[Rich Peterson]

One year ago today, we essentially had 1 affordable ATSC STB available through normal retail channels, namely RCA's. Back then they were very rarely advertised and often hard to find, not to mention the fact that they couldn't directly connect to most HDTV-ready TVs out there.


As of today we now have many STBs from many vendors to pick from. Units are available from RCA, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, Hughes, EchoStar Model 6000, and Samsung with Zenith and others right around the corner. More and more units are starting to appear on retail shelves in many areas now and STBs are even being advertised occasionally.


My only disappointment is that the new boxes all cost MORE than RCA's did one year ago. If the vendors can find a way to sell them cheaper, I think the digital transition will be booming this year. (If there is about the same amount or more of HDTV content this fall.)


Do others feel the momentum is building?


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Rich Peterson

DBS Consumer Guide Author

 

[Wendell R. Breland]

Rich,

Quote:

Originally posted by Rich Peterson: Do others feel the momentum is building?

Must be building, many report the Sony SAT-HD100 is still hard to find. It seems most places sell them faster than they can get them. It will be interesting to see what happens next month when RCA lowers the price on many HDTV items.


On another subject, do you know of any device(s) that utilizes the new NxtWave NXT2002 VSB demodulator IC?


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Wendell

Technical Services Supervisor

MAETV