Oneiroscope on 26/10/2006 at 17:22
I have wondered about that in the past, whether it was possible yet to look. Let's hope they find something. You have to admit, no matter how lowbrow the show was, it would still probably be more entertaining than anything on TV these days. Well, unless their idea of entertainment is watching mineral crystals form or something.
Bjossi on 26/10/2006 at 17:26
Quote Posted by Martin Karne
Great in addition to interesting foreign tv channels, now I could get charged for watching undecipherable alien garbage reality shows.
The BachelorETte or Andromedan Idol might be interesting to watch though. :p
Turtle on 26/10/2006 at 17:45
Dude, I can't even get decent over the air reception on my local channels.
Am I going to need a dish to get alien soaps and Antares Telemundo?
Martin Karne on 26/10/2006 at 19:48
Nevermind the fact that it would have to be a compatible tv format, chances are that they don't even use a TV norm similar to anything we use, NTSC, PAL, SECAM, 1080p/i, 720p, 480p/i, and so on.
Not to mention color frequencies and synch signals.
In short I seriously doubt to be possible without previous signal rescan and correction of incoming signals to more compatible with our own systems.
Bjossi on 26/10/2006 at 20:23
Wouldn't it be possible to identify the waves coming from aliens and use the info to make them readable with human-made technology?
Mortal Monkey on 26/10/2006 at 20:28
Quote Posted by Martin Karne
Nevermind the fact that it would have to be a compatible tv format, chances are that they don't even use a TV norm similar to anything we use, NTSC, PAL, SECAM, 1080p/i, 720p, 480p/i, and so on.
True, you won't be able to watch live (lol) alien TV, that's why they're using the TiVo. They'll leave the decryption until after they actually pick up a consistent signal.
Printer's Devil on 26/10/2006 at 20:32
I doubt anyone's expecting to decode and re-broadcast the signals (which might violate copyright). The focus on alienvision signals is more likely due to their inherently synthetic nature. Finding evidence of them in outer space might be a more reliable signpost of alien life than sifting through radio wave sources, all of which (besides our own, so far) occur naturally.
Agent Monkeysee on 26/10/2006 at 20:44
Quote Posted by Martin Karne
Nevermind the fact that it would have to be a compatible tv format, chances are that they don't even use a TV norm similar to anything we use, NTSC, PAL, SECAM, 1080p/i, 720p, 480p/i, and so on.
Not to mention color frequencies and synch signals.
In short I seriously doubt to be possible without previous signal rescan and correction of incoming signals to more compatible with our own systems.
Well I don't think anyone's arguing that you can just plug the TV in and it should work, but presented with an unencrypted, uncompressed A/V signal it should be relatively straightforward to rig *something* up to interpret the feed properly. It doesn't really matter that it's alien technology, a waveform is a waveform.
The problem is the unencrypted, uncompressed part. We've been using radio communication for less than a century and already a significant portion of our broadcasts are encrypted and compressed and that sort of signal mangling is only going to increase. Within the next 50 years or so I suspect all our broadcast signals will be indistinguishable from noise, which puts us just barely 150 years after the invention of radio. That's 150 years, out of 5000+ years of civilization and onward into the future, that anyone listening in would be able to hear us.
Assuming alien races follow anything remotely like our technological progression that's an *incredibly* narrow period of time to pick up comprehendible radio signals. Unless this civilization is literally in lockstep with ours (which is pretty much out of the question) the odds are there's most likely no radio signals out there that we would be able to decipher unless they're
trying to get somebody to listen.
Bjossi on 26/10/2006 at 21:51
Quote Posted by Mortal Monkey
True, you won't be able to watch live (lol) alien TV, that's why they're using the TiVo. They'll leave the decryption until after they actually pick up a consistent signal.
It'd be rather funny if you left the TiVo recording, and when you come back home from work or school, you start watching a show broadcasted from a far away solar system. A TiVo that can display such formats of video must be pretty expensive, heh.
Martek on 27/10/2006 at 00:51
It would be weird if the first signals we detected and decoded were from some kind of alien facist dictatorship. I'm not sure if that would classify as ironic or not, but it would sure be weird. :eek: :eek:
Cheers,
Martek
