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Are we ready for Digital TV?
15 Answers
With Anologue TV likely to be switched over to Digital soon, the question I must ask is why?
DAB radios were supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, and although they have been on the market for a number of years now, they are still not working perfectly. Some areas can get large numbers of stations, and other areas very few, most with differencing receptions.
The VCR has been replaced by the DVD recorder, but ask most people it was quicker and more reliable to record on a VCR tape than it is onto a DVD disc.
DAB radios were supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, and although they have been on the market for a number of years now, they are still not working perfectly. Some areas can get large numbers of stations, and other areas very few, most with differencing receptions.
The VCR has been replaced by the DVD recorder, but ask most people it was quicker and more reliable to record on a VCR tape than it is onto a DVD disc.
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Technology moves on unabated and we have to move with it or get stuck in a TimeWarp. We now receive the best TV Pictures we have ever received either via Sky Satellites or by means of Freeview. Just think how early TV was !
Forget DAB Radio, nothing will happen until the whole Country is switched over to Digital TV. The earliest anything will happen will be 2015, more likely 2020 !!
Highdefinition TV Pictures are here now, the next step is 3D TV and who knows what will come next after that.
Smellovision !!!!!!!!
Forget DAB Radio, nothing will happen until the whole Country is switched over to Digital TV. The earliest anything will happen will be 2015, more likely 2020 !!
Highdefinition TV Pictures are here now, the next step is 3D TV and who knows what will come next after that.
Smellovision !!!!!!!!
>The VCR has been replaced by the DVD recorder, but
>ask most people it was quicker and more reliable
>to record on a VCR tape than it is onto a DVD disc.
Not quite true, I think the VCR has been replaced by the hard disk used in Sky+ boxes and PVR (Personal Video Recorders).
And I dont believe anyone would say VHS tapes are better than devices like the Sky+ box.
And in fact most people would say the DVD recorder is far better than the VHS recorder. No more wrecked tapes, no more fast forward back and forth, far better quality.
>ask most people it was quicker and more reliable
>to record on a VCR tape than it is onto a DVD disc.
Not quite true, I think the VCR has been replaced by the hard disk used in Sky+ boxes and PVR (Personal Video Recorders).
And I dont believe anyone would say VHS tapes are better than devices like the Sky+ box.
And in fact most people would say the DVD recorder is far better than the VHS recorder. No more wrecked tapes, no more fast forward back and forth, far better quality.
Do you really understand the difference between analogue and digital?.
Up until 30 or 40 years ago almost everything in the world was analogue. This included photography, cinema films, radio, records (ie singles and albums), telephone, and TV.
The problem with analogue is that the signal can fade or drop and that is when you get a "lost" radio signal during bad weather or a telephone call being hard to hear when it is a bad line.
But then computers came along things began to switch to digital.
The beauty of digital is that EVERYTHING is held as a mixture of ZEROS and ONES (0 and 1), millions and millions of them.
So a digital picture from a digital camera is just zeroes and ones. An album of songs on a CD is just zeroes and ones, a movie on a DVD is just zeros and ones.
continued......
Up until 30 or 40 years ago almost everything in the world was analogue. This included photography, cinema films, radio, records (ie singles and albums), telephone, and TV.
The problem with analogue is that the signal can fade or drop and that is when you get a "lost" radio signal during bad weather or a telephone call being hard to hear when it is a bad line.
But then computers came along things began to switch to digital.
The beauty of digital is that EVERYTHING is held as a mixture of ZEROS and ONES (0 and 1), millions and millions of them.
So a digital picture from a digital camera is just zeroes and ones. An album of songs on a CD is just zeroes and ones, a movie on a DVD is just zeros and ones.
continued......
continued....
The great thing about digital (zeros and ones) is that the QUALITY of the image or signal cant be lost.
When the zeros and ones are sent out as a TV signal the TV picking it up checks that all the correct zeros and ones have been received so you get a good picture (most of the time).
The other advantage is that all this digital technology can be held or stored on computer (bearing in mind that a mobile phone is a mini computer, your CD player is a mini computer, your DVD player is a mini computer and so on).
Gradually everything in the world is being digitized (turned into zeros and ones).
This inclues TV programs and films, newspapers, great works of art, all the great books, all the worlds maps, birth and death certificates, census records and so on.
This is why you can watch TV programs on the BBC iplayer on your PC, look at maps in google maps, look at digital pictures on your computer and so on.
Soon everything will be accessable from a computer, anywhere in the world.
Now whether you think that is a good thing or not I dont know, but that is why TV (and lots of other things) are moving to digital.
The great thing about digital (zeros and ones) is that the QUALITY of the image or signal cant be lost.
