[BC] Subsidy For Digital TV?

[Robert Meuser]

why a windfall for cable????? Cable is already delivering a down convert 
for no extra cost. In short time all the set top boxes will be HD. In 
NYC, a second hoook up is only $6.95. Off air converters will cost under 
$99 and they will make a drastic improvement.

I just did an experiment with off air reception with indoor rabbit ears. 
I have no direct line of site to any TV transmitters. Analog was as 
expected, ghosty and noisy on 2 4 and 5. Ghosty and slightly unstable on 
channel 7 through 68. In digital, PERFECT - like glass. In fact it is 
better quality than the cable company delivers.

I think these boxes will be hot new items just because they so greatly 
improve the picture on those 3rd and 4 th sets that are not on cable.  
People will wonder why it took so long.

R


Rich Wood wrote:

> ------ At 06:45 AM 10/21/2005, Tom Dimeo wrote: -------
>
>> I can't believe I heard this right!  On the news this morning
>> there was a report that there is a proposal to subsidize the
>> purchase of a digital converter for people who have older
>> television sets.  I wasn't listening closely but that
>> certainly got my attention.  I think the report said there
>> are twenty-one million people with older television sets who
>> won't be able to receive the new digital television format.
>
>
> It'll probably cost less to give the boxes away than they'll make in 
> auctioning the spectrum. Even if a household has an HD set, there are 
> probably several other sets in the house that will be obsolete, unless 
> fed by cable. I'll bet this will be a windfall for cable systems.
>
> Rich
>
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