the Gameboy. Lots of info on the scrolling LED display. Huh? To be fair, the article is pretty good, I just think they are over selling it. (and there should be a series of articles on hacking gameboy - what a great little device for like $5-$8)
- On the cover "SOFTWARE CONFIGURABLE PROCESSORS Fuse Flexibility & High-Performance" Well, I still can't figure out which article it's refering to. I suspect its supposed to be the PLC article but that is way off the mark. <p>I wonder if they hired a Marketing guy from Radio Shack...

[Enzo]

I haven't seen the article, but I find in communicating with folks that almost no one understands that "regular" TV is about to go away. They see HDTV in the store and the nice picture, but no one knows that NTSC is about to vanish. I don't use the term NTSC since the consumer doesn't know it. I tell them that the channels they have now will go silent and a whole different set of channels will emerge. They think I am nuts and trying to tell them that the local stations are going out of business.<p>If I mention that the signal will become digital, they counter that their cable is already digital, not understanding that their cable is digitalized NTSC, not DTV.<p>So forget what HDTV is, let's get the word out that you will have to either get a new kind of TV soon or face having to get some kind of converter box. And who know how well that will work.<p>So far I think the target date is the end of next year. That might be delayed if there is not enough penetration of broadcasters. Here in Lansing, MI, we already have several stations broadcasting DTV as well as their NTSC channel, so I suspect the penetration is here. The FCC only needs one broadcaster in each of the larger markets in DTV.<p>For more see DTV on the FCC website.

[dr_when]

Philba,<p>I don't know about you but when I look at this box under the TOC, it tells me that the Software Configurable Processor article is on page 56...the PID article. <p>

[philba]

you're right but what does "software-configurable processors fuse flexibility & high-performance" have to do with the PID article??? Like I said, I think it meant the PLC one but even that's a stretch. I still maintain there is a cover to contents disconnect.

[dr_when]

Philba,<p>By George you are right!!!

[jollyrgr]

Enzo,<p>I thought it would actually happen; the end of "regular" TV. But the only thing that is going to happen is that "regular" TV will no longer be broadcast over the air on channels 2 through 69. Cable and satellite signals will still come out as "regular" TV. <p>Both of my brothers, my parents, and I have converted to HDTV. One brother just bought his TV in December. Even thouhg it is one of the latest models it did NOT come wiht an HT tuner! Not one of us has a tuner for the HDTV signals and I don't know anyone with a TV that has an HDTV tuner. <p>The only thing that I can see happening is the halting of over the air or "Terrestrial" signals. I can see now what this push was really for; a grab of the large TV spectrum by the FCC. My guess is that this spectrum will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

[dyarker]

If the FCC doesn't extend the 1 Jan 07 deadline, expect some real good deals on NTSC sets later this year. <p>The FCC probably will auction off the current broadcast frequencies. But the stations will get an HDTV broadcast frequency for the trade-in. Don't anybody think the stations should pay frequencies. They'll need to spend big bucks on new transmiters and studio equipment. (The bean counters at stations aren't happy about changing either!)((I mention that because I saw a comment by an idiot that thought big business, networks and stations, were getting a freebie at taxpayer expense.))<p>If I remember an old Poptronics (Radio-Electronics?) article; Channels 2-5 go, maybe 6-13 too, and UHF had to be redivided 'cause of bandwidth of HDTV.<p>Cheers,

[Enzo]

Jolly, those fall under the catagory of set top boxes. Cable company can convert anything to anything, so they will make NTSC versions of things available as long as there is sufficient market.<p>I think the penetration of broadcasters into enough markets will happen if not by the deadline, then pretty soon thereafter, so the FCC will do what the plan says and yank the existing channels. You bet there will be cheap NTSC sets.<p>So off air will leave the current channels. It will inconvenience many people, but it will really be no different than Vinyl LPs or VCRs, they will fade away. Remember laser discs? Remember the othre format from RCA. I actually have one of those players.

[dr_when]

I'm not a greenie but isn't the idea of the government rendering a cajillion TV sets into landfill fodder kind of a waste? All this while Europe is pushing the WEEE/Rohs initiative eliminating such toxic, lead-filled refuse? Am I looking for logic where there is none?

[Gary]

On HDTV<p>When TV's are outlawed only Outlaws will have TV's. The trick is to figure out how not to be an outlaw, and get get the right equipment.<p>The deadline for the analog/digital switch isn't chisled in stone, and has been delayed before. I expect it will happen again. My wife and I specifically asked a TV salesman at Best Buy a few months ago whether any of the analog TVs were going to be obsolete and he said "of course not, They wouldn't do something like that...<p>Personally I bought the magazine, from the newstand (Borders), specifically because of the HDTV article. We live over 90 miles of flat farmland from the Sacramento TV stations and have an old fashioned TV with only an outdoor antenna. The antenna has paid for itself many times over.<p>In the old days (1960's and 1970's), from the freeway overpasses you would see a forest of 40' antennas here (Modesto, Calif.) one on every suburban house to the horizon, almost every house one-story. Now most antennas are gone, replaced by big shade trees, people going to cable.<p>I don't like sending hard-earned money to a cable comany, so am investigating Free Sattelite TV or FTA as an alternative in the near future to broadcast TV.<p>here are some FTA links:<p>www.gosatellite.net/default.htm<p>www.sadoun.com/Sat/Satell...e-List.htm<p>www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/abou...llite.html