Why Did the FCC Force Analog TV Stations to Shut Down?

[@PaulRiismandel]

One very important point is that it was a law that forced the digital TV transition, the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Transition_and_Public_Safety_Act_of_2005. The FCC has no choice but to follow the dictates of the law. If you’re looking for someone to blame it’s the 2005 Congress and President Bush, who signed the law.

[@AntennaMan]

Thanks for the additional info. Your comment has been pinned!

[@DoubleALabs]

I guess I'm starting a debate here but I don't have an issue with SOME of the TV broadcast spectrum being reallocated to cellular providers. Digital transmission is much more efficient than analog, allowing for subchannels and stations to be packed more closely together on the dial. Where the government went wrong, in my opinion, was forcing low-VHF stations to go digital and authorizing pathetically low powers on both the low- and high-VHF bands. Also they declined Sinclair's petition in ~2000 to allow stations to optionally use OFDM instead 8VSB. OFDM works far better under severe multipath conditions which are common in urban environments (and that's why ATSC 3.0 now uses it). The 600 MHz auction was kinda whacky too... Stations are packed way to close together, both in frequencies and service contours. I know one of the options was for the FCC to keep RF channels up to 44, which would have been better.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Blame ? I applaud him.

[@Δημήτρης-θ7θ]

@@DoubleALabs This, again. The first round of spectrum re-allocation was a good thing. For example, here in Europe, nobody complained when they released the spectrum above UHF58 (800Mhz band). But then they decided to go lower for 5G, which means they sold all channels above UHF48 (700Mhz band). Keep in mind there are no VHF channels here, which means that every SFN now has only 6-8 UHF channels. Which means broadcast TV is stuck at low-quality FullHD (~6Mbits) best case scenario so they can fit in a half-decent amount of channels. Which means broadcast TV ends up being a plebian medium when even cellular networks will have soon have 4K. They say they are going to "fix" this with DVB-T2 and HEVC. Which means we have to buy new receivers. That 5G better be good and fulfill on its promise of making cellular more affordable.

[@pattyeverett2826]

In the Senate, this law passed 50/50 with Dick Cheney being the deciding vote. It was definitely not that popular. I, for one think that for safety's sake the law should be modified to allow the lower VHF band to be re-opened for analog TV, especially for weather information. As mentioned in another comment, analog TV is much more usable in bad weather than digital TV. In addition, this "sale" of spectrum should be changed to the "lease" of spectrum for the US tax payers sake.

[@frisco21]

The conversion from analog to cable was all about money and control. During analog times, we were told that advertisements were the price we had to pay to have free television. I currently pay nearly 200 bucks a month for cable TV, and I'm forced to endure more advertisements than ever before. We were lied to, and this really pisses me off.

[@interstellaraxeman4468]

100%,...they began to promote that belief during drive-in theater movies. "COMING SOON!!,..in the FUTURE!! ,...PAY TV!! Your TV will have NO commercials!!, this device, a "Home Box Office",...will show you commercial free TV!",....15 years later, cable TV comes along, and HBO with many other pay channels ABOVE the amount already paid, advertise themselves, as in THEIR channel, and there were more channels that were infomercials than the included analog lineup cable claimed they could improve. The dumbest thing besides the lie of "no commericials" are 12 or more, TWELVE OR MORE commercials PER HOUR for a cable company or channel you already have,...and are WATCHING that commercial on. Smart TV is only smart when it comes to things it does for those unseen,..it is pretty dumb when it comes to showing you stuff SO much that one may wind up doing what I did specifically because of that, I Cancelled it. Cancelled it like the TV was on fire, I even paid the ETF just to get that stupid little comcast tortise out of my face. I froze the cable box into a block of ice and returned it....I`m not pissed off, but they were.

[@MR..181]

@@interstellaraxeman4468 12 or more drug company commercials an hour paying for vaccine propaganda "news" for the public till..?

[@olr3654]

Digital is free

[@willhaul5581]

If you think that pisses you off wait until you find out about the CIA program that was initiated back in the day called project Mockingbird. I dare you to go down that rabbit hole. Conspiracy theory my ass. While you're at it look up where the term conspiracy theory came from.

[@burtpanzer]

@@willhaul5581 If the people only knew a fraction of the lies they accept every day, and how despicable their intentions are, they would never watch another minute of news... glad to see someone's been paying attention.

[@acoustic61]

I think the FCC is hell bent on selling every last hertz to the cell phone industry. And not because it will benefit the public but corporate lobbies buying government officials. IMO, any TV channels using public airwaves should also be required to stream free over the internet.

[@arnoldsmith982]

i agree im in a weak signal area 60miles from local stations weather blocks reception a lot i have a large antenna but its only 35 ft high i would have no problem with reception if it was analog. i dont have cable, local stations should be free on the internet but they dont do that even though they lose customers for their ads

[@Wok_Agenda]

Exactly

[@pilotavery]

Cell phone bandwidth is running out and cell phones are congested as hell and more people are getting rid of TV and watching everything on their cell phone and home internet.

[@BOBANDVEG]

Bro.......the Olympics are about global unity.....I cant watch them without paying for a service with a local provider lol

[@pilotavery]

@@BOBANDVEG you can still watch it on digital over the airwaves, for free, or you can watch it online, for free, which is what most people use. You also can't watch it by telegraph either.

[@oneandy2]

"Everyone owns the airwaves. That's why we're forcing you to shut down so we can sell those airwaves to cell phone companies."

[@DonFanningThe]

mommy keeps asking for more video streaming speed.. omg, the internet is sooo slow with the 5 4k videos playing simultaneously... #fml. I need to be like the Kardashians and be fiber lit 5G to my Apple iPhone MCXII yesterday!

[@DonFanningThe]

but all daddy knows is that his schtick won't suck itself... even if mommy was his foxhole buddy a decade ago.

[@Cantfindahable]

I would like to agree with you but “ we “ don’t own anything, in fact even we are owned by our government

[@oneandy2]

@@Cantfindahable the whole point of the FCC was for the government to assume ownership of something the people previously owned. Kinda like SS taxes. Why would I need or want the government to take something away from me in order for it to maybe give some of it back later?

[@joltjolt5060]

Truth. There's a us code they says travel cannot be restricted in american airspace.

[@darryldeclue841]

I still say analog was better, I’m still on a antenna, and whenever the weather changes, I start to loose channels , with analog, it could be storming, hail, didn’t matter, I never lost a signal

[@iowa_lot_to_travel9471]

Hilarious and correct. Analog is much better. But i cut the cord on cable many years ago. Dont even own a television

[@gaylenewood7707]

Back in the early 80s my parents would have us go outside by our porch to fix the antenna so channel 7 or 10 would be clear or if possible channel 3 but sadly channel 3 went out cause the tower in iowa went down back in 1983 so we only have 7 and 10..

[@gaylenewood7707]

@@iowa_lot_to_travel9471 Well I have a tv but I'm using dvd player to watch movies especially good old movies..

[@iowa_lot_to_travel9471]

@@gaylenewood7707 😆😆👋👋 I know they are still good for something

[@timothylovelady6289]

It isn’t just the weather. It is whether the network stations want to power up enough for reception in a given area. Some days I get multiple channels, other days I get zero or maybe two channels. Usually all liberal stations. Weather has nothing to do with it. I rescan and the antenna is pointed in the same direction.

[@jeffconn]

AM radio has a HUGE reach. Some AM stations can reach across many states over hundreds of miles. And who needs (or wants) an upgrade in the first place? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[@jamessotherden5909]

I remember as a teenager in the late 60's spinning the dial my old transistor radio at night picking up stations as far away as Texas. But mostly from mid west stations. Now with todays tuners you either get the station or not. And forget finding a distant station. had a lot of fun back in the day.

[@stuarthirsch]

Plus you can build a a crystal AM radio which requires no power to receive with low cost easily available parts. An AM transmitter with any transistor, op amp, or even old radio tube. Great option for a SHTF situation. Try that with digital!

