Digital Deadline Looms

[genlock]

I wonder what our local stations will do for some sort of "kick" to the digital deadline?
Will somebody go hi-def for the news? At least 480i widescreen?
Will Bray cut his losses and consolidate newscasts? At the least the useless weekend shows?
Will channel 8 admit to population west of Hurricane?
Will Grey get some synergy out of WTAP/WSAZ?
Will WOAY go stereo (or color)?
Will anybody add digital subchannels?
This could be an interesting time for TV watchers in our area.

[cgarison]

I heard tonight the digital converter box program is now out of money and cannot send out coupons until coupons sent out expire.

The part that has me amused is that I was considered a fool for registering late last spring and picking up my converters for the compound by late June. Well, guess what, I made a good decision and I set up my boxes 2 weeks ago and they work. Plus all those less than $40.00 alternative that were supposed to hit the market have yet to appear and the premium models are still $60.00 prox.

At least I am ready.

[Big Media]

I heard tonight the digital converter box program is now out of money and cannot send out coupons until coupons sent out expire.

The part that has me amused is that I was considered a fool for registering late last spring and picking up my converters for the compound by late June. Well, guess what, I made a good decision and I set up my boxes 2 weeks ago and they work. Plus all those less than $40.00 alternative that were supposed to hit the market have yet to appear and the premium models are still $60.00 prox.

At least I am ready.

The price of the DTV converter boxes are greatly inflated as a direct result of the coupon program. I expect the knock offs to be selling for $25 to $30 and the name brands to be selling or $30 to $40 shortly after the coupon program ends and the analog shut off happens.

I still fail to understand why I couldn't use my $40 coupon for a new TV with a built in tuner rather than being forced into buying a set top box.

[cgarison]

The price of the DTV converter boxes are greatly inflated as a direct result of the coupon program. I expect the knock offs to be selling for $25 to $30 and the name brands to be selling or $30 to $40 shortly after the coupon program ends and the analog shut off happens.

I was still better off because I got both of my boxes for $20.00 with the coupon. Scared the crap out of me to see the register ring up $100.00 at first.

[cgarison]

Obama urges for the delay of the Digital TV conversion.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28562781/

Hmmm.... Republicans must be heading for the doors.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Senate Republicans block digital TV delay
Democrats vow to bring back measure for vote next week
By Joelle Tessler

WASHINGTON -

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a bill that would have delayed next month's nationwide shutdown of analog TV signals until June 12, but Democrats vowed to bring the measure back for a vote next week.

The bill was defeated even after President-elect Barack Obama on Friday urged lawmakers to postpone the Feb. 17 transition amid mounting concerns that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to pick up broadcast channels won't be ready. Obama called for a delay largely because the federal program that subsidizes converter boxes for those viewers hit a $1.34 billion funding limit this month.

But some Senate Republicans fear a delay would confuse people and burden public safety agencies waiting for wireless spectrum that will be freed up by the switchover. The opponents also said a delay would be costly for television broadcasters that have spent several years preparing for the analog shutoff.

Some Republicans also say they do not want to push back the transition date until Congress comes up with a plan to fix the coupon program. It was not immediately clear which Republicans blocked the bill on Friday.

The coupon program allows consumers to request up to two $40 vouchers per household to help pay for converter boxes. The boxes, which generally cost between $50 and $70 each and can be purchased without a coupon, translate digital signals back into analog ones for older TVs to handle.

But the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the arm of the Commerce Department administering the program, is now sending out new coupons only as older, unredeemed ones reach a 90-day expiration date and free up more money for the program. The NTIA had more than 2.1 million coupon requests on a waiting list as of Wednesday.

Now many Washington lawmakers and policymakers fear that even if the agency could begin sending out new coupons immediately, many consumers would not receive them in time for the Feb. 17 switchover.

"We risk leaving those who are most reliant on over-the-air broadcast television for their information literally in the dark," said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller, D-W.V., author of the Senate bill calling for the delay to June 12.

Despite Tuesday's setback, Democrats plan to bring Rockefeller's bill for a vote again next week.

Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal policy at Consumers Union, fears that as many as 10 million households that depend on over-the-air television may not be taken care of unless Congress finds another $500 million to $1 billion for the converter box program. He argues that the government has an obligation to approve this money since it has raised roughly $19 billion by auctioning off spectrum due to be freed by the analog TV shutdown.

A separate measure on digital TV is scheduled to come up Wednesday in the House. House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., also supports delaying the digital transition to June 12 and has proposed reforms to make the coupon program easier for people to deal with.

People on cable and satellite TV services are unaffected by the change.

The digital TV change has already begun in Hawaii, and unprepared residents lit up special help-center phone lines set up by the Federal Communication Commission and broadcasters.

Hawaii went to all-digital TV signals on Thursday so that broadcasters and park rangers could take down analog transmission towers on the slopes of Maui's Haleakala volcano before the nesting season of an endangered bird.

Source: Associated Press

[Arp2]

Came across an interesting stat over the weekend.....


Of all the "coupon" dollars requested by consumers, only about 40% were spent. Hard to make excuses at this point.


Enough.....get it done.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Of all the "coupon" dollars requested by consumers, only about 40% were spent. Hard to make excuses at this point.
Enough.....get it done.

Yup.

[genlock]

Analog transmitters will start failing soon as the operators suck the last life out of the tubes.
It is time for them to be put to sleep after years of good service rendered.
No-one wants to spend any more money on them anymore.

[rfhertz]

Git R Done!!!