The Terrifying Switch to DTV (was Re: ISPs, Newsgroups, etc. ...OH MY!!!)

[Philip Dorr]

On Sun, Jul 6, 2008 at 8:52 AM, Leo Mauler <webgiant at yahoo.com> wrote:
> --- On Sat, 7/5/08, Jon Pruente <jdpruente at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> One detail I think needs to be answered is the fact that a weak analog signal was still viewable, even if you had to get your little brother to stand on a chair next to the TV and grab the antenna while he stuck out his leg.  Will a weak digital signal be viewable, or will so many packets be lost that the signal becomes completely unwatchable?  Will "one bar" be as impossible to use on your TV as it is on your wireless phone?
>

A weak signal is not viewable, instead of normal static you get blocky
video and little to no audio (no hard to hear audio it is ether on or
off)

> Because if weak digital signals aren't watchable, then we're *losing* a lot in the switchover.  We will have gone from *some* TV in remote areas to *NO* TV in remote areas.  Shrinking the broadcast region is a loss, no matter how much you try to tart up the switchover as a "gain".
>

Currently one problem I have, since I use broadcast TV, is that the
power on the digital stations is much lower than the analog in most
cases.  That alone shrinks the broadcast region, but hopefully when
the analog is turned off the digital will be amplified.

example (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KCPT ):
	KCPT
	Kansas City, Missouri
	Channels
		Analog: 19 (UHF)
		Digital: 18 (UHF)
	Affiliations
		PBS
	Transmitter Power
		1150 kW (analog)
		55 kW (digital)