Ok, so the switch to Hi Def has occurred, but I can't figure out why do we still have stations running in analog, and how come sports games are still being shown in analog?  Wasn't everything supposed to have changed?

HiDef and Digital are two different issues.



The transition to digital was mandated for OTA (over-the-airwaves) only.  Cable companies are still free to use analog signals.

What is is that you are experiencing that has you concerned? Hi-Def is a paid service from your provider and it would require and upgraded cable box. HD service has been available for some time and has nothing to do with the Digital switch.

Ah, I guess that would be it.  I just assumed this "digital" transition was about Hi Def.  So I guess cable companies are going to continue to hold Hi Def out like a carrot to get people to pay extra money.....great



 

Yep, I hate my current provider but they do provide all the HD channels at no extra cost, I looked into switching to Fio's or Satellite and found out I'd end up paying more due to having to pay extra for the HD channels.

You should be getting all your local channels in hi def even through cable.  The feds require them to pass the local feeds through in hi def.  They can (and most) do compress the hi def feed.

Heck,  I get almost everything in high definition digital TV over the air for free.

I just figured everything would be in Hi Def once the change was made.  I see alot of cable stations that are just coming through in non-Hi Def.  Kinda sucks to watch some of the football games on the sports channels and not see them in Hi Def

If you look at the first reply, the Big Switch only impacted over the air (OTA) transmissions.  It was just a switch from NTSC (analog transmission standard) to ATSC (digital transmission standard).  There was no mandate by the government for cable to change anything.  All of their switch to digial and/or HD is a business decision.

I made the switch in 2002 and it really sucked because there were only a handful of HD shows per week that I watched.  Non of the local stations were brodcasting a digital signal.  The only way I received HD was via Satellite.  Remember that this switch to HD is driven by business decisions.  Consumers are buying these nice TV's and now demanding more and more shows in HD.  It takes millions of dollars to build a remote broadcast truck that can handle an HD football game.  Back in 2002 there were less than 5 for both college and pro games.  It was a HUGE deal when your favorite team was broadcast in HD.

This transition from analog to digital/HD has been many, many times faster than the change from black and white to color.