[Phys-L] Re: TV delay

[John Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG>]

Several of the suggestions so far make sense.  The only reasonable
explanation could be either they are tuned to different channels with the
same program, or there is a delay in processing in the set.  The latter
suggestion could only make sense if both sets have digital processing of
some sort such as HDTV, or digital cable with separate boxes.  Conventional
analog TV reception should not produce the sort of delay you are noticing.
Since TV channels are well separated it should be easy to see if they are
different channels.  The alternate form of different channels would be if
one is on cable and the other gets the signal from off the air.  In this
case the cable company could either have delays in digital processing, or
they are even getting a feed from a different PBS station.  There should be
little possibility that there are two PBS stations on the same channel, but
with a rotatable antenna in large urban areas such as the greater NYC one
can often receive different stations by just rotating the antenna.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


> My wife fairly frequently asks me about something she observed, and I can
> often start my explanation with "It's just simple physics . . . "
>
> The other day she asked me about something that sounded absurd, that I
> didn't think she was observing properly, but to my surprise, she was
> correct!
>
> We have a TV upstairs in our family room and another downstairs in our
> bedroom.  Our house is open enough that it is possible in some parts to
> hear both TVs at the same time.  Why, she asked me, are all the stations
> broadcasting simultaneously on both sets except for one, our local PBS
> station (Channel 11), which lags by a very noticeable second or so on one
> of the TVs?
>
> I didn't think this could be true, but it was.  Has anyone else ever
> noticed anything like this?  Let's hear your theory before I say anything
> more.
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