[@cantstandya112]

In Buffalo NY there is WGR AM 550, they have five transmitter towers, one omnidirectional for day time and and four directional for night time. Reason being they would interfere with a station in South Dakota at night.

[@MrHans818]

@@jamessotherden5909 So did I along with many others. Baltimore to Texas is a long way.

[@richb.4374]

The internet changed everything. To build and maintain a commercial AM or FM station costs millions of dollars, one guy with an internet connection can reach many times the number of listeners at any time of the day or night that a radio station can at a fraction of the cost. The reason the commercial AM's went talk radio is cost. They don't have to pay DJ's, they don't have to pay royalties to artists for music played on the air and with modern solid state transmitters, they don't even need to pay a real engineer to maintain the transmitter. AM is a dying market so the only way they can survive is go talk radio and air commercials. The golden age of top 40 AM is long gone.

[@StumpfsCurse]

We frequently lose tv signal now when there's bad weather near. That's the one time you'd want to tune in to the local channel to see if there's a tornado coming towards your neighborhood.

[@ExtremeWreck]

Well if there's a tornado coming towards your neighborhood, chances are you're doomed.

[@radiotec76]

Keeping the VHF Low spectrum for analogue TV in mountainous areas is a good idea but you have to remember that the FCC does not serve the public but works for the telecom companies and would rather sell spectrum to cell phone providers than serve the greater public good.

[@jeromewysocki8809]

Radiotec76, I agree with your comments. The old TV channels of 2-6 would better serve the public by being used as analog TV stations, in areas where analog is a better choice, as documented by a number of people who commented above. Whether that will be permanently done is anyone's guess.

[@bootmii98]

@WAFFEN COLLIDER Evidently war profiteering is okay if you're Aryan, what with IG Farben etc

[@UserName-ts3sp]

@WAFFEN COLLIDER uh that’s populism, not fascism. we do need to reduce the power of the corporate elite though.

[@dalevaughn9446]

@WAFFEN COLLIDER Gentleman and possibly any ladie's who might be reading this post, PLEASE NOTE:::--( Fascism & corporatism are one and the same).P.S. Any people who are ruled over by a spirit of TOTALITARIANISM is Under Saten, regardless of what the're ideology's are. P.S.S. Where the SPIRIT of the LORD is their is liberty!!!. Turn to the LORD JESUS CHRIST before it's too late. John: 3 16 KJV.

[@bobhamilton298]

Back in analog days we got 3 Baltimore stations and 5 Washington DC stations. We also got a local NBC channel. Now we get one digital local channel that went from NBC to 3 wacko channels. We get zero mainstream channels and cannot receive any channels from DC and Baltimore. To me digital is the worst thing that ever happened to TV. Forces one to get cable or DSL.

[@carlcushmanhybels8159]

Yes! as he quickly alluded to( w/o explaining): Digital has a much shorter range than analog. If the stations don't /didn't invest in boosted signals and multiple regional antennas, it forces/ forced consumers onto Cable.

[@8080pc]

I threw out the TV completely in 2009 and got a tablet pc as a portable TV. Best ever.

[@triadwarfare]

Wait, you guys still get DSL?

[@triadwarfare]

Wait, you guys still get DSL?

[@thesoundsmith]

Get a TV that can stream from the internet. There are LOTS of actually free sites that offer live TV from all over the US, plus older shows and movies, some with commercials, some not. We have Netflix and Prime, but half my viewing is on channels like Crackle and Paramount+ - free subscriptions to fill you email with spam, so create a gmail account just for this purpose.

[@slusheewolf2143]

As an adult, I'm a gamer instead of a TV watcher. The last time I watched the TV show was in 2018. And the show ended so I got nothing to watch left. The issue with analogue TV affecting me is that when I was a kid, it was a prevalent part of my life.

[@ETXAlienRobot201]

i only watch toonami [yep...DUBBED... anime] a few shows on history crime dramas or sitcoms during dinner yeh, basically nothing... if not playing games, there's a wonderful place to watch nearly anything called "the internet" and if i really felt like it, i could even download those, but i have no real reason to and half the things i download are never used for ANYTHING but honestly, next to nothing on tv is WORTH watching although, i can't say this doesn't upset me, especially since it's being done primarily to benefit a multi-billion dollar industry already rife with corruption and abuse. probably even shadier reasons, too...

[@MB-vw3jc]

What show?

[@happycows]

Do you remember the old black and white televisions? Do you remember how when you turned them off that the circle kept getting smaller in the middle of the television screen? Do you remember how the National Anthem played at the end of the night and then static would play? I remember.

[@glorfindelchocolateflowery6392]

Wow, I thought that small circle was just me seeing stuff

[@materockk1579]

Oh I saw that too probably visting uk. Don't kill animals show mercy !

[@emperorpawpateen.9992]

Pepperidge Farms remembers.

[@gabrielhermesson9926]

I was born in the middle--i remember the old black and white TVs and the circle, but I'm too young to remember the National Anthem followed by static.

[@starwish2467]

I remember, too. I also remember my first, tiny color set. The first all color show I saw was MASH. I was shocked to see the red blood. In black and white, the color red showed as black. It made me a little sick to see the blood so crudely displayed all over the surgery scenes, like that. I had seen blood portrayed in movies, but never in my own living room.

[@onometre]

Still mad about this 12 years later

[@comments_from_me]

I just gave away my 52” analog tv with split screen viewing, I wasn’t happy about having to let it go. I prefer analog over digital. At least, if the signal was weak, you could get a partial picture, now, you get all or nothing.

[@mariolibertad9972]

Me too

[@funnyfunnyvalentine7991]

@@comments_from_me Exactly

[@chevyguy6961]

@@comments_from_me I had a 48 inch Magnavox that I had to use a converter box on to pick up digital signals. 9/11 proved that we needed to make more room for cell phone, and emergency service communication signals.

[@J-1410]

@@chevyguy6961 9/11 overloaded the Switches...

[@SteveBueche1027]

Haven’t been on cable for almost 3 years and love my life

[@bravesoul5743]

Hahahaah same here!!

[@trogdortheburninator3621]

I haven't watched tv in all it's ways in 6 months. Seems pointless to do when you have a cell phone.

[@slackhackman9115]

I miss the days when stations would sign off with the nation anthem 'Thus concludes another fine broadcasting day!' the sad native American.

[@gaylenewood7707]

Yep at 6am in the morning the farmers market news comes on channel 10 yeah I use to watch it with my dad when he gets off work and brings home some Dixie delights donuts and each of us little cartons of chocolate milk I miss those times😭.

[@slackhackman9115]

@@gaylenewood7707 I weep with ya. 😥 It's funny where we pick up fond memories.

[@LaikaLycanthrope]

@@gaylenewood7707 I remember waking up to Jack Lalanne.

[@jeromewysocki8809]

Slack Hackman, yup, I remember those days well. Just before midnight, we would get the latest local weather forecast, station identification, and with wording similar to what you described. Very dignified and professional. Then the announcer would say, "Ladies and gentlemen! Our national anthem." After that, they'd pull the big switch, and all you saw on the TV screen, and heard on the speaker was static, until 6:00 am, the following morning. They would then have a video test pattern on for 15 minutes, then begin their broadcast day, starting with our national anthem. Very different than with today's routines.

[@mandyhp]

@@LaikaLycanthrope Yep, in black and white.

[@Nicholas_Chris]

The TV isn't distracting it's just nostalgic. Brings memories from the good old days when a channel even if it had a little static it was watchable and with a good antenna not only you got great picture but you could receive channels from far away (especially during summer and sometimes winter) The digital TV either works or not. Both analog and digital have their own advantages and disadvantages.

[@CommodoreFan64]

I actually found it kind of calming, it's like staring out into the void of space!

