DTV

[Chuck Foster <cfoster@allhitvideos.com>]

Regarding the posts on DTV. Analog NTSC will be gone in the next few
years as existing TV stations bring their DTV counterparts on the air.
The FCC is making this happen. Prices for DTV sets are already dropping
at Best Buy and Circuit City. Next, the analog channels will be turned
off and the frequencies sold for other uses. With this in mind, we will
all have DTV at some point soon. I imagine (hope) there will be some
type of converter available to allow DTV signals to be viewed on an NTSC
set, sort of like the FM converters of the 70s that rebroadcast the FM
on an AM car radio. I'm not in any hurry to convert, but seeing the WABI
DT tower and antenna now standing in Dixmont, ME, its hard to ignore
that DTV will be here very soon with its multiple channels and crisp
picture and sound. I wonder how the coverage maps will differ for most
stations? For example, WMTW TV Channel 8 will no longer broadcast from
the top of Mt Washington reaching several states and Canada. It will
broadcast from a new stick in Raymond, ME with a considerably shrunken
coverage area. I guess you gain some and lose some. Any thoughts or
comments from engineering types on this list?