Is it just in the states where digital cable takes over in Feb of 2009?
The switch to digital TV broadcasts? ie: no more analog broadcast channels. These are the channels you would get WITHOUT cable.
Nothing to do with cable at all.
Analog channels should stop broadcasting by August 2011 in Canada.
what they are trying to do is remove all the Analog signal from the lines, as it takes up to much bandwidth, if they can get every one on a digital box, and subsidize the people that can’t afford it then they can sent better quality picture to every one. I was reading a artical the other week and they were talking about people that are on lower income and people that can’t afford it will be subsidized from the government.
Is it just analog cablevision that you guys are talking about?
Or will broadcast television be axed as well? That is to say, will I no longer be able to conjure the CBC out of the aether?
broad casted will still be around, if you live in Toronto, you can buy a pair of HD amplified bunny ears and actually get a TRUE hd show 
As long as your tv has a digital tuner built in
It’s the analog over-the-air stuff that’s gonna go away. The analog signal in the cable system is contained, so they can still reallocate the analog over-the-air specturm without the two battling it out. All the over-the-air TV signals will have to be digital, which a bunch of major cities got going right now.
Analog cable will still be around for a little bit, although its end is foreseeable.
So the broadcast over the airwaves stuff will be fully digital? Are they just trying to free up a little bit of the radio spectrum or something?
pretty much, and they are doing that with coax too, more bandwith = less Analog, with that in mind it will also provide better picture and more digital channels you’ll also see that the lower channels will be digital and much clear.
Don’t confuse cable with over-the-air.
It’s the over-the-air analog that’s going away by government order. Next year in the US, and in 2011 here.
It’s up to the cable operator when analog over cable will go away. Probably sooner than later too.
The difference is that the cable operators own their medium (the cable), but taxpayers own the broadcast medium (the spectrum).
speaking of digital boxes, look at this remote 
mig must have a digital box, DCT-6416 or 6412 mig ?
exact same remote that shaw uses, i should actually say, Motorola I program these things all day. gota love that master power button feature, took forever as there instructions SUCK!
J’
[original attachment deleted after 2 years]
It’s totally programmable. It runs my TiVo, TV, AppleTV, Cable Box, DVD player. Very cool.
The kid has figured it out, though, and thinks it’s hilarious to start and stop shows every 5 seconds.
yeah its a good remote, it was tricky learning the master power, i’m suprized on how many things work with it, the company that is outsourced to build these remotes did a good job.
How do you like your apple tv ? i was looking at picking one up, BUT i don’t have a tv to support it yet 
Soon tho…
Are you working for Shaw or something?
Nope, close tho. i should work for shaw i install alot of there products ( PROPERLY ) unlike them.
THEN NEVER use the god dam HTMI cables, the installers have no clue that HDMI is better than single component cables, AND their CRAPY ones too. GRR, pissess me off when i install a customers Panasonic or samsun ( or any ) tv and come back to re-calibrate or other things because it’s not working to find that a shaw tech unconnected the HDMI and used the Component, GRR 
You’re still gonna get over-the-air analog for a little while. There won’t be an order in the North to shut down the old signals immediately but there will be no new ones…
We’re about to add what will be probably the LAST analog turned on up her on Ch56.
Then we get to bide our time to see who provides what and how good, so we can budget changing our 24 analog broadcasts out for digital.
Sux big time, as we’ll have a fight on our hands when people find out they have to DO something to get the signal. Went through it 11 years ago when we turned on 10 UHF channels and people thought we should provide and install the antennas all for free.