I have this feeling . . . . . . .?

I have this feeling about digital TV and radio. That it is not going to be freely transmitted anymore. See with digital signals they can be controlled or turned "on" and "off". That is by making the HDTV "addressable". If you do not pay the "broadcasters" (in the Detroit Metro area, VHF band channels 2, 4, 7, Canada channel 9, plus the UHF channels). HDTV equipment that is digitized can be switched off remotely by the users unique address on the HDTV (digital, if the manufacturer so decided). The sorry thing about that is, you would still be bombarded with commercials anyway. Hold onto your old HDTV, guarantee the new sets will be addressable. Sound like paranoia, I don't think so? If a buck can be turned big business will find a way to rip a buck more off from you.

If agrreed, why?

if not agreed, why not?

Theoretically-possible. But, since broadcast TV is under the control of the FCC and US law, it would take action by congress and the FCC before it could happen.
Bottom line-it's not going to happen until the finances of the broadcast industry brcome so bad that the only way to keep "free " TV going is to do this.

right on brutha

>Sound like paranoia, I don't think so?

Yes, it certainly sounds like paranoia.

The rules and standards for broadcasting are set by federal law. So to redesign the systems to incorporate this change would have to be voted on by congress. Generally politicians want to be re-elected instead of being hung or shot by the voters.

Even if "big business" wanted to do such a thing and could somehow get congress to look the other way, how would they make the many manufacturers of TV equipment spend money to redesign all their products just so they could piss off their customers?

In any case, you don't need a digital system to charge money for over the air broadcasts. In the UK there is a yearly tax to be paid on all TVs, and they had the tax long before digital TV (called "Freeview" in the UK) came along.