Globe editorial calls FM radio "outdated technology"

[Sid Schweiger]

"My understanding is that the problems with OTA (over-the-air) DTV (digital TV) reception in the US are, by and large, the result of the US's adoption of 8-VSB (eight-level vestigital-sideband) modulation."

>From what I've seen and read, it's a combination of 8-VSB and the substantially lower-than-analog ERP allowed for digital stations.  Apparently it's less of a problem in the UHF band, but the lower ERP really beats up any DTV stations still using VHF spectrum (as WHDH-TV and others found out the hard way).  I have no idea how the FCC cooked up the idea that lower digital ERP would still produce similar coverage to analog, but it was apparently dead wrong.

I'm also hearing that DTV tuner sensitivity is substantially lower than that of analog tuners, but the only evidence I've read is anecdotal...haven't seen any hard figures.

Sid Schweiger
IT Manager, Entercom New England
20 Guest St / 3d Floor
Brighton MA  02135-2040