Digital TV signal from analog cable question

[MyFlatline]

Oh , those were the days..The 3 channels sure hits home, most times they were a fuzzy.. No channel surfin .

[6bg6ga]

Oh , those were the days..The 3 channels sure hits home, most times they were a fuzzy.. No channel surfin .

Your forgot to mention they were black and white instead of being color. If you were a techy you had a rotor on your antenna mast.

[abunaitoo]

I remember black and white TV.
I think we had four channels.
Color TV came out and we had five channels.
Then cable came out and we got 18 or 21 channels.
I still don't have digital. Cable company wants to change us, but I don't need the extra channels or want to deal with the box for every TV.
Watched a few TV's with digital, and all the extra channels.
Most of them not worth watching.
Only thing I wouldn't mind is a DVR the cable company gives with digital.

[6bg6ga]

All TV broadcasts have been digital for a few years now. The (digital box) is a buzz word like the term digital speakers. Makes the marketing people happy. All analog TV broadcast systems were converted to digital years ago. The so called digital boxes do nothing more than add additional channels and features and some upgrade the resolution a step higher.

I can't remember the year this happened but I remember changing a lot of accounts to another form of business music because the system that had broadcast our analog music signal had been shut down on the two TV towers we used.

[abunaitoo]

If it's all digital, then why is the cable company hounding us to change to digital?????
We have basic cable. Could it be different from Digital cable?????
Don't really know how it works, but we don't have digital.
Could be we are getting digital, but without the box, we only get the basic channels.
I remember when they changed the air wave to digital. You could get a antenna converter for almost free. Had to get some kind of voucher or something like that.
I got the voucher, but couldn't find the converter here, so I never got one.

[Petrol & Powder]

I don't own that many electronic gizmos and of the few that I own, the TV is somewhere below my toaster in terms of importance.

I ditched satellite a few years ago and don't miss it at all. I still have an old TV with the big picture tube. I get local broadcast TV over the air with a simple antenna and stream internet via a RoKu box.

If HD digital is important to you, it can be had for a price. Only you can decide if that price is worth it. For me, it just isn't worth it. I've watched HD TV and it is clearly a better picture but there's nothing on TV worth the price of HD to me.

I believe HD digital will eventually become the standard and you will not have to pay extra for it. Until then, I can live without it.

[6bg6ga]

If it's all digital, then why is the cable company hounding us to change to digital?????
We have basic cable. Could it be different from Digital cable?????
Don't really know how it works, but we don't have digital.
Could be we are getting digital, but without the box, we only get the basic channels.
I remember when they changed the air wave to digital. You could get a antenna converter for almost free. Had to get some kind of voucher or something like that.
I got the voucher, but couldn't find the converter here, so I never got one.

Per FCC laws few years back ALL broadcasting is now digital. If you think otherwise try getting a TV signal via a set of rabbit ears or antenna on your 1960's vintage TV set.

I thought I explained it pretty well in a prior post. I'll try again.....ALL signals are digital. The companies market the word "DIGITAL" to make people think they are getting a superior box. Most but not all of the premium boxes do upgrade the resolution of the picture quality.

ALL the boxes are digital but some are very basic, some medium in terms of features and some have everything.

Several of my TV's do not run the "BOX" but do have the digital tuner and do receive basic programing. The TV's with the basic box receive more stations than the TV's without the basic box. The TV I have with the medium box receives more than the basic box and the TV with the premium "BUZZ WORD HERE >>>DIGITAL BOX " receives all the programing the premium channels that I wish to pay for.

[Finster101]

Colt peacemaker = analog.

Colt python = digital

There I translated it to gun speak.

[6bg6ga]

Speakers from mid 1970's are just speakers. Speakers from 2000 and up are "Digital" speakers or Digital ready.

Well put Finster101 Gun Terms that we all can understand. Now to separate my "Digital Guns from my Analog Guns"

[6bg6ga]

Digital Television


Digital Television is an advanced broadcasting technology that has transformed the television viewing experience. DTV enables broadcasters to offer television with better picture and sound quality, and multiple channels of programming. Since June 13, 2009, full-power television stations nationwide have been required to broadcast exclusively in a digital format.

The switch from analog to digital broadcast television is known as the Digital Television Transition. In 1996, Congress authorized the distribution of an additional broadcast channel to every full-power TV station so that each station could launch a digital broadcast channel while simultaneously continuing analog broadcasting. Later, Congress set June 12, 2009 as the deadline for full power television stations to stop broadcasting analog signals.

An important benefit of the switch to all-digital broadcasting is that parts of the valuable broadcast spectrum have been freed up for public safety communications by groups such as police, fire departments and rescue squads. Also, some of the spectrum has been auctioned to companies that will be able to provide consumers with advanced wireless services, such as wireless broadband.

[6bg6ga]

If your TV has a built-in QAM tuner (also known as a “Clear QAM” tuner) and is connected directly to the cable wiring in your home, it is capable of receiving the digital signals that we transmit without encryption (“in the clear”), including your local broadcast stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.). If your TV is an HDTV, you can view the HD signals that we transmit in the clear. If your HDTV has a built-in digital television (DTV) tuner (also known as an “ATSC” tuner), you can connect an antenna to your TV and receive local broadcast stations’ signals over the air. However, to receive any HD cable networks, such as ESPN, A&E, Discovery, Food Network and more, or to receive HD On Demand programming, you will need a cable connection and an HD Set-Top Box, CableCARD™ or Digital Adapter.

All TV's after about 2008 and some going back further contain an ATSC tuner and will receive all signals from local plus the basic from cable companies. As mentioned above the Digital adapters, HD Set-Top box, and CableCard allow for more features.

A easy way to check to see if your TV contains a digital tuner is simply connect a pair of rabbit ears or outside antenna or the like to your RF connector on the TV. If you can pull in locals then your tuner is digital and if you pull in nothing you have an analog tuner.