10-21-2007, 03:25 AM
Just want to make a small correction. The government did not mandate HDTV, they mandated DTV. A station has the option to broadcast high definition or standard definition. The signal needs to be digital, not analog.
Stations that choose to broadcast standard definition can actually broadcast 4-6 channels, so they can become their own little "cable" outfit. Some stations (like mine) do high def and upconvert standard def to high def. Most daytime programming is standard definition, the prime time evening broadcasts and sports are usually the only high-def programming.
Your CRT's will not become useless. Cable HAS to support analog until 2012. You will be able to buy converter boxes for all the analog sets to get the OTA (over-the-air) DTV. Any high--def. signals will get downconverted to standard def in the converter box, and the digital signal will get converted to anaolg. In essence, your CRT becomes just a monitor.
Stations that choose to broadcast standard definition can actually broadcast 4-6 channels, so they can become their own little "cable" outfit. Some stations (like mine) do high def and upconvert standard def to high def. Most daytime programming is standard definition, the prime time evening broadcasts and sports are usually the only high-def programming.
Your CRT's will not become useless. Cable HAS to support analog until 2012. You will be able to buy converter boxes for all the analog sets to get the OTA (over-the-air) DTV. Any high--def. signals will get downconverted to standard def in the converter box, and the digital signal will get converted to anaolg. In essence, your CRT becomes just a monitor.