[mythtv-users] Is skipping ads really a good idea?

[David Brodbeck]

On Jun 19, 2007, at 11:00 AM, Brian Wood wrote:

> David Brodbeck wrote:
>
>>
>> The cost in infrastructure and resource consumption to constantly
>> blast out a 960 kilowatt signal just in case someone wants to watch
>> something contained on it at that exact moment is eventually going to
>> start to look pretty silly.
>
> Is that ERP or actual watts?

ERP.  I have to say the ERP levels for digital TV stations are pretty  
incredible. The VHF analog version of that 960 kW station, which  
presumably shares the same market, runs only 100 kW ERP.

I don't know what the actual output power for that station would be.   
It depends on how directional their antenna is.  At very least  
they're probably getting around 6 dB of gain by not transmitting  
straight up or straight down, so the actual transmitter output power  
is probably no more than 250 kW, possibly less.  Generating a UHF TV  
signal is not a terribly efficient process, though, so the *input*  
power is still probably pretty high.