[@chetpomeroy1399]

@@CommodoreFan64 Actually, you're not far off. A small percentage of that snow is a remnant of the Big Bang, and some of it is from supernovas and quasars. Looking at that is seeing very, very far back in time.

[@woodyhayes7402]

@@chetpomeroy1399 - Thanks, for comment. Tell me about this "Big-Bang" seems like I've heard it before, but not sure.

[@chetpomeroy1399]

@@woodyhayes7402 I personally first heard about the Big Bang, at least in detail, from astronomer Carl Sagan, the host of the 1980 TV miniseries _"Cosmos."_ kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYvbq6mahp1osLc

[@chetpomeroy1399]

@NS 317 I remember when most areas only had three TV stations, and they would sign on at 7:00 and sign off before midnight. We got really excited when a brand new TV station signed on the air.

[@JMDinOKC]

I agree with previous posts: the US government is acting as muscle for big corporate interests whose social consciousness is approximately none.

[@wiz4020]

They definitely do that with big pharma.

[@EarthChickadee]

Turn the TV completely OFF...... it's not called "programming" for nothing. I stopped watching their propaganda well over 15 years ago. It's the MEDIA that's the *REAL* virus........ ( to the point that people will believe the "news" EVEN IF it directly conflicts with what they *SEE* with their own eyes......)

[@jacobfreeland6881]

All governments turn into plutocracies with enough time. Nothing to see here.

[@safepethaven]

As with everything else at least in the US, "FOLLOW THE MONEY"!

[@frisbee544]

And the Washington, DC Communists who want it all.

[@Mt-ue9qz]

That’s the same strategy for prosecuting Rumpus. Go get’m!

[@MR..181]

Bribes from China to destroy the communications system, news, ect, and force the buying of a complete new system, law...

[@billvojtech5686]

Even in communist “paradise”, it’s FOLLOW THE MONEY.

[@mattboland7063]

:(

[@sdnlawrence5640]

Static wasn't distracting, but that little girl singing "they're heeerre" was.

[@ryanatorryanson9535]

Nice Poltergeist reference.

[@Card_lol]

Hate it when that happens

[@R8Spike]

I can't do shit with the noise of static. I get a headache soo bad that thing is a torture device

[@rerejones9095]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@bluegirlgraphics]

What I miss about analog is the fact at one time, if the atmosphere was right, I'd pick up weird channels from other places. I live in TX and used to sometimes get channels as far away as OK, LA and I think NM once. Can't do that with digital :P

[@ExtremeWreck]

What kind of unheard of channels were you able to find that you never got to see again after one time, & when trying to search them up leads to barely any results at all?

[@bongascrobie]

I am inf fla, analogi sometimes got Texas, n c, nyc, Wisconsin, and p r, as well as El salvador

[@rflberg]

Poor quality analog tv signal beats a poor quality digital signal any day.

[@SilentEcho9194]

TV and cellphone both. Where I live is only hills, not mountains and the cellphone network is very substandard.

[@christopherstory2136]

I've in a big city and get POOR reception OTA. Tried different antennas, locations no avail - ans even when they do work ypu have to keep rescanning....

[@jhoughjr1]

quite true.

[@frisbee544]

WELL SAID!

[@AFmedic]

With poor quality digital signal you get a pixelated screen and NO audio. With a poor quality analog signal you can still make out the image somewhat AND you still have audio. Give me back my analog.

[@metalstephie79]

The reason was to shut off public access. Anyone with a big enough antenna could broadcast their message.

[@specialopsdave]

Watch his video reviewing an ATSC HD modulator, you can totally set up your own broadcast still

[@metalstephie79]

@@specialopsdave It also had the impact that less of the population has the equipment to receive a broadcast too.

[@nolgroth]

Glad I'm not the only one to consider this.

[@marioreds7826]

Come on, lol .. nowadays with KZbin anyone for free can spread their message, either with a post, just like you did here, or with videos.

[@metalstephie79]

@@marioreds7826 Digital platforms can "delete and ban" in seconds.

[@pizzamon795]

I like how you could flip through the channels very quickly, with digital it takes a second or two to load each channel.

[@gordonslomba2532]

Yes yes yes I want that back

[@Operationalexcellence263]

Exactly

[@RedTroPc]

Yeahh

[@jimcrigler1639]

This makes the Weird Al movie UHF even more nostalgic.

[@dampergoldenrod4156]

I don't know what the Blockbuster movie of 1988 was but I know UHF with Weird Al was much better cuz I watched the movie back then

[@rgruenhaus]

Amish Paradise with no technology at all!

[@CommodoreGreg]

@@dampergoldenrod4156 Al mentions the blockbusters they were up against on the UHF DVD.

[@rhostatton8944]

UHF was bomb movie bro

[@thefractalcurve5462]

We Got It All On UHF!!

[@sporty1976s]

Digital the powers that be can simply shut it down with a click and the people are "in the dark" Analog they can not.

[@jakewarner1993]

I mean, clearly, they did just that to analog too. The FCC said to shut it down to free up channels and just like that we had no more analog stations. So yeah, just as easy for them to make it go dark on you.

[@voidofspaceandtime4684]

@@jakewarner1993 Just as easy to make it go dark - for those that just go along with it. Anybody that would choose not to could technically avoid the issue for longer than if a giant company just wanted to shut down a digital platform.

[@jochenstacker7448]

I thought they did just that?

[@katewizer2736]

They have less control of our choices on analog ! !

[@rome79735]

@@katewizer2736 Exactly!! plus the analog tv can't be spied on.

[@caveman3021]

I remember when the Sept / 11 terrorist attacks on the USA happened ,our analog stations briefly started broadcasting 24/7 to keep viewers informed. This was unheard of as they usually went off the air around 2:00 am : )

[@Whoflungpouu]

I remember fox in my home town would shut off and show the American flag other channels would show the different color bars or whatever and do that beeeeeeeeeeeep lol or they would just go to snow p.S. that snow you would see is actually from the big bang

[@caveman3021]

@@Whoflungpouu There was also the old test pattern with the Indian chief wearing a headdress in the middle. ; )

[@361outlaw5]

They would play lights by journey at 2am...and then they play the Star Spangled Banner...and then static

[@williamh4172]

You mean the Sept / 11 inside job?

[@jacobgenekins4932]

I thought the satanic mandate to stop analog was imposed in 2009...

[@DavidSmith-xs3or]

I miss analog. It seemed that there were more choices, especially in syndicated TV markets, available back then.

[@maxwellcrazycat9204]

I used to be able to get one side of a mobile phone conversation on the high end of UHF. It was sometimes interesting.

[@puddintang8034]

Yep, I miss analog TV. I miss the snowy stations, I miss the decent family shows. 📺📺📺

[@2utoday]

Many digital TV sub channels today broadcast reruns of those decent family shows. In my area, I get digital TV sub channels like METV, ANTENNA TV, and GET TV that broadcast those old TV shows using an amplified indoor TV antenna. In other areas, digital sub channels like DECADES and FETV also broadcast reruns of high quality old TV shows from back in the day.

[@kevinmccool3719]

I would much rather watch a snowy analog picture than a digital breaking up and freezing or just drop out. I absolutely despise digital over the air tv. It's such a pain in the ass to get a good signal unless you have a really good antenna. I had no issues with analog static, ghosting etc.. With just rabbit ears, you still had a picture. Used to enjoy the old pocket Sony watchman tv's.

[@michaelhuynh8793]

The philphines still analog

[@scottlarson1548]

@@kevinmccool3719 Most people would rather watch perfect digital television than snowy analog television and that's what most people are watching.

[@Zebra_3]

@@2utoday they're mostly edited to add more crappy commercials.

[@medexamtoolscom]

In a few weeks? They did that in 2009. I remember the good old days, when my television worked. When I had a TV-VCR that I could just record quality content I actually wanted to see off the air waves and watch it later. Those were the days. Sadly it seems progress is regressing.

