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To: Peach who wrote (46126)	4/30/2005 12:23:39 PM
From: B.K.Myers	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110626

The salesperson's statement was not completely accurate... Most broadcasters, including NBC, will continue to provide standard analog transmissions for at least the next several years, while continuing to add more digital broadcasts. However, the federal government is encouraging broadcasters and consumers to adopt HDTV as quickly as possible, so that analog transmissions can be phased out. nbc.com Is HDTV replacing standard television? Not immediately. ABC and other broadcasters will continue to offer programs in the standard format for at least the next several years. However, the federal government hopes broadcasters and consumers adopt the new format by 2006. Thus, the next few years will be a transition, as television networks add more digital broadcasting to their offerings. abclocal.go.com B.K.

To: Peach who wrote (46126)	4/30/2005 10:40:27 PM
From: rgood2002	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110626

proly NOT. you'll just need to buy a converter that sits on your new tv. big deal. sounds like the sales person was either trying to put the pressue on you to buy an expensive tv or he/she didn't know what they were talking about....

To: Peach who wrote (46126)	5/2/2005 9:26:45 AM
From: appro	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110626

Peach, The real issue is the FCC December 31, 2006 deadline to stop all broadcasting of the old analog TV signal in favor of the new legally mandated advanced television standards committee (ATSC) digital TV (DTV) signal. This deadline can and likely will be extended until 85% of U.S. housholds have DTV. Currently the number is at 30% but will be growing at perhaps ten percentage points a year now that a flood of inexpensive DTVs are just coming to market. You can look at something like the new RCA 27 inch DTV, model number 27V514T for a suggested list price of $279 or less. It is not HDTV but it includes the newer ATSC tuner for receiving the much better looking and robust digital signal. The newest advanced set top boxes (STB) from my Comcast cable TV provider do allow an old analog TV to show these better looking pictures but it is still better to get the newer technology if the price is similar - which it will be in the coming twelve months. Comcast charges me me an extra $10 per month for the first one and $5 for each additional HDTV STB which include the DTV tuner for analog TVs. DTV tuners will alos be sold separately for people to continue using their older analog TVs if they want to receive TV over an antenna after the transition is complete. The problem is they will likely cost a significant percentage of simply buying a new TV with DTV built in. DTV tuners are also called ATSC after the standards committee which mandated them. All HDTV includes DTV in the U.S. but not all DTV sets will show HDTV. The old analog tuners are often called NTSC tuners. Good Luck. If you can wait a few months their will be a lot more choices as the latest and most economical DTV tuner chip sets are just now being added to many more future TV models. Here are some quotes with reference links to help you consider the possibilities. >>>>>>>>> Digital television doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as high-definition television, and the people at RCA-Thompson were eagerly explaining the difference. They were showing off their 27-inch 27V514T standard-definition digital TV set. It has a 4:3 ratio 27-inch picture tube. It looks a lot like TVs you’ve watched over the years, but the big difference was that this set has a digital tuner. <<<<<<<<<< msnbc.msn.com >>>>>>>> When Will the DTV Transition Be Complete? Television stations serving all markets in the United States are airing digital television programming, although they still must provide analog programming until the target date set by Congress for the completion of the transition to DTV - December 31, 2006. That date may be extended, however, until most homes (85%) in an area are able to watch the DTV programming. At that point, broadcasting on the current (analog) channels will end and that spectrum will be put to other uses. Until the transition to DTV is complete, television stations will continue broadcasting on both their digital and analog channels. <<<<<<<<< fcc.gov