Manfredi, Albert E wrote: >The FCC receiver mandate still holds, > To whatever extent it is holding. There are clear violations of the mandate, but there are no penalties. As best I can tell, there are not even wrist-slapping letters. >has been set at March >2007 for all TV sets and recording devices, and these built >in receivers are reportedly of good quality. > The ones in the 36-inch-and-up category. This past weekend, I noted the following ads for TVs and recording devices, all under $100: - Radio Shack 2.3-inch LCD TV @ Radio Shack $59.99 - Mystery brand GTV5055 5-inch TV @ Conn's $14.97 - PocketVision LCD-511 5-inch LCD TV @ Radio Shack $99.99 - Konka 13-inch TV @ Universal $45 - Mystery brand CTGV4563TCT 13-inch TV @ Conn's $59.99 - Toshiba 13A25 13-inch TV @ Conn's $79.97 - Advent Q1435A 14-inch flat-tube TV @ Circuit City $87.99 - Konka 19-inch TV @ Universal $59 - Sansui TWM1916 19-inch TV @ Royal $68 - Toshiba 19A24/25 19-inch TV @ Best Buy $99.99 - RCA 25-inch TV @ Royal $98 - Sansui VCR @ Universal $22 - Sansui S35EV VCR @ Royal $29.99 - Sansui DVD/VCR combo @ Universal $44 - GoVideo DV2150 DVD/VCR combo @ Royal $59 - Insignia IS-DVD040924 DVD/VCR combo @ Best Buy $75.99 - Philips DVP3050V DVD/VCR combo @ Target $78 - Samsung DVDV5500 DVD/VCR combo @ Circuit City $79.99 - Samsung DVDV5500 DVD/VCR combo @ Conn's $94.97 I wonder how much they will cost on March 2, 2007 -- or if they'll simply stop being sold. TTFN, Mark > So that would >certainly contradict any notion the government is secretly >trying to kill off OTA. They could have said "let the market >decide," which is what they do when truly not interested >(e.g. analog stereo AM radio). *That's* the kiss of death. > > > >>Why else have none of the manufacturers spent much effort >>developing and *marketing* OTA STBs like they are in the >>rest of the world? >> >> > >I think there are more credible reasons. For example, since >broadcasters are spending no effort to make their digital >tier particularly attractive, e.g. by offering some added >programs that would encourage people to buy into DTT, the >vendors are waiting for the analog cutoff date to make STBs. >After all, they do have to build in receivers into 100 >percent of their TV sets anyway, well before any analog >cutoff date, so what's the rush? > >Imagine what would happen if broadcasters made it so people >would rush to stores to get DTT reception. You know, offer >something interesting over their new subchannels. There are >so many possibilities. > > > >>Why is DTV mostly advertised as available over satellite >>and cable? Why don't any of the sales people at the >>consumer electronics stores know you can receive DTV OTA? >> >> > >Because they're stupid? The guy I talked to at Circuit City >seemed to know. So while this is the impression one gets, >it's not necessarily 100 percent true. Retail clerks in all >industries have a special way of being clueless. > > > >>And why [aside from trying to save it's inventor/patent >>owner Zenith, the last U.S. consumer electronics mfgr. at >>the time] was 8VSB chosen over what the rest of the world >>is using, COFDM, >> >> > >Or Ibiquity over DAB/DRM, or NTSC over PAL, or MediaFlo >over DVB-H, or 115 V 60 Hz over 220 V 50 Hz, or English >measuring standards over the metric system, or CDMA over >GSM, or ..... > >The US likes to do its own thing. This one is not a big deal. >A simple change of *one* component, the demod, makes a DVB-T >box into an ATSC box. Big whoop. Besides which, it's not all >bad. I've already reported that I seem to get solid >reception whenever the SNR stays above 15.1 dB or so. This is >very, very repeatable. Compare that with COFDM. Not all bad. > >Bert > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: > >- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at >FreeLists.org > >- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word >unsubscribe in the subject line. > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.