The Great Experiment Continues for we "pioneers"

[MesaV]

Bravo...  Bravo...

[Pat]

What seems most odd to me is that I would think Mr. Cuprisin would want to *promote* advances in TV, since its his own field of interest.  The improvements in the viewing experience would make his job easier -- maybe that's a stretch, but it sure is easy on the eyes and ears compared to analog.

Perhaps he views his role as merely a reporter, but surely, if properly labeled, he can interject some opinion.  After all, it not exactly hard journalism.

[borghe]

I have had many words with Tim, and I can say that I usually don't agree with him. But regarding his little write-up, I can only find the experimental term discouraging. The rest is fairly objective aside from pioneers, but I don't really find that a criticism.

When he uses the term experimental, to me that implies that it is in a testing stage, and based off of that testing it will either succeed or fail. However, we all know that HDTV can't "fail". It will never go away. Even at this somewhat early point, look at all of the money stations just in Milwaukee have invested and commited from future budgets. Is it early? Yes. Are there growing pains? Yes. Is its future uncertain? No.

There are so many more appropriate words he could use than experimental. New. Innovative. Ground-breaking. But no, he chooses to associate one of the more negative terms with it. Go figure.

[techguy1975]

   

Originally posted by mcq:
-->More pandering, and anybody with an antenna can pick up digital broadcasts, isn't that mass enough.

Anyone with a antena, and a STB or a digital TV, wich the vast majority don't have....yet.

Gosh..you people are just so critical of everything..  Relax..  DTV will come when its time, even if "Crispy" was as ardant of a supporter of DTV as you all are, that doesnt mean people are going to adopt it any quicker, there are certain realities that we have to face, the masses will find it hard to change something the've been doing for the past 60 years.

Lets face a reality THE CHANGE TO DIGITAL WILL NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT stop expecting it to.

[This message has been edited by techboywi (edited 10-25-2002).]

[This message has been edited by techboywi (edited 10-25-2002).]

[shejej]

It seems to me that Tim could have characterized Digital Television as "emerging technology" instead of "experimental". The experiments were done years back. I emailed him about HDTV over a year ago and asked if he would add some information in his column regarding the Milwaukee station's progress. His reply was that no one had receivers and they were not even readily available. Apparently he doesn't even watch the medium he is supposedly an expert on since American TV and Best Buy, were at that time, advertising a complete selection of HDTV receivers. I guess some people must be dragged kicking and screaming into the future. Also I don't understand his comment about broadcasters not having found a way to benefit finacially from HDTV. I think the FCC said it was OK to run commercials there too!

------------------
Julian E. Jetzer Panasonic PT-56WXF95
Panasonic TU-HDS20

[Tom Snyder]

 

the masses will find it hard to change something the've been doing for the past 60 years.

Agreed.. the masses adopt slowly, but it didn't take them 60 years to embrace color TV, cable TV, big screen TV, FM Radio, DVD's, CD's.

And as they did, they rendered to obsolescence what has proven in hindsight to be the true "experimental" technology... stuff like Vinyl Records, Cassettes, Video Tapes, and dare I say it: black and white, fuzzy and/or ghosted OTA, and very shortly, analog TV signals.

[mcq]

 

Originally posted by Tom Snyder:
And as they did, they rendered to obsolescence what has proven in hindsight to be the true "experimental" technology... stuff like Vinyl Records, Cassettes, Video Tapes, and dare I say it: black and white, fuzzy and/or ghosted OTA, and very shortly, analog TV signals.

Tom, you still have an 8-track player, don't you?     ROFLOL

[Tom Snyder]

Of course!

I especially love the way the songs fade out in the middle, and then you hear the track change and then they fade back in.

[mcq]

OK I've been thinking... I am so sorry for pointing out the obvious about the lack of TV enthusiasm from a local TV newsreporter. I want to make it up to him and solicit donations so that we might buy Mr. C. an HiDTV PCI video card..... It might help convert him to the dark side. (er I mean the 1080i enlightened side).............

Ah nevermind.... You can't get the HiDTV card for a Powerbook yet....  

[P a u l]

 

Originally posted by mcq:
And the anticipated response....although I don't agree 100% with Mr. C., I will have to concede some of the points.


"But technologically, digital TV remains its experimental stage."

--> I take issue with his use of the word experimental, I've been experimenting with HDTV for 2.5 years now. Hmmmm...my Intel 4 processor of 6 months would be..."on the drawing board??"

Oh by the way, I have had Digital TV (DirectTV) for nearly seven years. When exactly do we move from experimental to practical??


]

FYI Direct TV is not High Definition!!! Two completely different formats.

Also as a Computer Consultant I'm sure you know that in 1971 Intel built the first microprocessor, "a computer on a chip." It then took Intel almost 25 years to give us the first Pentium processor.


[This message has been edited by P a u l (edited 10-29-2002).]

[mcq]

 

Originally posted by P a u l:
 
FYI Direct TV is not High Definition!!! Two completely different formats.

Also as a Computer Consultant I'm sure you know that in 1971 Intel built the first microprocessor, "a computer on a chip." It then took Intel almost 25 years to give us the first Pentium processor.


[This message has been edited by P a u l (edited 10-29-2002).]

I am very well aware of the differences and similarities between DirectTV and HDTV... although I do get HDTV from my DirectTV service. I was merely pointing out that Mr C. of the JS is not qualified enough to comment on this subject as he is the one that confused Digital Television and/or Digital broadcasts with HDTV. I don't think he understands that you can see Digital broadcasts on an analog tube. He keeps talking about expensive TV sets.... I watch Digital brodcasts on my 19" viewsonic $275 computer monitor, and quite frankly it looks better than on my Sony Digital 61" non-isv'ed HS10. (Just not quite as big)

The Intel 4004, I assume you are referring to... went into a production device in the same year it was released. Yeah it took a total of one year to produce the 8008 and several more years (1974) to release a computer grade processor(8080). Intel recognized that it had to be the leader in "computer on a chip" technology to make a transition from experimental to practical. This was done in a couple of years... I was merely pointing out that lifespans in technology is measured in months not years, and that the use of the word "experimental" when referring to HDTV or digital TV or digital broadcasts, is just as idiotic in that case is it is in the case of computer technology.

"From 1995 to 1997 several US tv stations begin test broadcasts of HDTV signals.  Then in 1998 at the Consumer Electronics Show real HDTVs to be marketed to normal consumers are shown.  By then the FCC had begun to allot bandwidth for the new channels.

The FCC mandated that commercial networks began broadcasting in 1998 and 1999.  In fact in 1998 John Glenn's historic space flight on the space shuttle was shot in HDTV.  By 1999 and 2000 all the major networks, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and PBS were broadcasting some HDTV programming in the greater metropolitan areas. From... http://people.cornell.edu/pages/dab46/page5.html  "  

This clown from the JS is hurting the advancement of this technology rather than embracing it. I wonder if he even owns a DVD player... and look how experimental (read: relative number of years to commercial acceptance) that technology is...

In the same 6 years, ("By the end of  1996, the FCC adopted a compromise between the competitors") We went from the 4004 to Apple computers available to the home market. Oh! And all without the government mandates.

Welcome to the Forum Paul   Thanx for being here!  

[This message has been edited by mcq (edited 10-30-2002).]

[P a u l]

You are not getting any local channels on Direct TV in HD format are you? Just wondering cuz if so there will be contract issues. To my knowledge we have not sent Direct TV an HD feed yet. It is actually sent via fiber optic to them.

[Gregg Lengling]

Directv has no local HDTV feeds for any markets yet and I doubt they will...they have a capacity issue and I don't think they'd ever consider it.