Archive for the &;analog-to-digital-TV&; Category
Look Out Below! Americans Toss AnalogTVs
April 9, 2008
The Consumer Electronics Association claims that only 15 million televisions will be &;removed&; from the homes of people who get their TV signals over the air, and of those, 95% will be &;sold, donated or recycled.&;
But who would buy an analog television when what the CEA likes to call the &;digital television transition,&; (a process now approaching the length of the 100 Years War) is complete?
As for donations, tried to donate a monitor or computer lately? Many people end up doing nocturnal dumpster dumps in frustration. And the last thing charitable organizations want is a haul of unsellable obsolete televisions.
That leaves recycling. How it will be done isn&;t so clear; Sony will take back their own aging TVs, but other owners are out of luck. While Erin Monaghan suggests making your TV into a planter or fish tank, you still need to get rid of the TV tube, which Earth 911 suggests can contain 4 to 8 pounds of lead.
I say bring back the halcyon days of Led Zeppelin at the LA Hyatt, the notorious &;Riot House&; on the Sunset Strip, and launch the old TVs from the balcony to an empty swimming pool.
Look out below!
Tags:recycling, Riot-House Posted in analog-to-digital-TV, CES, Consumer Electronics | Leave a Comment &;
The Analog TV Set That Won&;t GoAway
December 5, 2007
The Consumer Electronics Association has been saying the US is in the midst of the &;digital transition&; for years. If so, it&;s one of the longest on record. With less than a year and a half to go before analog programming is cut off, less than 15% of Americans have digital sets. Worse, less than half of those actually watch high definition programming according to Nielsen Research. (Hat tip to www.nikkifinke.com).
It&;s no surpise: analog televison sets are persistent in your house&;they just work. Unlike computers, they don&;t get obsolete every two years. And although prices on plasma, DLP and LCD TVs have been dropping, so have real estate values&;it&;s harder to get a home equity loans to make your house pay for its home theatre.
The CEA&;s sales numbers look good; sales of digital TVs rose from 12.5 million in 2005 to 18.5 million or so in 2006, or 50%. But there&;s probably close to 300 million TVs (one for every American at home, in the bars, hotels, etc.) meaning 250 million CRT analog sets are still humming contentedly. Only a fraction will be replaced by 2009; prepare for lots of &;fixes&; using set-top box analog to digital converters.
I&;m bracing for another massive Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. And this year, with high gas prices, foreclosures up and a recession coming, the sunny view always portrayed by Gary Shapiro of the CEA (home of the &;biggest and best CES ever&;, every year) looks gloomier.
Posted in 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, analog-to-digital-TV, CES, Consumer Electronics | 1 Comment &;