[@LegoWormNoah101]

That 2009 deadline was for high power TV stations. Low power stations were scheduled to shut down in 2015, but was pushed back to July 13th, 2021, except for Alaska where temperatures are so cold there's only a small window of time to safely work on the towers

[@realmichaud]

I agree, and we got way less freedom now than we did back then.

[@andreakovesdineforgacs2842]

In Hungary, some MRTV or something shut down in 2013, the memory is still in my mind.

[@bowtie-man]

Once again when the government gets involved it usually ends up worse than the beginning. ✌✌

[@0852657luis]

This wasn't government intervention this was lobbyist greed and control straight and simple.

[@doom5895]

@@benchurch2781 he's a commie

[@Criss.Ben.76]

We can blame the government also, but it's always rich jack asses bribing government officials to screw everyone over in the end.

[@Criss.Ben.76]

@@doom5895 I love when right-wingers use terms & catch phrases they learned at tRump rallies without really knowing what they mean. So adorably ignorant!

[@bradphillips7429]

Yep, first class way to screw up anything is let the government get involved. They prove it everyday.

[@themercer4972]

The answer to almost every "why" question is . . . money. At some point some body gets the idea; if we do X and claim we are doing it for some noble reason, we can make a ton more money than we are currently making. There are thousands of laws that aim to improve things, or claim to improve them, which are really just about forcing people to spend money in different ways.

[@slick6363]

Yep.And it made our Politicians, Big Pharma, Lobbyists all over very rich and us very poor. Time to change this.

[@EdwardSnortin]

Like coronavirus vaccines?

[@y2kissable4u]

@@EdwardSnortin like that

[@Rudofaux]

They should've kept at lest one analog station running for emergency broadcasting &/or weather.

[@rxgtv]

Exactly

[@Kaiyats]

Nobody will be able to pick it up as no one owns a damn analog receiver

[@Rudofaux]

@@Kaiyats I take it you didn't know that all modern televisions can pick up analog signals as well as digital?

[@LtJackboot]

@@Rudofaux I didn't know that either! Thanks :-)

[@moretimethanmoney8611]

NOAA

[@Tadicuslegion78]

Let me guess…corporate greed, political lobbying, and…yep that’s usually it

[@lonewolfallen5222]

And brainwashing!!

[@Kinnakeeter]

"The FCC won't let me be or let me be me so let me see, they tried to shut me down on MTV but it feels so empty without me." Eminem

[@siberianXmustang]

Haha! I see I’m not the only one that thinks of this lyric when I hear FCC

[@galaxyii]

“So come on and dip, bum on your lips, **** that! *** on your lips and some on your ****, and get ready cause this ****’s about to get heavy, I just settled all my lawsuits, **** you Debbie!”

[@Dastardly_X]

This looks like a job for me 🌟

[@CardboardGuy]

I only have two words to describe this change: ‘’VERY SAD”

[@sagnhill]

So you would rather watch low quality, low definition TV?

[@ZooScott]

@@sagnhill 🆘 AYEP 💥

[@sagnhill]

@Lone Wolf I had no idea there were people who loved to watch low def, low quality TV. Must be like those people who actually believe that vinyl sounds better than CDs. Amazing. Just astonishing.

[@efandmk3382]

You seem to have the same expansive vocabulary as Fat Donald.

[@efandmk3382]

@@sagnhill Actually, vinyl does sound better than CDs. BTW, CDs are pretty much gone now. Catch up. You have a better chance of finding something you like now on vinyl than on CD. That is, if you're still tied to physical copies and mechanical players.

[@NitePHX]

The snowy picture brings back memories of being a kid in the 60s/70s in Cleveland, OH and turning the antenna rotor North towards Canada and looking for images to pop thru the snow. Good times.

[@ronb6182]

Yes like getting two or more VHF tv channels just turn the antenna. I got stations from Canada, Buffalo NY Erie Pa, Clearfield Pa, Cleveland Ohio, and Pittsburgh Pa. All on VHF TV. Ps I forgot the third channel 2 from Detroit Michigan.

[@ronb6182]

I also used to get WJKF FM in the attic where my bedroom was. The station was in Pittsburgh and I used the 300 ohm twin lead antenna that was 5 feet long plus the lead. An outdoor antenna would have pulled in other Pittsburgh FM stations. No cable tv or FM needed.

[@NitePHX]

@@ronb6182 Sitting on the floor late at night in front of your console TV manually changing channels with a dial looking for anything discernible thru all the snow. We talk of things that today's generation will never know of.

[@NC8ED]

Watching the Cleveland Browns on Channel 10. Some Toronto stations were viewable on UHF.

[@ronb6182]

@@NC8ED I didn't try too much UHF except for Erie channels 24 and 35. 35 was pirate Baseball. Away and home games. We didn't get much work or play done during the day as kids. Well all this is gone now and the MLB would not air many games in this day.

[@FusionDeveloper]

What I miss most, was the instant channel changing. Now we get high tech lag when changing channels. So glad things are faster and better... Oh wait...

[@2utoday]

I bought a new TCL TV with built in ROKU that has instant digital channel changing without any lag. And I can get about 45 digital TV channels with an over the air antenna. It looks like digital TV has come of age.

[@danielmorse4213]

I agree. Switch..lag..switch...no signal...lag. turn off

[@2utoday]

@@arnoldoraye3436 Say whatever floats your boat.

[@JohnDgr81]

YEP!....I cut the cord a long time ago!...NO CABLE!...And I was happy with my antenna tv, and numerous local channels, and KZbin!...but now KZbin is “force feeding” endless commercials, and interrupting videos mid-sentence, and wasting my data with paralyzing “buffering”!......WTF!

[@JohnDgr81]

@@2utoday YES!....thats what big tech wants!....pay MORE money,for more gadgets, for watching trouble free TV!...whatever gadgets you got, will be obsolete very soon, and you will have to pay, and buy more shit, AGAIN!....I guess that’s OK if you have money to burn, or a tree that grows 20 dollar bills!....lol!

[@JimmyLoose]

I used to drive across country with a CRT TV at my side and tune into local stations as I drove through/past towns. What I noticed is yes, digital is "fragile." You can't be moving at more than 2mph and pick up a stable channel, even with an antenna.

[@efandmk3382]

Do you really think it's a good idea to watch TV while you're driving?

[@J-1410]

@@efandmk3382 probably slightly better than being on one's phone

[@oskardeoz6823]

probably he was just listening to the TV, sometimes I just turn my TV not to watch but to listen like the news or sports

[@Onizukachan915]

It has no forward error correction, atsc1.0 that is, in other countries with other formats digital does and as long as you aren’t doing over 100 mph, you get it crystal clear in your car.

[@JimmyLoose]

So you can watch it crystal clear (while moving) in OTHER countries, but not the US? Am I understanding that correctly?@@Onizukachan915

[@Thagarr]

It wasn't only TV frequencies that were sold off. The FCC decimated Amateur Radio starting back in the 90's by selling traditional HAM frequencies as well. I got my Novice license in 1991, my upgraded Technician licnese has multiple paragraphs denoting the frequency changes and listing the bands that I am no longer allowed to broadcast on. Government greed knows no boundaries.

[@theatomicpunkkid]

Oh good so the three letter word ate ham like Easter dinner as well I actually was not aware of that.

[@hyperdrivepics]

Great video! I was working at a student television station back in 2009 when the high powered channels were forced to switch to digital. We were low powered, but we took the opportunity to upgrade our signal strength by getting a new digital transmitter. So back then I was following this very closely, thanks for the update. I had no idea there were still analog stations out there that recently.

[@rextex4222]

Why did the FCC kill analog TV? GREED!

[@CommodoreFan64]

It for sure seems that way.

[@scottlarson1548]

Doubtful.

[@GeorgeVCohea-dw7ou]

Hopefully, ATSC 3 fixes most, if not all of the issues that were widespread after everyone's transition. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIPEnHSrfbaaq9E ATSC was already outdated when it overtook NTSC.

