# "Drop Dead" date for "regular" tv? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062 "2006-03-12T19:12:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/1 "2006-03-12T19:12:02Z")
The “rabbit ears” thread remided me of a burning question. With HDTV, etc. becoming more popular and with broadcast stations being required to provide such programming, is there a date certain after which my regular tvs (6 to 15 years old-one even has rotary dials) will no longer receive programs, and all of them that are left will wind up in Mount Trashmore? I’m sure there have been news stories on this, but I missed them. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/2 "2006-03-12T19:39:48Z")
2009-02-17 Set-top boxes are available that will receive digital television signals from an antenna and output analog video and audio to older television receivers. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/3 "2006-03-12T19:40:53Z")
Originally the FCC was talking 2008, but I really suspect that that won’t happen. There was supposed to be an HD receiver box that you could hook up a regular TV to; did that ever appear? ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/4 "2006-03-12T19:42:53Z")
The FCC has pushed back this date before and will likely do so again in the future due to political pressure. If the FCC ordered TV stations to switch over from a standard that a very large portion of the public uses, I and a number of other people I think would be rather pissed. I have neither the cash or inclination to drop $500 minimum on a television. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/5 "2006-03-12T19:52:06Z")
> [@mks57](#): > > 2009-02-17 > > Set-top boxes are available that will receive digital television signals from an antenna and output analog video and audio to older television receivers. Yeah, and that date has changed so many times I’ll believe it when I see. But you’re right-- that is the current plan. Note that this is a switch to digital, not a switch to HiDef. I think any full switch to HiDef is many, many years away. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/6 "2006-03-12T19:54:55Z")
> [@threemae](#): > > If the FCC ordered TV stations to switch over from a standard that a very large portion of the public uses, I and a number of other people I think would be rather pissed. > > I have neither the cash or inclination to drop $500 minimum on a television. In the areas of Germany where the switch to digital is already complete, people could apply for a free set-top box from the welfare office. Based on some opinions that I have read in discussions about welfare I think a few US taxpayers might object. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/7 "2006-03-12T20:00:18Z")
> [@threemae](#): > > The FCC has pushed back this date before and will likely do so again in the future due to political pressure. That date was set by Congress in the last budget bill. The FCC doesn’t have any say about it. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/8 "2006-03-12T21:09:40Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Originally the FCC was talking 2008, but I really suspect that that won’t happen. There was supposed to be an HD receiver box that you could hook up a regular TV to; did that ever appear? I’m waiting for one of those boxes too. I have yet to see one in any store anywhere. If they switched over to digital tomorrow, I’d stop watching television before I paid a thousand dollars for one of those huge HDTVs that all the stores push so hard. Do they even make an HDTV that isn’t one of those massive jumbotron jobbies? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/9 "2006-03-12T21:19:39Z")
A similar date is being bandied about for this country, but I don’t remember it offhand. It’s not far away though. There are people saying, “oh, it won’t happen so quickly”, but the same people said the same thing ten years ago when the government announced the analog mobile telephone network would be closed down at the end of 1999, and the government stuck to its guns. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/10 "2006-03-12T21:56:42Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I’m waiting for one of those boxes too. I have yet to see one in any store anywhere. They are available, although you may have a hard time finding one in your local store. I got a good deal on one by buying from a company that sells factory refurbished hardware. It was indistinguishable from a brand new item. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/11 "2006-03-12T22:26:02Z")
> [@kellner](#): > > In the areas of Germany where the switch to digital is already complete, people could apply for a free set-top box from the welfare office. Based on some opinions that I have read in discussions about welfare I think a few US taxpayers might object. :eek: I should say say. Og smash damn! I can’t see anywhere in the U.S. that providing electronic equipment to some people would be politically prudent. (If they start that, I would like an X-box 360 because I have been unfortunate enough to never have owned a gaming console). ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/12 "2006-03-12T22:32:29Z")
