Presently, Heritage Village employs a mixture of technologies to deliver a television signal to our residents. They all involve receieving an off air broadcast signal from a distant TV station in digital format, then converting the signal to analog so that it fits the majority of tv sets in HV.
Hpwever, in the last few years, more and more residents have purchased new digital tv sets. This poses a dilemna. Do we shut off our analog signals in order to provide a digital signal to the main tv in a unit, forsaking the other 2 or 3 analog tv sets which will become inoperable. This is important to understand. If I were to shut off analog signals/channels, then only digital tv sets will receive tv broadcasts. To the residents that subscribe to Charter, this may not seem like a big deal, but there are a substantial number of residents that do not subscribe to Charter for tv.
Do we continue with our present path of slowly adding digital signals to our system while at the same time, delivering analog channels ?
The benefits of moving slowly are several. Over time, more and more residents will have digital tv sets. But more importantly, I can pass on the true digital signal from the station, not the compressed version that you will get from cable or satellite.
Any decision must be made with a modicum of knowledge. Presently we offer channels 2-22, 98 and 99 and FM radio, all in analog format. I also offer channels 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 which is WFSB from Hartford in digital and also channel 21-1, 21-2, 21-3 WLIW from Long Island, also in digital.
Charters channel 2-22 are all in analog form so you do not gain anything. Also, please compare the channel lineups. I think you would agree that ours in HV is much better suitable to our demographic.
Then you get to the monthly costs. Charter charges $24.99 per month plus taxes and fees for channels 2-22. HV, as part of your condo fee, charges roughly $3.00 per month for a much better lineup with more channels and FM radio.
We will get to a time when we offer nothing but native digital TV. I'm not sure that now is the time. Slowly, I am adding digital channels, but right now, I am at a point where if I add anything, I need to remove something else. I would love to hear suggestions on what would be the least painful to remove. I am at the point where I need to make a decision.
Thanks,
Jeff
