Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site terak.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!teddy!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!hao!noao!terak!doug From: doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) Newsgroups: net.consumers Subject: Re: Buying a 19 inch color television--naming brands and prices Message-ID: <248@terak.UUCP> Date: Mon, 7-Jan-85 15:05:03 EST Article-I.D.: terak.248 Posted: Mon Jan 7 15:05:03 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 10-Jan-85 06:59:37 EST References: <293@mhuxm.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Terak Corporation, Scottsdale, AZ, USA Lines: 26 > But, WHAT DOES CABLE READY really mean? If I were to subscribe to > cable TV, would I pay less each month if my TV were "cable-ready?" The technical details have already been described by others. The bottom line is this: Cable ready TV's and VCR's should have been a good idea, but they aren't. The chances are very good that you will NOT be able to tune ALL of your cable channels now. As a result, you'll HAVE to use the cable company's converter box. As a result of THAT, you only need to be able to tune one channel (2, 3, or 4 as appropriate). Even if you can tune all cable channels now, it is almost certain that you won't be able to in the near future (within the lifetime of the set). The advent of "stereo TV" threatens to make things even worse, since the stereo TV standard is fundamentally incompatible with the usual "scrambling" that cable companies use. There is a crying need for an ability to connect TV's, VCR's, stereo systems, and cable TV together in a reasonable manner. I wouldn't be surprised to find a revolt occurring in the next few years, with a new set of standards which is to a great extent incompatible with current equipment but which allows video equipment to be combined into a cohesive system. Or, maybe, simply the demise of cable TV! Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{hao,ihnp4,decvax}!noao!terak!doug