[@zeroone8800]

Congress told the FCC to do so.

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

The only real good thing to come out of ATSC 1.0 are the digital subchannels, like MeTV, H&I, Comet, Start TV, Bounce TV, Court TV, This TV, Retro TV, Laff, etc. Those channels were great alternatives to the stuff available on cable. I hope ATSC 3.0 expands on that idea even further. Right now, ATSC 3.0 is in testing.

[@welovemrp00]

The static in the video really messed with the KZbin compression and lowered the video quality for the times when it was visible on screen.

[@pickleme]

Yep, sure did, very distracting

[@mobiltec]

You know I'm the Original "Antenna Man"... My company was happening back in the mid 70s. I was one of the first On TV distributors. Good video. I'm also a ham operator and I love RF myself.

[@stevetabor2605]

When the controversy was heated, I remember Donald Rumsfeld being interviewed (on television), stating that the government wanted some of those frequencies because the intelligence agencies needed them to "see through walls".

[@phyllismitchell7623]

That's what I'm talking about.

[@txmetalhead82xk]

That’s more like it

[@Menaceblue3]

"There's known 'knowns', known 'unknowns', and unknown 'unknowns'.... things we don't even know about!"

[@graceandpeace4414]

Exactly!!.

[@voidofspaceandtime4684]

Don't need those signals for that, WIFI is way better and more detailed. Just less effective as wall penetration - not that it's needed when you can map out everyone's entire house layouts with hardware they pay for themselves.

[@sa3270]

Static is very mesmerizing. Sometimes you can see stuff in it.

[@2utoday]

What you see in static is called an optical illusion. The same thing happens when you stare at any object or picture for awhile. You start seeing things that do not really exist.

[@BrucesWorldofStuff]

I know... I've see people in the static when I was a kid in the 60's. I still do.. :-) LLAP

[@kevinmccool3719]

Yes most definitely, it's really creepy, but cool too.

[@Soxruleyanksdrool]

I can see stuff in the static if I've been into the mushrooms.

[@MR..181]

Sex in the 80s

[@nfullenwider]

I miss analog because for me, once I found a good antenna placement I never had to move it much. Nowadays, if my neighbor goes to get a drink from the fridge my signal freezes.

[@ramblinman4197]

It was certainly more reliable if you live on the fringe of the “viewing area.” Getting messages via a slightly snowy signal vs one that is severely pixelated (or non existent). The FCC sux.

[@khangphamchannel016]

At least in Vietnam, DVB-T2 was more tolerant of multipath distortion rather than ATSC. Basically, the US only does it for greed rather than get a decent system to handle digital broadcasting.

[@khangphamchannel016]

@TsunamiFPS not every house can afford cable or satellite, but my family in Vietnam managed to have enough money for satellite for some sports events that National tv can’t buy the rights for it.

[@GahnooLunix]

Europe has their own digital TV standard (DVB), as does Japan (ISDB) and the PRC (DTMB). Big reason why all these different standards exist is to protect the domestic industry in these countries developing these technologies.

[@scottlarson1548]

@@GahnooLunix Actually the reason is that technology had improved as each country adopted digital television at different times.

[@zeroone8800]

When working on ATSC it was decided rural coverage rather than urban was to be optimized, so they chose VSB instead of OFDM used in the rest of the world. VSB is the digital equivalent of the way analogue worked. VSB can't handle multipath or movement of the antenna.

[@michaelhuynh8793]

My family has a house in Vietnam we still have analog cable in late 2017 and late 2019 and the philphines still analog

[@markhardiman1179]

I remember when t.v. stations signed off at midnight while playing the National Anthem.😁

[@elainephleps4705]

Yes thank you. And you went outside an played!!

[@mravatar9616]

I miss that.

[@anothercomment3451]

You should see the video showing the many subliminal messages we watched back then, INside that anthem we were watching. Crazy evil at it's beginning. Programming. Yes, indeed!

[@anothercomment3451]

@@elainephleps4705 until the streetlights came on... :)

[@xtremer_daredevil5950]

before the advent of 24 hrs TV stations

[@STB-jh7od]

FCC tried to auction off those frequencies, and it failed miserably.

[@rogerbartlet5720]

It's the government, what do you expect?

[@kachoo2135]

The FCC and the government can both go to Hell

[@scottlarson1548]

@@kachoo2135 Don't forget to tell them to fix your roads too.

[@chuckleberryfinn1992]

I'd say they got that road work covered in the infrastructure package , chock full of good intentions& all...

[@stevenclark3608]

Yeah, I am experiencing poor reception in my area now that the summer months are upon us. I even lost WTEN CBS in Albany, NY completely. I did contact the chief engineer at WTEN and he said they were at reduced power because of antenna work. So, at least I can look forward to the return of that station in the future.

[@OliveOyl12590]

WTEN hasn't been a CBS affiliate since 1976. WTEN became an ABC affiliate in 1977 and WRGB has been Albany's CBS affiliate since 1982.

[@gavinrobinson2270]

As a 15 year old, i’m kinda bored of being able to watch what I want when I want. It might sound weird but when somethings not just a commodity anymore, you get tired of it. Tv, videogames, they’ve all changed from what they used to be and I think I would really enjoy trying out how it used to be. Edit: 17 now, my opinions changed a bit. Don't get me wrong I still really enjoy old tech, but I can appreciate the fact that I have internet. I probably wouldn't have the same interests as I do now if it weren't for the internet, and im glad I have the ability to use it without having tons of social medias like TikTok. KZbins pretty much the only thing I use extensively, and thats good enough for me.

[@windows_2000]

Same except im 10. I love that fuzzines of analog and the quality, like i say "if the quality is worse it makes it better". It just has a different atmosphere looking at that quality of videos, audio, colors instead of seeing too high quality things

[@ARandomInternetUser08]

I'm 21 now, but I do not feel like it. I'm an old timer and I'm a big fan of old tech. I do still have a few old analog CRT TVs and one I even hooked up a VCR and an antenna to the VCR and TV, to create a makeshift "analog TV channel", but its range is quite literally inches because the signal isn't amplified and it's purely coming from the VCR with no amplifier, which I won't take the risk of doing. At least I get to experience some form of "analog TV". Old tech was so much better. Everything is just too easy now.

[@georgef551]

The very first "Repack" was in 1948, with the removal of channel 1. While it was a thing, it was so unreliable, with very bad picture quality (I believe it, as WGBH 2 never looked good), so it was scrapped, and given to EMS for their radio equipment.

[@gregoryalec689]

I still have my bw 📺 with channel one

[@davenwin1973]

I read somewhere that for channel 1, that it was good to be for smaller markets with a reduced range.

[@georgef551]

@@davenwin1973 I read something similar. It seems the history of channel 1 isn't very clear, as there were multiple answers as to why it failed, and was removed, but what I've seen seems to be the most common answer. Your use is also the popular one for what it was to be for.

[@kevinmccool3719]

I've seen one old tv set a long time ago that had channel 1 on it. Interesting stuff.

[@ronthuomas7428]

It sounds funny but I enjoyed watching shows like Taxi with the snowy receptom.My Aunts ranch house in way rural West Texas barely picked up the Lubbock stations. I associated a loving country home with scraping by and being thankful for what we had.

[@gaylenewood7707]

The only show I didnt miss really was the friggin brady bunch oh gosh I'm so glad that went away I got tired of hearing about that dumb Marsha marsha whining..but one thing I enjoy watching was bj.and the bear that show was great..

[@supersaiyaman11589]

wene i was a kid i remember not likening the bad reception. Just because i was grateful to have a tv doesn't mean i liked the bad reception.

[@gaylenewood7707]

@Bill Jonston Well that remake of dukes of hazzard with jessica Simpson in it that was a crappy one yikes but the brady bunch that one woman was in the purge two movie it was glorious to see her almost get killed in that you oughta check it out..

