Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete Deksnis
Good to hear a positive.
I'm wondering if there's a technical advantage when the ATSC tuner does not have to feed a decoder generating 1080i or 720p hi-def.
Pete
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Pete,
Output format is totally irrelevant - what you are seeing is differences in the tuner/demodulator/equalizer, designs of which have improved over time.
Also, a certain minimum performance is required for boxes to be coupon-eligible. This is about the only time in the history of consumer electronics that the industry has willingly accepted performance criteria, having realized that it MUST work or the DTV transition is a bust.
However: A good reason for NOT doing this across the board for all sets is that it freezes the performance at a particular level, whereas unregulated products have a history of finding constantly improving performance/cost trade-offs. It is never known for sure if all the regulations applied are equally important, or if certain criteria could be less strict in order to improve another area, giving an over-all better result in the field. The free market can find those things.
- Wayne