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Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

#1
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1/8/09 at 5:24pm
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I saw on the news today that President Elect Obama is asking for a delay to the switch to digital TV because there is still a lot of people not ready.

This is interesting and not surprising that there are still people not aware or part of the US where people are still not clear about what is happening.

Also, there are a lot of digital TV converter box coupons out there that have not been used. Once those unused coupons expire, the extension would allow time for those who didn't get coupons to apply for those unused coupons and get the converter boxes.

I know this doesn't affect many of us here. But it was interesting news.
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#2
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1/8/09 at 5:44pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

I would love to know what they're going to tell all the companies that purchased spectrum. "Uh, thanks for your payment. We'll get back to you about when what you bought might actually be available to you."
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#3
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1/8/09 at 5:55pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

This deadline has been known since 2006. I'm sorry, but damn the torpedoes. Any new deadline will be met with the same response. "But, but . . . I'm not ready!"
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#4
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1/8/09 at 5:56pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

This will just delay the inevitable. I've seen a steady run of DTV PSAs for at least six months. If people aren't ready, it's most likely their own fault. Some elderly people might need help getting converters, but no matter how long you delay it, some people will always be left out. They've been given phone numbers and website addresses over and over again.


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#5
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1/8/09 at 6:01pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Here's a link to an LA Times article about it.

Obama asks Congress to delay digital TV switch* | Technology | Los Angeles Times

Seems the main issues is the Government wasn't able to fully educate the public (elderly, poor and rural areas) and running out of money for the coupons.
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#6
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1/8/09 at 7:28pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

I'm just surprised it took this long for them to (try to) chicken out. Since they've kept pushing the date up for about a decade, I figured I'd die of old age before the switch actually happened.
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#7
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1/8/09 at 9:21pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

I'm one of the semi-procrastinators. Sort of began looking into things a year ago, but not in any hurry.

Finally sent off and got my coupons in early November. Looks like they are good until February 3, so better get moving.

There are other threads devoted to this, but any opinions on what's a good simple brand that will do the basics?

Our main stores are Best Buy, Circuit City and even Walmart for these things. Whichever one has the best price gets my business.

Stan

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#8
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1/8/09 at 9:44pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Quote:
Originally Posted by ThomasC
This will just delay the inevitable. I've seen a steady run of DTV PSAs for at least six months. If people aren't ready, it's most likely their own fault. Some elderly people might need help getting converters, but no matter how long you delay it, some people will always be left out. They've been given phone numbers and website addresses over and over again.
Ditto. It seems like every other ad on TV is about the digital switch, not to mention the endless "crawls" across the screen during regular programming. If people aren't aware of it by now, they never will be. Maybe when their TV's go blank, they'll figure out that maybe they should do something about it.

As far as running out of coupons/money, I think they've run so many ads that they've scared many people into thinking that they HAVE to buy a converter regardless of how they get their signal. I'd imagine a good portion of those coupons have been distributed to people who don't really need them.

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#9
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1/8/09 at 10:10pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

I know someone who didn't realize that the converter box was for OTA until I explained it to them last weekend. They thought they needed it for the cable.

Another friend's wife was surprised to see my converter box working with just rabbit ears. (It's temporary in my home office till I set up a proper antenna connection.)

I'm not surprised there's still a lot of confusion and lack of understanding out there!
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#10
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1/9/09 at 6:14am
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

I've been wondering why they chose a date like 17 February and not the end of a month or year. Seems kind of odd. Anyone know?
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#11
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1/9/09 at 6:22am
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Several considerations pushed the switchover away from 12/31/2008, including, avoiding the New Year's holiday, itself, avoiding the politics of doing it around the time of the inauguration, and avoiding doing it around the time of the Super Bowl.
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#12
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1/9/09 at 12:25pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

The only way the people who are still clueless on February 17 will ever be ready is if they just shut off the analog broadcasts. It'll be a chaotic month or so, but eventually everyone will be straightened out.
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#13
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1/9/09 at 1:58pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

They just need to print up a bunch of these handy-dandy flowcharts and send them out via bulk mail.

(Hat tip: Consumerist.com)

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#14
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1/9/09 at 2:22pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stan
I'm one of the semi-procrastinators. Sort of began looking into things a year ago, but not in any hurry.

