Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Editor Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) Technical Staff John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Robert Flynn Rick Walters Reader Services Ann Jenkinson Advertising Manager Brendon Sheridan Phone (03) 9720 9198 Mobile 0416 009 217 Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst Garry Cratt, VK2YBX Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed John Hill Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW Bob Young Photography Glenn A. Keep SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 003 205 490. All material copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Macquarie Print, Dubbo, NSW. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $54 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see the subscription page in this issue. Editorial & advertising offices: Unit 34, 1-3 Jubilee Avenue, Warrie­ wood, NSW 2102. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9979 5644. Fax (02) 9979 6503. PUBLISHER'S LETTER Pay TV picture quality is poor So how many of you have signed up for Pay TV with Optus or Foxtel? Not many I hope, for your sake, because a high proportion who do quickly become disenchanted. Sure, there are lots of channels but most of them you wouldn’t be bothered watching. The “Discovery” channel on Foxtel is worth watching but most of the others you would have to consign to the video dustbin. Yes, I know that some people sign up to get sports programs but they are special cases. Even if you are perfectly happy with the program selection, eg, 24-hour cartoons, weather, endless re-runs of “I Love Lucy” or limited movies, the picture quality is distinctly poor. In fact, one of the so-called advantages of Pay TV is that you get the “free to air” channels free. So you can dispense with your ugly old TV antenna. In fact, I have seen some people argue in favour of (ugly) cable TV because it will eliminate all those ugly TV antennas! Well, you don’t have to be really discerning to see that the picture quality of the free-to-air channels as fed down the cable is far inferior to viewers’ reception from their own TV antenna. There are some exceptions, of course, and people in difficult reception areas, such as the beachside suburbs of Sydney, will get better free-to-air channel pictures than off their old TV antenna; better, but still not first class. In general, compared to the first class picture quality available from free-to-air channels in most areas of Sydney, the cable pictures are smeary and lack colour saturation. In fact, there is even ghosting present! What a big advance that is. This is what people are paying for and now digital TV has been an­nounced with its extra channels and better picture quality. If cable TV is what some people are prepared to accept, why bother with digital TV? And what if you do decide to get rid of your old TV anten­na? There is a catch. Say you want to watch the cricket on Chan­nel 9 and your wife wants to watch something on SBS or one of the pay TV channels. Sorry, no can do. You can only watch one signal at a time, regardless of how many sets you may have in your home. If you want to watch different channels on multiple sets simulta­neously, you have to pay for extra decoders. So you really can’t afford to get rid of your old antenna, can you? It seems to me that if the cable TV people cannot manage to deliver picture quality which is at least as good as you can get from your own ugly TV antenna then they are going to have even more problems when it comes to delivering the more hi-tech serv­ices they are promising such as optical fibre modems, interactive TV and all the rest of the pie in the sky stuff. Sure it will eventually come but when it does it won’t be as half as good as it is cracked up to be. Leo Simpson ISSN 1030-2662 WARNING! SILICON CHIP magazine regularly describes projects which employ a mains power supply or produce high voltage. All such projects should be considered dangerous or even lethal if not used safely. Readers are warned that high voltage wiring should be carried out according to the instructions in the articles. When working on these projects use extreme care to ensure that you do not accidentally come into contact with mains AC voltages or high voltage DC. If you are not confident about working with projects employing mains voltages or other high voltages, you are advised not to attempt work on them. Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd disclaims any liability for damages should anyone be killed or injured while working on a project or circuit described in any issue of SILICON CHIP magazine. Devices or circuits described in SILICON CHIP may be covered by patents. SILICON CHIP disclaims any liability for the infringement of such patents by the manufacturing or selling of any such equipment. SILICON CHIP also disclaims any liability for projects which are used in such a way as to infringe relevant government regulations and by-laws. Advertisers are warned that they are responsible for the content of all advertisements and that they must conform to the Trade Practices Act 1974 or as subsequently amended and to any governmental regulations which are applicable. 2  Silicon Chip