No more analog tv next year.

[Conspirasist]

At first glance this seems pretty harmless. With all the major brand of
tv sets coming out in all digital, i guess the old days of analog tv and
air waves are pretty much not needed any more.

I dont know if this is the real reason for it but i did heard a couple of
ideas about why this is being done and i was wondering what, if anything,
any of you heard on this.

With most of the tv's today, coming out in all digital and hd ready, it is
also going to have a little secret device installed in it. This device is a
very small camera that will be used by the government to spy on you.
The tv wont even need to be on for the camera to be used. I dont know
where it would be located but if your really curious, open up the back of
your new hd tv and have a look around. It may even be built right into
the monitor so in that case, if you can find a tv repair man that you know
and trust, i'd have him tear the tv totally apart to try and find the camera.
I dont know if they are being installed right now but i heard in the future,
all tv's will have it.

As far as the airwaves stopping the broadcast of analog signals, i 'm just
thinking on my own on this one. I did hear one thing though so i'll state
that first.

I heard once we going totally digital, america will have all these empty
channels to play with. I had heard wireless wifi will be used to help open
up the internet better. True or not, i dont know.

Now i got two thoughts on this. One is that the government is suppose to
come out with it's own super internet and eventually all americans that
want internet access will have to use this. You've probably already heard
that the current internet system is running out of addresses so eventually
they will not be able to support any more access. Does this mean they will
just shut down once this point is reached? I dont know. It's funny that this
story comes out as the governments story about it's new super internet
comes out. Something sounds fishy to me.

My other thought is that americans will be required by the government to
be implanted with RFID chips. They will need air wave space to be able to
implement this plan. We will be tagged like we do animals.

What do you all think about this? Do you think i'm way off track here and
if so why. Please explain your views on going digital.

[James Lewitzke]

I've heard about this and didn't think much of it either.

I'm not quite sure about the whole "camera in TV" theory, that one doesn't seem very plausible to me. Would the government really be watching 5 million different TV's all at once?

I do wonder what will happen to all the regular TV's we own now though. Will they just stop working or something? I don't think I'd want to trade my current TV up, I rarely use it for television programming or movies.

Also, concerning the internet, I don't think it's really possible to "shut it down". There's 1000's of web servers and computers connected to each other that make it up. But on the other hand though, it'll probably be harder to "gain access" to it, as ISP's like Time Warner probably won't give us what we need to get online.

[Barcs]

Regular TVs still work fine with the digital signal. You just need a cable box to get all of the channels, otherwise you only get like 70 or so. It still runs through coaxial cable unless you have fiber optics, so there's no reason you will have to upgrade your TV.

Conspiracist, where did you hear about this camera in the TV thing? Do you have a source on that? It sounds little far fetched, to be honest, but I suppose you never know. I doubt they'd be monitoring everyone, but they could use something like that if the certain person was under suspicion or if they were about to raid his house.

[James Lewitzke]

Originally Posted by Barcs

Regular TVs still work fine with the digital signal. You just need a cable box to get all of the channels, otherwise you only get like 70 or so. It still runs through coaxial cable unless you have fiber optics, so there's no reason you will have to upgrade your TV.

So how are the TVs any different than now? My family has Basic Cable and that's about the number of channels we currently get.

What are the major differences between analog and digital (since there won't be any more analog)? Just clearer pictures and sound?

[Barcs]

I'm no expert on the subject, but that's pretty much it. Better picture quality & sound (more noticeable on an HD TV or plasma), easier to record, more channels, it costs more(main reason they are forcing the upgrade), plus a lot of times you can watch a show later than it was originally on and also fast forward commercials if it's not live. It really depends on your cable company though. All in all, this transition is good, but it shouldn't be forced. If people wanna live in the stone age, let them. We really don't need 500 channels. If I didn't have a room mate I wouldn't even have cable TV.

[Conspirasist]

Originally Posted by Barcs

Conspiracist, where did you hear about this camera in the TV thing? Do you have a source on that? It sounds little far fetched, to be honest, but I suppose you never know. I doubt they'd be monitoring everyone, but they could use something like that if the certain person was under suspicion or if they were about to raid his house.

It's been a while since i read that. I'll see if i can find the link and post it.

*****Edit****
I found one link but this isn't the one i read before. This one is saying the same thing i said
except the camera will be inside the required cable box when we go all digital. I did read that
to but i forgot about it.

Companies Try To Cover-Up Move To Watch Consumers Via TV's
Companies Try To Cover-Up Move To Watch Consumers Via TV's

[bl1984]

Cameras inside the TVs sounds extremely farfetched to me. I agree with James Lewitzke that there is no way they could be monitoring 5 mil (a conservative estimate) TVs. I believe this change over of analog TVs to digital is just about consumerism. Greedy corporations hitting the consumers in the pocketbook. Just about everyone owns a TV ad now they have to pay money to keep watching. What on earth was wrong with the way things were.

[Conspirasist]

Originally Posted by bl1984

Cameras inside the TVs sounds extremely farfetched to me. I agree with James Lewitzke that there is no way they could be monitoring 5 mil (a conservative estimate) TVs. I believe this change over of analog TVs to digital is just about consumerism. Greedy corporations hitting the consumers in the pocketbook. Just about everyone owns a TV ad now they have to pay money to keep watching. What on earth was wrong with the way things were.

