2006-10-07 09:12:28 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Consumer Electronics ➔ TVs
By the end of 2008, I should know, I work for Phillips and help build them.
2006-10-11 01:26:21 · answer #1 · answered by Bont11 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OOPS! A few mistakes in the previous answers from others.
1) First of all the only free channels you are most likely to EVER receive are going to be the same channels you can receive now without the use of a cable or HD receiver box. In other words your locals and their network affiliations (ABC,NBC,CBS,FOX,PBS) and that is only if you have a TV antenna that can pick up over the air channels.
2) Anything you pay cable/sattelite companies for now (Premium,
out of area channels, etc.) you will still have to pay for then as you do now.
3) On February 19, 2009 ( NOT 2007, OR 2008) ALL analog broadcasts will stop. period. end of broadcast..permanent signoff. I think you get the idea. On that date the new standard will be digital broadcast and thus TV's that do NOT have an ATSC tuner will require an external tuner. The good news is most newer TV's 27" or bigger already have those tuners, the bad news is, again you will only be able to tune in the same free channels you get now without cable. Tv's that dont have the ATSC now have a warning on their outer box and perhaps in the manual as well mentioning this. As of now, you will have two choices, if you already subscribe to digital cable, your set, the cable receiver has the digital tuner built in so there's no need to buy or lease another separate tuner. If you unsubscribe, you will need to get the external tuner ( wait....they will be cheaper as they will be produced about as frequently as the RF modulators people are buying for their older tv's now to run dvd players--in fact they will probably replace RF modulators as RF modulators will require the tuner anyway to operate)
3) When HI-DEF comes on later that year, it will b etrhe same as for Digital cable, again only the locals will be free. You'll still pay for HD showtime, TNT,History Channel etc. So whatever you are paying your cable company for now, you will be paying for then.
2006-10-07 17:03:46 · answer #2 · answered by Brad/Diana B 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
At present there is not enough bandwidth to transmit HD on Freeview. You will have to wait until all the analogue TV transmitters are turned off and this will then free up loads of bandwidth for extra channels and HD assuming they keep the current TV bandwidth for digital TV and don't reallocate it to other uses.
There is an experimental BBC HD test running at the moment, but its only for an invited test audience and in a limited area.
2006-10-07 16:39:16 · answer #3 · answered by Electra 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
buy 2008 the FCC has madated that all Syngnal going over the airwaves has to be HD
2006-10-07 16:23:03 · answer #4 · answered by cbdelcalzo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe in 5 years if ur lucky, wen they invent even better quality dan HD for sky ... its gonna take a looooong time tho
2006-10-07 16:19:08 · answer #5 · answered by tezzadaman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