Okay, time for a quick reality check.
In order to spy on someone, there must be a way for information to flow. That means information must flow from you or your surroundings to whoever
wants to spy on you.
With that in mind, I ask you all: How can information flow out from a device that has no transmitter (and the HD tuners have NO transmitter), and no
connectivity to the internet or any other transfer medium?
The answer? It CAN'T.
This transition is all about freeing up the analog transmission frequencies that are currently crowded with television broadcasts - a waste of
precious bands, by modern technological standards. Now, think of this. If you could arrange things so that you could still transmit the garbage that
comes across the airwaves, and use the majority of the spectrum for something more useful, wouldn't you?
And therein lies the real conspiracy. Do a quick web search and you'll find countless articles about Google and other consumer advocacy groups
lobbying the FCC to allocate these newly freed bands for use as free internet (which is being vehemently opposed by ISPs evrywhere, of course).
Think of it. A high bandwidth pipeline to expand the methods currently used to spy on people (think of what changes there will be in cell phones and
wireless devices when and if Google and others get their wish).
There's a conspiracy for you.
But for goodness sake, please stop all this mindless babbling about digital television being used to spy on you. Sorry, it's not going to happen.
In fact, it would be much easier for your cable company to spy on which channels you were watching than it would be for someone to figure out which
channel you were tuned into on your digital tuner (that is, unless someone was in or very near your house and had a TEMPEST radiation receiver to read
the Van Eck Radiation, but chances of that are slim, and if someone goes to those lengths, you've got waaay bigger problems than someone knowing what
you're watching on television!).
So everyone just chill out, enjoy the HiDef, and maybe the free internet, and relax. It's not like anyone has a good reason to spy on anyone posting
on these forums anyway. We're only
slightly nuts.