[@shenghe9876]

The FCC should have made the digital TV transition optional because there could be reception problems in mountainous areas and analog portable TVs can be used during an emergency (because there are no battery powered converter boxes). What we can do now is allow TV stations to optionally broadcast an analog signal along with the digital signal to fix these problems.

[@morganrussman]

I think I may have mentioned this before, but, for a few years after the transition (although I don't think that I thought much about it for a while) I just thought that 'ALL' over the air tv stations moved to digital until I saw a video probably around 2016 to probably about 2018 on KZbin where someone recorded the fact that there was a station or 2 (or maybe more) in analog still left.

[@AntennaMan]

Check out my video below. I found several analog TV stations in NY a few months ago. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYbKYp6veqhrpck

[@morganrussman]

@@AntennaMan I am pretty positive I've seen the video, and is pretty interesting that you did find some of those stations.

[@TonyP9279]

The major advantage of analog TV is that I can have more than one on the same channel and the picture and sound are always in sync.

[@ljn369]

Forcing digital TV was the final straw for my parents. It goes out way to much up here in the mountains. After it kept going down a lot last year, my parents just decided to get good internet and a smart TV. Saving them a lot of money too.

[@2utoday]

There is also satellite TV using small round dish antennas on your house that sends out many TV channels for a monthly subscription.

[@hattree]

I think the worst thing about Digital TV is that it just cuts off instead of degrading slowly with signal issues. My time on antenna ended when I couldn't handle the sound interruptions that occurred simply from walking through the room.

[@geggy310]

My digital tv signal flips out whenever someone walks near the tv

[@craigcook1571]

And now for the MAIN reason, big brother can spy on us sooo muuuch better with digital! 👀

[@fukofutube22]

Bingo

[@efandmk3382]

LOL. You know, they have medication for your condition now.

[@craigcook1571]

@@efandmk3382 Lol

[@sevenmile]

@@efandmk3382 "Google Sidewalk"

[@LIVITLUVIT]

@@efandmk3382 and there is a killer virs outside ......but you don't anyone sick and neither do I or anyone I know or anyone you know ....news articles now openly talking about checking your personal phone text messages for see what ur talking about the cov and bribing people to get shot up with chemicals ....digital TVs are just 1 or your 99 problems

[@ChrisSuperDude]

This popped up in my recommendation and I went "Oh yeah, I remember when everyone had to get cable". That was something that I didn't even think about for about 12 years until now. Thanks for the information.

[@PaulE4213]

I think the TV stations that had both analog and digital were happy to shut off their analog transmitters as it was quite expensive to run 2 transmitters. Analog transmitters were very power hungry compared to digital.

[@scottlarson1548]

Actually modern NTSC transmitters had become very power efficient. They began using tricks like reducing the power during horizontal and vertical retracing since the viewer wouldn't notice it. The chief engineer at local station said that their last NTSC transmitter used about 20% less power than their ATSC transmitter.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

@@scottlarson1548 ATSC receiving are more pixelated compared to ISDB-T. ISDB-T receivers especially 1SEG, can receive DTV channels inside moving vehicle.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

@@scottlarson1548 IN MY COUNTRY PHILIPPINES, THEY USED NTSC. But they didn’t choose ATSC, but they adopted DVB-T (Pan American DTV frequencies; 6 MHz spacing) in 2005, then changed to ISDB-T in 2010. Some of their analog Tv channels in the Philippines were shut down in 2017 and 2018, for 2023, all analog TV channels in the Philippines will be shut off from NTSC to ISDB-T.

[@scottlarson1548]

@@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY Yeah ATSC 1.0 is ten years older than ISDB! Should I be surprised?

[@scottlarson1548]

@@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY To give you an idea of how much technology had changed in ten years, my local CBS station installed an HD MPEG-2 encoder in 2000. It was a sixteen processor supercomputer the size of a refrigerator and cost almost a million dollars. Ten years later they replaced it with a better MPEG-2 encoder that fit in a rack and cost $50,000. When the U.S. pioneered digital television in the late 90's, the processing power to decode an MPEG-2 high definition stream was just *barely* within a reasonably priced consumer product which was obviously the goal.

[@chrisdavis837]

Shifting analog stations to low vhf sounds good to me. I grew up in a rural area and we only got three - later four when a local college added PBS - stations. I imagine we would have no television at all if I still lived in the area now.

[@2utoday]

People living in that rural area now should be able to get TV channels subscribing to satellite TV.

[@NickG123]

@@2utoday But its not FREE!

[@BrucesWorldofStuff]

@@2utoday But that is not free! Thats $100+ a month... LLAP

[@theatomicpunkkid]

You'd probably get one with a couple subs like down in Johnstown PA

[@jeromewysocki8809]

Bruce Scott , right, and you still have to put up with the commercials. Many years ago, it had no commercials, because, after all, your paid cable subscription was paying the bills. Not anymore.

[@TheFrogfeeder]

My favorite part of tv is when they interrupt the commercials to play a little bit of a show...

[@BobDiaz123]

It would have been nice if channels 2 through 13 were left for Analog only and all digital was 14 and higher. That would have left the option in remote areas with poor TV reception to allow for some TV. Also, if a user just wanted digital only, get a UHF antenna, rather than a VHF/UHF antenna. Unfortunately greed drove the decision process rather than logic.

[@LtDan-hr1pb]

Besides the static, it would have been nice to have an old set of rabbit ears antennas with aluminum foil on the tips. A proper send off to anolog.

[@usmale4915]

Good comment and I have been there myself with the rabbit ears AND aluminum foil on the tips! LOL Good times indeed!

[@anakinskywalker6666]

I grew up with the old analog television I remember way back before they had remotes WE were the remote if you wanted to change the channel you had to get up off your ass and physically change the channel

[@NorthcoasterHobby]

I have reported on the continued closure of low power analog TV stations in Canada on my channel, and unfortunately the reason that these low power transmitter stations (mostly on VHF) which serve rural and isolated communities in Canada are being shut down is that they are owned by large media companies who are also in the cable and satellite business. These companies own the networks in Canada and are basically control over the air television. They deem the transmitter towers too costly to maintain and not generating enough revenue. Since viewers living in small isolated communities do not have internet that is reliable or fast enough for streaming, the loss of over the air television leaves them with no other choice than to pay for cable or satellite subscription services. Their only other option is to use free (FTA) satellite television, which is as close to OTA as they can get in those areas.📡 A good video but a sad situation.

[@ericmoeller3634]

Analog tv is more reliable its way easier to get the stations in

[@topher_lee]

I remember when the local news stations were advising everyone with an analog TV to get their free DTV converter box before the switch. Back in ‘09 if I remember correctly. Those things were everywhere. It’s amazing how many people relied on analog tube tvs not that long ago. Now you’d be shocked if you visited someone’s home and saw an analog TV with a DTV converter in their living room.

[@raymondbrush6442]

As a kid we'd called them fly fights not snow. Poor man's wrestling.

[@notgonnaduit6315]

My wife called it ant races😁

[@peacearchwa5103]

The mandatory shutoff of full-power analog TV channels ultimately killed off the VHS VCR. Incorporating ATSC chips into VCRs was prohibitively expensive at the time. VHS VCR users generally relied on the internal analog tuners for time-shift recording. Technically a user could connect an ATSC converter box to the VCR but it was far less convenient. The FCC even imposed punitive fines against VCR retailers because they were supposedly selling a "non-compliant" device after March 1, 2007. After displaying prominent Surgeon General-type warnings that the remaining VCRs lacked a digital tuner, most VCR production was terminated. I think many of the VCRs actually were pulled out of stores and shipped for resale in Canada, which allowed analog until July 2011. Only a handful of "Tunerless" VHS-DVD combo units remained on the US market for a few years. The only ATSC-equipped VHS VCR I recall being sold in the USA was a rather expensive Panasonic unit combined with a DVD Recorder.

