Mandatory high-definition TV switch in ’09: stupid and unnecessary or not a big deal?
I tend to lean toward the former. Why is high-definition necessary?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Yep, sorry, you’re right: the switch from analog to digital.
I don’t pay for cable or satellite and never will because it’s a total waste of money, so I don’t like the idea that the government is forcing me to buy something just so I can get my crappy one or two over-the-air stations.
Anyway, it looks like this is profiting the feds big-time; somehow they suddenly own the extra bandwidth this switch will open up just because they said so. “By the time of the 2009 switch, the government will have auctioned the remaining spectrum to companies interested in deploying wireless technologies. The proceeds are estimated at about $10 billion by the Congressional Budget Office” (http://www.news.com/Digital-TV-switch-set-for-early-2009/2100-1028_3-6004429.html ).
I think very few people understand what is going on here.
First, it’s not a mandatory switch to high-definition TV, it’s a mandatory switch from old analog TV broadcasts to a new digital broadcasting system. HDTV does use the digital broadcast system, but the two are certainly not synonymous.
Next, the main reason for change is it frees up a limited and valuable wireless spectrum. Without going too in depth, spectrum is space on radio waves used for wirelessly carrying data. Each class of wireless communication device (wifi, cell phones, air-traffic control, TV, radio, the list goes on and on) is assigned to its own range of spectrum called a channel (or multiple channels). This is so no two types of wireless traffic interfere with each other. The faster the wireless connection needs to be, the more spectrum that needs to be assigned to each channel. And since there are only a limited range of radio waves that can be used for carrying data, there is only a limited amount of spectrum available for each of these applications.
An example you can see of how tight we are on available spectrum is by looking at AT&T’s 3G coverage map. AT&T uses a 3G technology called WCDMA for their latest high speed data traffic network. While it is popular technology in other countries, it’s need for large amounts of spectrum have prevented it from becoming common place in the US. Currently, the only place you will get such coverage is near major cities where there are enough customers for AT&T to justify the extremely high cost of the required spectrum.
Old analog transmissions, such as the old TV broadcast system, make very poor use of wireless spectrum. They gobble up the airwaves and are the SUVs of the wireless world. They are also slower, deliver poorer quality, and consume more power compared to newer digital transmission technologies. Simply put, most analog transmission technologies are obsolete.
This is where digital TV comes in. If you’ve ever played with a digital TV tuner, you may have notices that there are numerous standard definition channels inside a single broadcast digital channel. For example, there will be 02-1, 02-2, 02-3… and so on. This means that with a digital system, more TV channels can be broadcast, using fewer broadcast channels and thus less spectrum. Much less spectrum.
Finally, you need to understand why there is a big push in government to free up this spectrum. Following 9/11, there were issues with communication between the various public safety agencies, such as fire, police, ambulance, military, FBI, and so on. The problem was there was a lack of a unified communication system; every group had their own system using their own set of technologies on their own channels. Part of the 9/11 Commission Report stated the need for a standardized communication and data sharing system was needed between all of these agencies. In order to implement such a system though, a good amount of open spectrum was needed.
TV broadcasts, being an antiquated resource hog, were the clear choice to require a reform. Being that digital transmissions are cheaper and allow for far greater capabilities, broadcasting companies were bound to switch on their own eventually. At least this way the government is helping people get a new digital tuner box.
So yes, the mandatory switch is completely necessary. While a minority of Americans will be slightly inconvenienced by having to apply for a coupon and purchasing a converter box, the switch will benefit us as a whole.
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