Why Canadians Should Care About DTV

Last week's changeover to digital television broadcasting in the United States went off with very few problems. This at least negates some of the excuses that Canadian TV stations give for sticking to analog only with just two years before the Canadian deadline to shut down analog. The only TV stations in Canada that have begun broadcasting in Digital are those in southern Ontario and in BC with densely populated areas close enough to the border with access to American over the air DTV signals. For the rest of us in the rest of Canada are restricted to analog only, no access to DTV converter boxes and plenty of analog only TV's still on store shelves this is not a very good sign.

The Canadian broadcasting companies claim that it would be too expensive to buy and operate digital transmitter for the 9 percent of TV households that depend solely on over the air broadcast signals. They don't factor in the households where there is at least one TV set with an antenna because people don't like paying fees for extra outlets or renting additional set top boxes. What TV station operators need to realize is that the sub-channels that broadcasters can send out with DTV can be used as a source of revenue for broadcasters. Digital Television allows TV stations better reach viewers who currently receive such poor reception that they are cable or satellite subscribers because of poor over the air reception.

Canadians are known for hating their cable, satellite and the telephone providers, so any new competition will be very welcome, switching to DTV will free up radio frequencies to allow for wireless broadband and advanced services such as VOiP and IPTV using WiMax or other wireless technology. Digital television is bringing an exciting new world but most Canadians are being held back. Start calling your local TV stations to start asking about DTV they will need to start providing answers sooner or later.

Why Won't The CAB Won't Answer Questions About DTV?

A month ago I e-mailed the Canadian Association of Broadcasters with a few questions about the transition to digital television broadcasting coming in August 2011. After that month, still no reply.

The Questions I put to them were:


1.) The deadline for over the air television stations to convert their over the air transmissions from analog to digital is in 2011, but in the United States the deadline for making the same transition is on February 17 2009, less than two months from now. Why is it taking an extra two years to make the transition in Canada?

2.) In Regina the local over the air television stations haven't even started transmitting digital signals along side their analog transmissions. When can I expect to see local digital over the air signals in Regina?

3.) With millions of TV sets with analog tuners still being used with over the air as the sole source of programming. Will the converter boxes that are on the market in the United States that receive digital over the air TV signals and converts them to analog be available in Canada, and if so when will the be available in stores.

4.) Many households where over the air is the only source of television programming fall under the poverty line. For many those who fit in to this category, buying a television set with a digital tuner or subscribing to cable or satellite service isn't an option. Will there be a voucher program similar to that in the United States that subsidizes the cost of converter boxes be offered in Canada?

These questions simple, not critical of the broadcasting industry, so why didn't they answer? Their silence has already said so much!

My Original Article about DTV in Canada

CRTC Gets One Right, For Once

Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission stated to a television industry conference that their industry isn't taking the transition to digital seriously. Television stations in Canada have to be transmitting in digital and shutting down analog transmitters by 2011 two years behind deadline their American counterparts have to meet.

Out of the hundreds of television stations operating in Canada only a couple of dozen have began transmitting digitally. While about ten percent of households receive their television exclusively with an antenna, Cable and Satellite providers still obtain signals from broadcast stations mainly over the air. The foot dragging by television stations means most people will see and hear inferior picture and sound quality compared to other channels.

While Television broadcasters are afraid of investing in digital over the air broadcasting, the competition from Digitally broadcast TV stations from south of the boarder received over the air or delivered through digital cable or satellite is something that Canadian stations will not be able to survive as long as they continue to hold on to analog broadcasting.

The lesson for Canada's broadcast industry is go digital or go out of business, It looks like we can already see which path they are choosing.

Users of Bag Phones and bricks (and some other users) lose cell phone service

Remember back in the 198o's or the early 1990's when Cell phones were just coming out into the market they were ether a big plastic brick with an antenna or a handset connected to a bag with an antenna. The analog cellular service that made those phones possible will soon be coming to an end.

The Federal Communications Commission has authorized American Cell phone carriers to start shutting down Analog cell phone service starting in March of 2008 in order to reallocate the frequencies used for analog cellular service to Digital cell phones . While most consider the analog cellular phones as antiquated as Windows 3.1, but for many in rural areas analog is the only cellular service available because digital isn't offered or digital coverage is poor.

It's not just users of big old cell phones in the country that will be left without service, about half a million owners of GM vehicles made before 2004 who have the OnStar service will also get disconnected. GM stayed with Analog cellular because it's more carrier agnostic than digital cellular systems. Another half a million household alarm systems will also be affected. These systems have a cellular telephone back up system for when the landline telephone system has failed.

I don't believe the progression of technology is a bad thing, it's government policies such as this that are a bad thing. Bueaucrats who have very little grasp of technological process are the problem, not the technology.