I don’t understand why HDTVs are so damn expensive anyway. Even cheapo computer monitors these days have better resolution. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/13 "2006-03-12T22:38:21Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > I don’t understand why HDTVs are so damn expensive anyway. Even cheapo computer monitors these days have better resolution. So are there HDTV cards for PC, or wouldn’t that be possible? Could be a cheap way out if it is. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/14 "2006-03-12T22:43:37Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > I don’t understand why HDTVs are so damn expensive anyway. Even cheapo computer monitors these days have better resolution. 1. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have a 16:9 aspect ratio. 2. “Cheapo” computer monitors aren’t the size of TV screens 3. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have speakers. 4. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have TV tuners in them Do you understand now? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/15 "2006-03-12T23:50:22Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > So are there HDTV cards for PC, or wouldn’t that be possible? Could be a cheap way out if it is. Yes there are. The cheapest at Umart is $116. [http://umart.net/au/product\_info.php?cPath=33&products\_id=103790](http://umart.net/au/product_info.php?cPath=33&products_id=103790) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/16 "2006-03-13T00:31:40Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > 1. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have a 16:9 aspect ratio. > 2. “Cheapo” computer monitors aren’t the size of TV screens > 3. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have speakers. > 4. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have TV tuners in them > > Do you understand now? 🙂 Even more significantly, “cheapo” computer monitors have a totally different (and cheaper) type of LCD screen, because it’s adequate for the requirements of a computer monitor. Specifically, they have a much more limited viewing angle, which is okay because generally you can be expected to be plunked directly in front of it. This doesn’t work for a television application, because most people want the screen to look decent when viewed from several places in the room. Alright if your sofa is directly in front of it, but you want someone sitting in the easy chair six feet over to be able to tell what’s going on, too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/17 "2006-03-13T01:29:09Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Even more significantly, “cheapo” computer monitors have a totally different (and cheaper) type of LCD screen, because it’s adequate for the requirements of a computer monitor. > > Specifically, they have a much more limited viewing angle, which is okay because generally you can be expected to be plunked directly in front of it. Good point. Of course, many people consider that a feature, not a bug-- especially when you don’t want the boss to see that you’re screwing around on the Internet instead of working. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/18 "2006-03-13T01:40:47Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > 1. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have a 16:9 aspect ratio. Yeah they do, if you don’t mind the black bars on the top and bottom (and frankly, watching widescreen stuff without those black bars just bugs me). > [@](#): > > 1. “Cheapo” computer monitors aren’t the size of TV screens > 2. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have speakers. > 3. “Cheapo” computer monitors don’t have TV tuners in them With a $50 TV-out card, you can hook a computer up to a TV screen, thus solving the original problem, ie: the apparant lack of the adaptor boxes to make our old school TVs work with this newfangled signal. Also, since a computer monitor is almost always hooked up to a computer, I daresay they do have speakers, and with the kind of adaptor card we’re talking about, they would have a tuner in them (if the card didn’t come with a tuner built in, I’d seriously question just what the point would be in purchasing it). 😃 Of course, all this assumes that you own a computer with a monitor before you are making any other investments. I’m assuming most folks here have a computer with a monitor. If you had to start from scratch, the computer could likely cost as much as the TV, but would have more uses unrelated to watching TV. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/19 "2006-03-13T02:58:18Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I’m waiting for one of those boxes too. I have yet to see one in any store anywhere. I bought a nice Panasonic unit for something like $10-$15 at a thrift store. If thrift stores sell them, so do regular electronics stores, just not as cheap! (Maybe you need glasses?) ---
**Author:** ![ombre3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@ombre3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ombre3)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062/20 "2006-03-13T03:27:22Z")
You all correct me if I am wrong here but-------- Seems to me that the original cut off date for analog TV and advent of HDTV was supposed to be, by golly,---------- actually right NOW-------2006. Obviously that did not happen. New date is early 2009. Will believe it when it really happens. Eventually, of course, analog TV and the old standard pitiful definition (originally designed for a 1949 12 inch TV set)---------will be sold to the highest bidder. Billions of bucks to be made by our gubmint selling off the old analog frequencies. Lots of bandwidth to spare and to sell . The reason that Congress is talking about subsidizing all the poor people in this nation who will need to buy digital tuners in 3 shorts---------by just flat out giving those digital tuners to the poverty stricken among us. ------------is BECAUSE– The Feds will make BILLIONS selling off analog. And they can easily afford to take a tiny portion of that money and give it to the poor among us-----so the poor can actually watch TV on their old analog TV sets. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drop-dead-date-for-regular-tv/348062.md?page=2)