Three services that have switched over to digital (from analog) in the past 25 years is television, security systems and vehicle communication systems.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforced in 2009 that television stations were required to broadcast only in digital format [FCC16]. Basically, the purpose of this was to free up the spectrum, SUPPOSEDLY for public safety… but really, I am sure it was a money thing. So that “people” could buy parts of the spectrum. It’s a good way for the government to make some extra cash. A benefit of a digital tv over an old analog one would definitely be the compactness of a digital tv, remember the old box tv’s?? Another advantage is obviously HDTV…. it provides a way better quality image. The cost associated with the transition for users is… either they had to buy a converter box or upgrade their tv. I guess this is good for the television manufacturers = more sales! The cost to switch to a digital tv can be expensive for some, though a 32 in is really not that pricey I guess, with this also comes things like HDMI cables and such.

Secondly, security/surveillance systems… just think about an old store using an old analog CCTV setup. There have been advancements to CCTV’s, such as IP CCTVs. In 2008 Kassner with TechRepublic talked about how “approximately 1 million alarm systems installed before 2006 that use 800MHz analog wireless connections for the primary or backup link to the security company” [Kas08]. To go from analog to digital for security systems would of course be an initial hit and an ongoing more expensive setup; anything digital costs more. However, the benefits of going digital in this environment would be much less cabling, and eliminating the need of the DVR needing to do the converting from analog to digital. Though the cost of a digital camera may be more expensive, you can probably eliminate 3 cameras due to the advancements in technology and the coverage that a single digital camera can cover. Something else that is really cool is being able to view your cameras remotely when you’re digital, can’t do that on an analog system!

Finally, something I didn’t even think of but discovered in my research…. Vehicle communication systems like OnStar! They used analog, I didn’t even think about that – crazy. According to Kassner (2008), OnStar did eliminate its analog communication systems as of January 1, 2008. However, vehicles made before 2004… are simply just out of luck. They have made converter kits for cars made in 2004-2005. Supposedly, from this article that Kassner (2008) he states that TelAid which is from Mercedes and Lexus… would not go digital, however, I’m cruising through Mercedes forums (I’ve never done this before…) and I’m seeing a lot of users of TelAid talking about how in 2008 is when they did go digital. The benefits of this for the car industry is being able to sell certain “packages” when selling their cars. Particular for Mercedes, they can talk about their app which will allow you to start your car and unlock your doors…. fancy…. but of course, it all comes at a cost to the customer.

References

FCC. (2016, August 9). Digital Television. Retrieved from Federal Communications

Commission: https://www.fcc.gov/general/digital-television

Kassner, M. (2008, January 5). Analog cell phone networks are going, going,…gone. Retrieved from TechRepublic: https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/mobile-enterprise/analog-cellphone-networks-are-going-goinggone/