Why do you find that so hard to believe?
The government has already taped into all of our interest connections
and phone calls. Why would this be any harder?

[bl1984]

Originally Posted by Conspirasist

Why do you find that so hard to believe?
The government has already taped into all of our interest connections
and phone calls. Why would this be any harder?

I am 99.9% sure there are no wire taps or surveillance cameras on my phones or computers. It would be virtually impossible for the "GOVERNMENT" to put cameras in every TV. Some households have two, three, even more TVs. There is no way they would be able to put cameras in existing TVs. Or are you suggesting they are already there? Just not utilized??

[Conspirasist]

I never thought about cameras already being in place but not
used yet. I really not sure if they are even implementing this
plan yet. From what i read so far, it was just the plan the
government had.

I apologize because i just can't seem to find that link now to
back-up my claim. I probably shouldn't have posted about that
until i had something to post about it.

As you can see from the links i did post though, they plan on
putting cameras in the analog to digital converter boxes though.

The makers of these boxes say that that cameras aren't intended
to be used to spy on people but to find out what shows you watch
or something equally stupid.

Comcast has a different story to tell though. Here a small quote from
the link i provided.

A firestorm of controversy erupted last week after industry website newteevee.com carried an article by Chris Albrecht which revealed that Comcast was, "experimenting with different camera technologies built into devices so it can know who’s in your living room".

How did Albrecht know? Because Comcast's senior VP of user experience Gerard Kunkel told him during the Digital Living Room conference held in San Francisco.

It goes on to say the reason for this is:

The idea being that if you turn on your cable box, it recognizes you and pulls up shows already in your profile or makes recommendations. If parents are watching TV with their children, for example, parental controls could appear to block certain content from appearing on the screen. Kunkel also said this type of monitoring is the “holy grail” because it could help serve up specifically tailored ads. Yikes

I know when i turn on my tv, i for one don't want a bunch of ads thrown
in my face or have my tv decide what shows i can watch. How about you?

Although this is the reason they (The box makers) give us for the cameras
being there and although to some extent this may be true, i high doubt this
is the only reason.

By now, most of you already know that your internet and phone lines are
being monitored and if you don't then you haven't been paying attention.

So what would be so hard about monitoring any individuals movements
inside their house via a built in camera inside a converter box?

This will basically be an unauthorized internet connection, i would assume
that will send images of you through the internet, to what-ever government
run business or hired businesses by our government to keep tabs of what
you are doing.

Cellphones by the way, dont really need to be monitored because every
call is already being recorded by the cellphone companies. All the government
or police have to do is get a printed copy of any conversation or the actual
recording. If they want to hear it live then all they need to do is a simple
triangulation to zone in on you. This is already being done on a daily basis
by police.

You can believe me or chose to call me a nut. The choice is yours to make.
I would suggest you keep your eyes and ears and especially your mind
open to the possibility though.

[bl1984]

Maybe I'm just a "glasses half full" kind of person, but I can't imagine government going to those lengths to spy on every American. There are so many other things in this world (economy, foreign policy, war in Iraq, etc.) that needs their attention that spying on their own citizens should not be a priority.

[Conspirasist]

Another example, just to show you how easy this would be to
implement, would be the use of CCT camera's that N.Y. is currently
using throughout their city.

I don't know how many u.s. cities are currently using these camer's
but i hear briton is full of them.

It would be just as easy to conceal mini camera's in ones house and
spy on them.

It doesn't mean that everyone's camera would be monitored all at the
same time. Who ever is monitoring the camera's would probably only
have to punch in a number that represents someones home and the
video recording would begin.

[In Lak'esh]

Originally Posted by Conspirasist

Why do you find that so hard to believe?
The government has already taped into all of our interest connections
and phone calls. Why would this be any harder?

There is a chip in your brain, too.

[Conspirasist]

Originally Posted by In Lak'esh

There is a chip in your brain, too.

Now, that was uncalled for. If you don't believe me that is fine but
don't make me look like an idiot. Those were ugly words from someone
who barely visits here.

[James Lewitzke]

I think he was just joking, Conspirasist , no real harm intended, that's how I read it anyway.

[CrazyPaul]

c'mon, the real reason is plain old corruption.

the broadcasters don't want you to be able to record shows and skip commercials. The DRM that is a part of the digital scheme helps limit this.

It's just about getting more of your money. The politicians that voted for it were bought by the broadcasters. Our congressmen and women have sold us out.

Cameras? please. do you realize how easy it would be for anybody with the slightest skill in electronics to detect a transmitted signal?

For a real conspiracy, ask why your cellphone interferes with your radio when it's turned off...

[danp8]

Hmm perhaps they are tracking WHAT we're viewing with the whole digital thing? That's a far more plausible conspiracy than having cameras in our TVs. They simply need to know who's tuning into what, and they've got a massive insight into your personality. Perhaps people's TV watching habits are being sold to big businesses for commercial applications. Knowing precise figures about who is watching what would be a massive commercial gain and it's plausible too.

Dan

[Conspirasist]

Welcome to these forums Dan. Hope you enjoy yourself here.

You may very well be right. It may just be a matter of spying on
the tv shows you watch so that big business would know what type
of ads they could pipe into your tv. At any rate, it just isn't right
for them to do that. They will possibly start with just wanting to
see what kind of shows you watch but it has the potential to go
far beyond that.