"tommyknocker" wrote in message
...
I think that the whole idea of "perfect" reception is what's driving the
whole push towards signal digitization, especially in the US and Europe.
I'm not just talking about DRM but digital FM and digital TV, the latter
of which is making big strides in the US under the name "HDTV" (because
it's supposed to have "high definition" picture quality). The FCC is
heavily pushing HDTV, making stations invest zillions of $ in new
transmitting equipment and encouraging Hollywood to shoot TV shows in
HD. Perhaps that's why the FCC isn't so concerned about BPL interfering
with analog TV, they think it will give them an excuse to push for a
complete and sudden end to analog TV and a move into HDTV. Never mind
that the cheapest HDTV set currently available is around $1000. No,
they're going to force us all to shell out big bucks to replace our
analog sets. Never mind that most people can't afford it, the
commissioners at the FCC can, so they think that we should be able to as
well. I'm sure that will mean big profits for the huge corporations that
the FCC is beholden to, but for the rest of us, it means a huge
financial hit. The average HDTV set is around $3000-4000.



And add to that that very few stations are actually broadcasting in HDTV..
but in, IIRC, 720i, which is barely better (supposedly) than analog NTSC,
and, IMHO, looks like crap.. pixelized, shoddy, nasty. This so they can
stuff five video services onto a single channel, rather than one High
Definition one.