Finally sent off and got my coupons in early November. Looks like they are good until February 3, so better get moving.

There are other threads devoted to this, but any opinions on what's a good simple brand that will do the basics?

Our main stores are Best Buy, Circuit City and even Walmart for these things. Whichever one has the best price gets my business.

There are a lot available, but the Zenith DTT901 seems to be the most popular. It's available at Circuit City and Radio Shack and it's $59.99 before the coupon, so basically $20. Walmart carries an RCA that's cheaper, but I've heard that it's not nearly as good.

Rocky

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#15
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1/9/09 at 2:29pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

I love that graphic

Push it back? Because 6% of the TVs aren't ready? Will it be acceptable when it's 5%, 4%, 3% or 0%?

100% of the TVs won't be ready. That's just a fact. Just like some people are late on April 15th, (probably more than 6%), & I don't think they will push that date back.

Let's move on for pete's sake. Fix all the other issues, Congress. Not the one you've already resolved.
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#16
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1/9/09 at 2:36pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

DOUBLE POST
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#17
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1/9/09 at 2:46pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcolm R
As far as running out of coupons/money, I think they've run so many ads that they've scared many people into thinking that they HAVE to buy a converter regardless of how they get their signal. I'd imagine a good portion of those coupons have been distributed to people who don't really need them.

I'd recommend to anyone planning to keep and old analog set around for a while to get a coupon ...
What happens if one decides to drop Cable or SAT after the switch-over?

Not a far fetched probability in this economy and with the rising prices 'providers' keep charging...
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#18
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1/9/09 at 3:12pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

It's funny. I have a HDTV and I was in the market for getting an HD Antenna ( a small little rabbit ears with a dish that looks like the Star ship enterprise.). Any way before I got it I went into radio shack to get some questions ansewered. I tol dhthe guy what I had ( a hd TV bought in 2007) and asked about certain HD antennas asking specifically if they would recieve HD Signals. He said yes but that I should also get a Digital Tuner. I told him that I think that the TV already has one built in since it was made in 2007 and is a Digital Television. Dude still didn't know what the heck he was talking about.

By the way..the TV does have a built in Digital Tuner. But even Radio Shack Employees don't know about whats going on...sad.
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#19
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1/9/09 at 3:49pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Quote:
... and asked about certain HD antennas asking specifically if they would recieve HD Signals.

There is no such thing as an HD Antenna. Your antenna has no idea whether you are receiving a digital or analog signal. The only reason you see HDTV antennas in the marketplace is because it sells better from a marketing standpoint.
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#20
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1/9/09 at 4:30pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Yes but I was completely getting rid of cable. Haven't had an antenna for about 15 years. kinda out of the loop.
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#21
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1/9/09 at 9:22pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Sometimes it's best to just rip the band-aid off, rather than trying to slowly peel it off. It stings at first, but less agonizingly painful.

"Jee-sus, it's like Iwo Jima out there" - Roger Sterling on "Mad Men"
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#22
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1/9/09 at 10:20pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Deeb
Let's move on for pete's sake. Fix all the other issues, Congress. Not the one you've already resolved.

If they can't even handle an issue like this. . . .
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#23
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1/10/09 at 4:40am
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Edit:

Nevermind. Too political.
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#24
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1/10/09 at 5:39am
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

I can't see any practical reason to postpone at this point; I think it's a political calculation to avoid grumbling voters who've stuck their head in the sand about the siwtch.

The switch has been promoted on network TV for 6 to 12 months; the only way you would be caught unawares is if you don't watch TV. And in which case, you don't care anyway.

As for the procrastinators: well, they're procrastinators. Postpone the switchover 10 more years and they'll be scrambling to make the switch on Feb 17, 2019. There's no appeasing them.

And the impoverished. You've known about the switch for a year. If you couldn't save 75 cents a day to buy a converter box, you can survive without TV; there's always radio. (And I've done this, so I have no sympathy )

And if after all that you're still lost, just get "lifeline" cable for $10/mo and you can ignore the whole thing.
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#25
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1/13/09 at 3:16pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

The vast majority of the American public is totally clueless about the transition, even at this late date, and it's not restricted to just the elderly and the impoverished.

I base this statement on my experience as a sales rep in a large Sears store electronics dept.

