Reply #101: the answer is that HD might have been possible with analog [View All]

[onenote]

but digital was a better way to do it.

But no station -- none -- is required to offer HD quality video. They can, if they choose, use the digital spectrum to offer multiple streams of standard definition quality video. Indeed, even where a station is offering HD, compression technology has improved to the point where, using the 6 MHz of spectrum allocated to a broadcaster, a single HD channel and another three channels of standard definition video can be simulcast. What will be on these multicast streams? Hard to say yet. Right now broadcasters are experimenting with foreign language programming (do we progressives think that's bad?), time shifted programming, news/public affairs programming.

Moreover, no one needs a new tv to get all this additional standard definition programming. With your old set and digital to analog converter, you can get the multicast streams. The only thing you won't get is HD quality video -- for that you'll need a new tv with an HD quality monitor.

Is having more channels of television available free over the airwaves now a bad thing? Someone needs to make sure we're all getting the same memos.