[NCLUG] MythTV Questions

[Sean Reifschneider]

Chad Perrin wrote:
> obsolete.  *Someone* is going to have to serve those who can't afford to
> plunk down six hundred bucks on a new TV.

$600?!?  It's not exactly fair to say that nobody buying a new TV can buy 
anything less than a 32" LCD (including digital tuner and HD resolution, 
though I think it's 720p, $600 from Wal-Mart).  They also list a 24" tube TV 
for under $200 with a built-in digital tuner, though it's a SD set.

The big pisser if people are going to be replacing their TVs is the waste of 
all those tubes.  Though I guess they're going to go sometime.  Hopefully 
after someone figures out something nice to do with all that leaded glass.

Anyway, my understanding is that there are "set top boxes" that will be given 
away by the government to keple people hooked up with the source of their 
addiction.  These will allow traditional TVs to work with the digital.

See, it's not SD that's going away, it's analog broadcast.  This is why cable 
is exempt, it's the broadcast spectrum that's trying to be reclaimed...  So, 
in Feb 2009 you'll still be able to get SD content over your digital tuner. 
You just need the digital tuner or the set-top box.  Now, over digital they'll 
also be able to broadcast HD content, but even then they're talking about 
dumbing it down to lower resolutions, much like some of the satellite 
providers are doing right now, so that channels can use less bandwidth.

I deliberately bought a TV without a tuner when I got my latest.  I'm not 
really interested in watching "push TV".  And besides, if you go with cable or 
satellite, you probably will have their set-top box anyway with DVR if you 
decide to go that direction...

Search google for this if you want more information: digital "set top box" feb 
2009

Sean
-- 
Sean Reifschneider, Member of Technical Staff <jafo at tummy.com>
tummy.com, ltd. - Linux Consulting since 1995: Ask me about High Availability