When the zeros and ones are sent out as a TV signal the TV picking it up checks that all the correct zeros and ones have been received so you get a good picture (most of the time).
The other advantage is that all this digital technology can be held or stored on computer (bearing in mind that a mobile phone is a mini computer, your CD player is a mini computer, your DVD player is a mini computer and so on).
Gradually everything in the world is being digitized (turned into zeros and ones).
This inclues TV programs and films, newspapers, great works of art, all the great books, all the worlds maps, birth and death certificates, census records and so on.
This is why you can watch TV programs on the BBC iplayer on your PC, look at maps in google maps, look at digital pictures on your computer and so on.
Soon everything will be accessable from a computer, anywhere in the world.
Now whether you think that is a good thing or not I dont know, but that is why TV (and lots of other things) are moving to digital.
Hi LeMarchand !
Some people like the idea of having modern Technology encased in Antique Casings such as TV's, Radios etc.
They look authentic and are OK in the right setting.
They would definitely look out of place in my Flat ! lol
When I was involved in TV installation, some Customers wanted their TV's enclosed in these big Cabinets and they weighed a Ton.
Thankfully most people are glad that Modern Radios and TV's are not quite like that anymore, but some of the Large Screen TV's are still pretty big but not as heavy !
Some people like the idea of having modern Technology encased in Antique Casings such as TV's, Radios etc.
They look authentic and are OK in the right setting.
They would definitely look out of place in my Flat ! lol
When I was involved in TV installation, some Customers wanted their TV's enclosed in these big Cabinets and they weighed a Ton.
Thankfully most people are glad that Modern Radios and TV's are not quite like that anymore, but some of the Large Screen TV's are still pretty big but not as heavy !
VHG
The problem with analogue is that the signal can fade or drop and that is when you get a "lost" radio signal during bad weather
Have you never had the message 'no signal' come up on your screen during very bad weather?
Have you also not had the experience of a jerky picture generally followed by a frozen picture, also?
Also check out the jumbled pixels at the top of your screen during fast moving scenes.
The problem with analogue is that the signal can fade or drop and that is when you get a "lost" radio signal during bad weather
Have you never had the message 'no signal' come up on your screen during very bad weather?
Have you also not had the experience of a jerky picture generally followed by a frozen picture, also?
Also check out the jumbled pixels at the top of your screen during fast moving scenes.
Funnily enough, most people's answers here, or rather, arguments, have been "progress for progress sake" type affairs, which is laughable. Arguments like those can be easily countered with the "if it ain't broke then don't fix it" motto.
Analogue TV was, for the most part, fine. However, the main argument for switching to digital is that a digital signal for any given channel takes up far less bandwidth or "airspace" than an analogue one. So much so, in fact, that when one analogue signal is removed, many digital ones can take its place. In the context of TV, this means that more channels can be offered, including free to view high definition channels which there would previously have been no space for.
DAB radios have failed to capture the nations interests for now, but that will change soon enough. The technology and the end user experience is arguably not the factor that has held these devices back, as much as it has been their price comparative to standard analogue units, and their availability in everyday use. For instance, car manufacturers have been hesitant to include them as standard. The change will occur, just more gradually than was anticipated. Continued...
Analogue TV was, for the most part, fine. However, the main argument for switching to digital is that a digital signal for any given channel takes up far less bandwidth or "airspace" than an analogue one. So much so, in fact, that when one analogue signal is removed, many digital ones can take its place. In the context of TV, this means that more channels can be offered, including free to view high definition channels which there would previously have been no space for.
DAB radios have failed to capture the nations interests for now, but that will change soon enough. The technology and the end user experience is arguably not the factor that has held these devices back, as much as it has been their price comparative to standard analogue units, and their availability in everyday use. For instance, car manufacturers have been hesitant to include them as standard. The change will occur, just more gradually than was anticipated. Continued...
Some people like their old VCRs and their TVs with only five (or four) channels. That's fine in and of itself. If everyone felt the same way though, then how do you explain the mass adoption of DVDs as a format? VHS cassettes were available with new releases for many years after DVD introduction. People stopped buying them because they favoured the superior format. Same with digital TV. It has been optional for many years now, and the opportunity to invest in increasingly less expensive avenues of entry there for most people.
I imagine that most people. given the option, would want more choice and more channels. So that's what will happen. The market won't stagnate for the wants of the few and really, why should it? The question then changes from "are we ready for digital TV" to "why aren't we ready for it?".
I imagine that most people. given the option, would want more choice and more channels. So that's what will happen. The market won't stagnate for the wants of the few and really, why should it? The question then changes from "are we ready for digital TV" to "why aren't we ready for it?".
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