[@jlbeeen]

I remember in Canada a few years ago they switched and we had to get new rabbit ears to even get the news. It's still kind of sketchy but we still get the same 3 channels.

[@TurdFerguson101]

I remember how useful analog TV was for emergencies. The last hurricane that I experienced was without TV, Internet, or Cellphone. The system seems more fragile.🤔

[@Spaghetti742]

I'm so happy fm/am radio hasn't gotten the boot yet. The only reliable way to know what tf is going on during an emergency since DTV cuts out

[@blur02]

When I was a child I had to stand at the TV for hours and hold on to the antenna so reception would be better. I'm going to remind my therapist of that.

[@HabitualLover]

It shouldn't make you this happy to have a major thing reasonably explained, not subjected to extremism or fearmongering. So so happy. Great video.

[@NorthcoasterHobby]

Also the repacked TV spectrum doesn’t seem to really affect OTA Television in Canada anyways, as over the air television offerings are so sparse.📡

[@markinnes4264]

DEpend on where you live... Southern Ontario ... I used to get 20 Channels by antenna... now only about 5. Digital sucks.

[@NorthcoasterHobby]

@@markinnes4264 Yes, analog seemed to be so much easier to pick up. I got all my local stations with a set of rabbit ears crystal clear in analog, and digital I need an outdoor antenna now! But I only get 3 channels over the air.

[@2utoday]

@@NorthcoasterHobby You need to do a rescan of over the air TV channels on your digital TV once a week. Doing so might bring in more TV channels. That is what I just did with my digital TV using an indoor amplified antenna and I now get a new TV channel called Mystery. It is owned by the Court TV channel and shows reruns of TV crime shows such as CSI:Miami.

[@jpolar394]

Digital TV ain't worth a rats ass. I hope I'm already dead when AM and FM radio goes digital. Thank goodness I can still receive some short wave radio signals on the receiver.

[@gaylenewood7707]

Well actually now radio FM and am are digital alot of ppl dont know it cause now a days if you got a digital car radio you get satellite radio and you have to pay a certain amount to listen to music and such..

[@jpolar394]

@@gaylenewood7707 .....That will be the day when I pay to listen to the radio. I just listen to NPR radio stations because I can't take all the commercials on the other worthless stations.

[@gaylenewood7707]

@@jpolar394 No offense but I rather listen to commercials than listen to dead air like on satellite radio..

[@jpolar394]

@@gaylenewood7707 .........I want you to try something if you have the time. Sit on the chair for 1 hour when you are listening to a talk radio station and count the number of times the phrase DOT COM, DOT GOV, DOT ORG is said. I did that around 6 months ago and the phrase DOT COM, DOT GOV, DOT ORG was said exactly 103 times. Isn't that a little ridiculous ? In matter of fact, it's darn right idiotic. A person who is the host of a 60 minute talk show only talks between 25 and 32 minutes in that 1 hour and the rest of that 1 hour is commercials. May I add WORTHLESS COMMERCIALS that are constantly repeated.

[@gaylenewood7707]

@@jpolar394 Sounds like KZbin Lol!! But I dont have a radio the last one I had was 10 yrs ago and it was Walmart junk.

[@trafficsignal101]

In the Florida Panhandle we get T-storms almost every afternoon and the Digital signal is wiped out, same with hurricanes. This is for both major dish providers. When I had the satellite services I had to keep an rabbit ear antenna for back up. The rabbit ears are worthless now. I switched to cable and it almost never goes out.

[@AliasUndercover]

All I know is that I can't reliably pick up a single TV channel anymore.

[@shotakonkin2047]

Now I'm yong Hyaku Ni Jyou 四百二十代吸っています on the wacky tobbacy, the ganja wee laddy. I remember Invader Zim, my humor was pretty dark in my childhood.

[@2utoday]

@AliasUndercover - You need to get a satellite dish receiver and subscribe to satellite services so you can get plenty of TV channels.

[@1001Hobbies]

For years, the number 1 radio station in Cleveland, Ohio, has been 1100AM, WTAM. The most popular station in Cleveland is not in the FM band.

[@beantaz3862]

Don't forget 850! Aaron Goldhammer saying things that led to him eating literal horse shit and the fact that 90% of the voicemails at the end of the Really Big Show are directed at his existence!

[@irritated888]

I'm really not sure "popular in Cleveland" correlates to performance. They do like the Browns after all.

[@1001Hobbies]

@@irritated888 - Well, it's best to be the big fish, no matter how small your pond is.

[@aj402]

Now I know why I couldn’t find one fm rock station driving through the home of the rock and roll hall of fame.

[@1001Hobbies]

@@aj402 - 98.5FM WNCX Classic Rock. 100.7FM WMMS "Cleveland's Rock Station:" current rock 105.7FM WMJI "Cleveland's Classic Hits" (70's - 80's) 106.5FM WHLK "The Lake - We'll play anything," (70's, 80's, 90's, 00's)

[@Peg-ee5ei]

Thank you for explaining this. I never switched over. When they made the change here, I just stopped watching television. Extreme, but true.

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

The advantages of upgrading to ATSC 1.0 digital from NTSC analog: Clearer picture, more channels to choose from. The disadvantages of upgrading to ATSC 1.0 digital from NTSC analog: Pictures break up on occasion, can only watch TV while stationary.

[@peacearchwa5103]

Another disadvantage in many locations is complete loss of reception, compared with viewable if imperfect analog video and sound. In geographically flat locations like Dallas or Detroit, ATSC 1.0 reception is pretty consistent. In topographically challenged areas like Seattle or San Francisco, ATSC 1.0 reception is quite difficult. Before 2009, Vancouver BC viewers could often receive a viewable fringe picture on a couple Seattle stations, and Seattle viewers could receive a viewable fringe picture on a couple of Vancouver or Victoria stations.

[@carlcushmanhybels8159]

@@peacearchwa5103 Yes! And paralleling/ summarizing: Digital has much shorter range than analog. And the picture is all or nothing. If stations didn't invest in a boosted signal and multiple transmitters, it forced consumers onto $$$ Cable.

[@warrenf5821]

Sometimes the "old school" way functions better. I observed on a vacation to a remote part of the country lately that the FM dial was completely blank. Not one station came in, and certainly no HD signals made it through. On the contrary, the AM dial worked just fine, as many of these high powered (yet "archaic") AM signals can reach remote areas that FM can't touch. To be specific, if you ever happen to be driving around rural northern California, you'll get nothing on FM, but a crystal clear signal from San Francisco AM signals. The same is true for analog TV. Did we always get the best picture? Certainly not, but it always was reliable. I remember visiting some relatives of mine who lived in a very remote area when I was a kid. They had a ChannelMaster TV antenna mounted up on a pole, and had success in picking up Low-VHF signals on channel 2 and 4 from very long distances. With DTV they don't receiving anything. I'll take analog any day! Personally, I think that TV was best when people had a choice of analog or digital. If they lived in the city and had the equipment then sure, reap the benefits of digital. However, for those who live in challenging areas, it was nice to have reliable analog.

[@almostfm]

That's an apples to oranges comparison. FM radio (and analog or digital TV) is "line of sight" broadcasting-if you don't have a clear line to the tower, you don't get the signal. It's just a limitation of how radio waves of different frequencies propagate through the atmosphere. That's why FM and TV antennas are a) on the top of tall buildings, b) on really high towers, or c) if you've got nearby mountains, you can put the antennas up high enough to handle your coverage area. For reasons that are too complex to explain in a KZbin comment, AM radio doesn't have that limitation. I live in the San Joaquin valley and I used to work at an AM/FM combo station here. Our AM antennas were right outside the back of the building. Our FM antenna (along with every other FM in the area) were up at about 5000 feet on the western slope of the Sierras and we microwaved the signal from the studio to the antenna. All the TV stations are up there, too, which makes setting up an antenna (either analog or digital) pretty simple-you point the antenna in the direction of where the antennas are, and you can get pretty much all of the stations. When I set up my DTV antenna, I used an app on my phone to show me where the stations were in relation to where I live. I got up on the roof, mounted the antenna, put my phone on the back of the antenna, and rotated it until it was pointed in the right direction.