The plain fact is that the average American consumer is technophobic and proud of it. I had a customer yesterday who purchased a 32" lcd to be connected to an ordinary antenna. I tried to explain to him that he'd have to let the tv scan for channels on initial setup and that it would pick up the digital channels with no converter box. After half an hour of demonstrating the procedure with the set's remote he opted to pay an additional $99 for professional installation on a $399 tv. This guy is not that unusual in my experience.

A couple of nights ago I spent a fruitless 45 minutes on the phone trying to talk someone through connecting a dvd player to a tv set, and again this is not an isolated incident.

Half the people buying converter boxes think they won't need any antenna at all for them, and an unbeleivable number of our customers don't know if they have their old sets connected to antenna, cable, or satellite.

I'm talking about that large number of Americans who don't use the "interweb" and ignore all the psa's just as they ignore all the other "commercials".

The govt. is running out of money for the coupons--no surprise as I know that in our store at least half the folks using the coupons are on satellite or cable and don't need the converter box in the first place.

Steve S.
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#26
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1/13/09 at 3:23pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

So let me get this straight.... we need to have some kind of box attatched to our tv's to allow them to work come february?

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#27
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1/13/09 at 4:23pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Schaffer
The vast majority of the American public is totally clueless about the transition, even at this late date, and it's not restricted to just the elderly and the impoverished.
If true, then the vast majority of the American public would never gain a clue about the transition, ever, no matter what provisions are made to make them aware of it.

The decision to leave one's self either unprepared or ignorant of changes that will affect you effectively vacates your right to expect accommodation from government or industry regarding such changes.
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#28
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1/13/09 at 8:18pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

I'm wondering how many people will call 911 on February 17th.


The man I loved - the man who vanished - he never came back at all. But maybe he's still out there, somewhere. Maybe some day, when Gotham no longer needs Batman, I'll see him again.
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#29
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1/13/09 at 10:17pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Quote:
Originally Posted by zackscott5
Yes but I was completely getting rid of cable. Haven't had an antenna for about 15 years. kinda out of the loop.
My antenna consists of a couple copper wires soldered into the back of a coaxial jack and pointed in seperate directions. I get 25 digital channels with it through my DTT901. A rooftop antenna from the 1970's would probably get much more.
There are fancy antennas out now that can rotate based on the channel or lock onto the specific frequency of the signal. But they all just boost the received signal, whether it's digital or analog.

The scary thing about the misinformation you received about the tuner from the store clerk is that I'm sure that they'll be thousands of people running the signal to their HDTVs through a DTA converter box that knocks the quality back to 480i analog.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian^K
If true, then the vast majority of the American public would never gain a clue about the transition, ever, no matter what provisions are made to make them aware of it.
Exactly. This has been the most-publicized, most accommodating technological transition in U.S. history. Anyone who, after seeing all of those commercials for months and months, couldn't go to their computer or hit up a library to Google a little research deserves what they get.

There are legitimate concerns about digital broadcasting, especially for rural areas where current analog signals are marginal, but these are going to take years to resolve. Best to get 95 percent of the country up and running, and develop work-arounds for problems as they arise.
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#30
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1/14/09 at 3:55pm
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Re: Calls for delaying digital TV switchover

Interesting article at Ars on the proposed delay. I found this compelling:
Quote:
Neilson said that her station's live crews, which rely on over-the-air to monitor their broadcasts, have experienced trouble receiving their own signal in rocky Nevada. That's because of the so-called "cliff problem": Interference may degrade an analog signal while leaving it viewable, if fuzzy. Digital signals, however, are more likely to drop off a "cliff," from clear picture to blue screen of death. Henry Hauser, a project manager with Panasonic, called the cliff effect a "big issue"—and worried consumers would blame their expensive new television sets for the problem.

The cliffs aren't restricted to Nevada, though—Hauser noted that the New York area was likely to face similar difficulties. Miles argues that Wilmington "should have been an easy market for the transition because it's very flat and very small," with a lower proportion of residents relying on OtA than in the country as a whole. Yet viewers phoned in with a flurry of complaints, and Miles projected that if those numbers were extrapolated nationwide, the first week of the transition could see millions of such calls. "FCC and other agencies have just denied that there's an antenna issue until very recently," said Miles, who claimed his company's interviews with Wilmingtonians suggested half of those transitioning to over-the-air digital would need "something more than just a box."
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