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Originally Posted by Voxelflinger
The people most likely to fight the change are the elderly who don't want to or can't pay extra to convert. A lot of low income people have cable and large televisions so they might complain but they will convert.
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You cannot dismiss this group of people as there are many of them. Think about what is mentioned when you see reports about Social Security... The Baby Boomer generation is a large percentage of our population and will be over the next 20+ years. Those are the people that will force the cable companies to keep analog cable for the foreseeable future.
Some only care about watching the local news and Wheel of Fortune. This is the reason I think cable will remain analog for quite a while. Some people don't like change, don't want the cost, don't want something "complicated".
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Originally Posted by Voxelflinger
There are changes in every generation. For years we have suffered with poor quality video. Get over it.
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Some people don't have a problem with a poor picture. I've seen snowy picture, bad colors, etc on many sets and the person watching isn't concerned. Some people even like to watch SD 4:3 video stretched out to 16:9 on their new "HDTV" sets.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voxelflinger
Remember the late 50's and most of the 60's? You bought a $500.00 or more 25 in diagonal console television without a remote control with a black and white video display, the tuner had channels 2-13 and of those may 3 to 4 channels were broadcasting from 6 am to midnight.
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And many of those TV's are still working and people use them. In fact, as you know, every single TV in this country that was manufactured the last 50+ years can still work with our existing analog broadcasting standards. This switch to digital broadcasting is going to be a pain for some people. I've already seen quite a bit of confusion and inaccurate info online as some people thing DTV is HDTV, that is not correct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voxelflinger
Then by the late 60's color television came out with remote and you paid $600.00 with still only 3 to 4 channels and now maybe 2 UHF channels.
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And black and white sets and sets with no remotes still worked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voxelflinger
By the 70's you kept your color televison but now paid cable to give you 12 channels and one HBO channel.
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Some people did/do see the need for cable. Still many don't want or need it. For them OTA analog works. Some even have antenna towers with rotors that still work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Voxelflinger
Now sombody is going to bitch about a $40 dollar coupon for a converter box? For what to watch only 3 or 4 channels on a regular basis they get over the air for free?
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I think some people will get their converter box, hook it up, and will use that. Some will keep their analog cable hooked up to their existing set and that is the reason I think most cable companies will be keeping their analog tier. Even if the cable co didn't charge $5/month for a cable box rental, say for free, some people don't want a box. They like their old "clicker".
Me... I'm ready for DTV.