[@warrenf5821]

@@almostfm I understand where you’re coming from, and it is apples and oranges. With that being said, I still think that there are certain advantages (and obvious disadvantages) to some of the older services. Digital TV can be great if you live within a reasonable distance to the transmission site, but if you’re located in a more rural area, you’re going to have a hard time picking up these signals. As a general rule, I’ve found that you need approximately 30% of the signal to produce a picture. In distant locations, that is not going to be easily achieved. From my own experience with family living far away, UHF tv was just too difficult to pull in, but VHF worked thanks to the longer wavelength. It wasn’t the greatest picture in the world, but at least it was there. The same is true with AM. It isn’t the best technology out there, but it definitely reaches far off locations that otherwise would have nothing.

[@almostfm]

@@warrenf5821 The issue with "analog vs. digital" when it comes to TV is what's sometimes called the "digital cliff"-while an analog picture degrades as the signal gets weaker, with digital, the error-correcting circuitry keeps the picture good-right up to the point that it goes away because there are too many errors to correct. So it's good, or it's gone. The difference between VHF and UHF is more complex, because it's not just wavelength that comes into play-there's the type of recieving antenna, and UHF signals were more susceptible to being blocked by structures or other objects.

[@tristan6509]

@@almostfm well I prefer mediocre picture quality over nothing with digital TV It was free, now people on remote areas had to spend hundreds on satellite TV...

[@SoyLuciano]

Here in Chile, analog TV continues until April 9, 2024. I think the analog shutdown is like a form of planned obsolescence, especially since people will just throw away their old antennas or even TV sets, which would therefore harm the environment. EDIT: I was wrong about the date. It was from a random news source.

[@brunoelfandeyoutubeoficial]

Hello, I come from the future and I inform you that here in Chile analog television has already been turned off on April 15, 2024.

[@SoyLuciano]

@@brunoelfandeyoutubeoficial It was actually 6 days earlier, on April 9.

[@puppycat58]

Grew up on analog...it's more reliable then digital

[@icopaseticMHF]

When the locals switched to digital I lost FOX and CBS ... sucks for an NFL fan

[@curtiskretzer8898]

I'm sure that wasn't purposely contrived by digital providers

[@TheUKNutter]

My parents used analog until the shutdown and refused to change to digital. It meant I grew up with analog, watching cable on a 5-inch screen since phones were banned. As of today, the TV is still there but is no longer used. My parents haven’t watched a TV ever since

[@kennylauderdale_en]

Is there any situation where Analogue TV could make a comeback, or are at the point of no return? I'd love to see it become a public access frontier much like youtube in it's first few years. Just people broadcasting whatever they like.

[@seanhamilton4169]

Of course, people can bring back analog television, but they need to improve it. It needs to be of a higher spatial (line count) and temporal resolution and something needs to be done about the bandwidth. For it becoming a public access frontier, not every person is fully capable of using the available equipment necessary. After all, the future is totally not knowable.

[@kylecurry6841]

My understanding was the UHF frequency ranges were ideal for cellular use, particularly the lower frequency ranges that allowed Verizon Wireless to make the claims that they had the greatest coverage even in rural places, etc.

[@ZeMarkKrazee]

I live in a rural area. Once the conversion to digital happened, I’ve never received am OTA channel. I’ve used multiple external digital tuners and internal digital tuners on several newer TVs. It’s quite frustrating.

[@williammielenz3752]

When the picture rolls, you can still listen to "Dragnet".

[@RoastBeefSandwich]

Think to yourself - which is in higher demand over the past 10 years and looking forwards, cellular bandwidth or television bandwidth? Cellular use is skyrocketing, to me it makes sense that it gets the priority. Whenever ATSC 3.0 is fully adopted I would expect another repack where channel sharing will be expected and necessary for markets to have the same number of channels they have today.

[@oliverpetroski4205]

This happened in my country few years ago. People who sell TVs made huuge money, those devices break down fast, no repairs. As soon as the weather changes the cable company just breaks off connectivity and you have no picture or only frozen picture or only sand picture.

[@davidsradioroom9678]

It's all about the money.

[@kelleymcbride4633]

In the 70's we called the static screen that came on after the star spangled banner in the wee hours of the morning "bug fights"

[@lordmavbmp]

ive been thinking about this for years because they said the tv would work better, but along time ago you would move the antenna to get better quality. now I could put my antenna out the damn window, and the whole channel is still nonexistent. the channels never straight up disappeared on analog.

[@Madness832]

Regardin' the static, you got the snow, but not the loud, "SSSHHHZZZZTTTT" that goes along w/ it! :D Oh & who remembers when channels 70-83 went to the first cell phones (mid-eighties)?

[@al4cats]

I remember uhf channels 14-83 in nyc area using my Lafayette converter box on Zenith 1964 color tv..good signal reception but would drift often and require converter box fine tuning

[@AntennaMan]

I actually had the "shzzz" on if you listen closely. My microphone is too good at background noise canceling.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

@@al4cats CATV 140 - 158 (890 MHz - 1 GHz) went to 900 MHz transmitters, Cordless phones, Baby Monitors...

[@bf0189]

I'm just glad you documented what analogue TV was like for the younger generation who might never experience it. While digital has its own issues it's better than analogue however it's missing a certain human element that creates it's magic.

[@jhonwask]

One of the differences between analogue and digital TV was that with an an analogue signal which was weak, you could always watch a snowy signal, as opposed to digital with a weak signal, you just get a blue screen and nothing else.

[@gaylenewood7707]

Go back and watch some old movies with payphones and non credit card gas pumps man it brings you back to the old days and you be saying the kids now would cry about the payphones or have to go inside a gas station to pay cash for gas..

[@gaylenewood7707]

@@jhonwask The only time you should look at snowy television is if your trying to peek at some dirty movie that you dont want your parents to finding out..

[@jhonwask]

@@gaylenewood7707 What I would watch on snowy UHF TV was Doctor Who, Space 1999 and Star Trek. They weren't being broadcast locally at the time.

[@gaylenewood7707]

@@jhonwaskMy brother old 13 inch black and white tv I use to watch the old doctor who with my brother on Saturday night and I liked the old one better then what is on now..

[@williamsteveling8321]

AM radio persists for a few reasons, but chief among them is range in concert with value for voice communication. Silly as it seems, having an AM-capable receiver can be invaluable in disaster situations. Other than that, they still have popularity on the news stations because they issue traffic reports frequently, and not everyone has embraced smartphones for traffic (for which I love them).

[@koshie66]

how true. Best to be seen in Germany, no AM radio, desaster struck, digital services where the first thing to stop working, poeple couldn't be warned -> many people died. Digital only is *dangerous*.

[@chesterfranklin2642]

You may have not mentioned one other possibility. When the repack completed, local network affiliates closed the market, forcing viewers to see only local advertising. The whole thing is a public scam. I would bet that NAB lobbied for this.

[@metheus108]

I have tried to explain to people for over 2 decades now that the National Association of Broadcasters was the single largest lobbyist in the US. No one wanted to hear it, they still dont.

[@chesterfranklin2642]

@@metheus108 Sure, NAB had everything to do with it. FCC merely lock stepped to the plan and local broadcasters couldn't wait for it to happen. BTW: The gove paid 75% of the conversion to each station. It much deeper than anyone wants to believe. Now their laying ground for 3.0. You'll have to buy a new Tv to see it. The scam is not close to being over.

[@beerrox711]

@@chesterfranklin2642 dont forget the analog sunset... they dont even want legacy devices to survive

[@2utoday]

@@beerrox711 Cable TV and satellite providers make available converter boxes to customers who still have old analog TV's. This way, they can watch any TV channel they subscribe to by using the converter box.