Comments | attutle: They still make black and white TVs....

attutle

They still make black and white TVs....

Mar 25, 2004 06:55

I can go out today and buy a black and white TV. Legislation was NOT required to help color TV succeed.

How could anyone think it is a good idea to have legislation requiring new TVs be able to deal with HDTV? If it cannot succeed on its own, there is a reason, and legislation isn't going to change that.

Grumble.

Comments 5

gentlemaitresse March 25 2004, 06:25:52 UTC

**Nods in agreement**

elegantelbow March 25 2004, 07:50:51 UTC

The goal with HDTV is to take the existing channels, and get all of them to use less bandwidth so that there can be more channels. Since the airwaves belong to the public, the public can regulate them.

Here, we don't have too much trouble, but in a lot of densely packed areas (like Los Angeles) there's not enough air space for all the TV channels that would like to exist.

HDTV is supposed to fix that.

HDTV is not likely to succeed on its own because stations won't switch if their viewers won't switch, and viewers won't switch because they already own regular TVs, and they see little need.

It seems to me that HDTV could be to the public's significant benefit, but that the market forces will never get it there.

The difference between b&w and color TV did the public no significant good or harm.

attutle March 25 2004, 09:52:58 UTC

Right, and the FCC set some deadlines for getting things switched over, then caved to public pressure because that would screw too many people ( ... )

unixronin April 27 2004, 16:23:38 UTC

It also must be said that the current HDTV broadcast standard is complete ass. Presented with a range of technical options, the FCC chose the one the most like NTSC (and therefore, they figured, requiring the least hardware changes for broadcasters), ignoring the fact that it also happened to be the worst-performing one in the built-up urban environments where the majority of viewers (and almost all current HDTV viewers) are.

Welcome to the mercantilist age. buddhafiddle March 25 2004, 12:21:12 UTC

I heard the story, and it annoyed me as well. If consumers had put enough market pressure to facilitate using TVs as cheap monitors, and if personal mp3 players came with mp4 movie players and multi-modal outputs that could output to TV coaxial cables, we could keep these boxes of lead and other hazardous materials out of landfills much longer. Simply legislating that they not be sold will cost consumers money and speed the rush to throw these poison boxes into landfills instead of reusing them ( ... )