Well, wouldn't you know it. It seems like West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller has the same idea as the
Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA), as he introduced legislation on Thursday that would effectively
postpone the digital TV transition from its current date of
February 17th to June 12th. On top of that, John Podesta -- the co-chairman of Barack Obama's transition team -- has issued a letter to Congress signifying that the president-elect supports the aforementioned proposal. The delay would supposedly give the government more time to find funding for the now
2 million-deep voucher waiting list, and we're told that House lawmakers are "considering similar legislation and may schedule a vote as soon as next week." Here's a thought -- why aren't we spending our time getting the money now and keeping the confusion
to a minimum?
posted Jan 16th 2009 3:50PM
How about no? People are just hoarding the discounts apparently and anyone that hasn't already upgraded or gotten a new TV isn't gonna upgrade anytime soon anyways...
Right, I've seen people trying to sell there coupons on Craigslist.
The only possible reason I could see this helping is that with the economy tanking people are starting to cancel cable and now they need the box and they can't afford cable so maybe they can't afford the box. That is the only logical reason I can come up with that would make sense to postpone this.
I agree. Since when is TV a "right" of all Americans. If you WANT to watch TV, then buy a device that works. End of story.
I canceled my Cable TV. I just watch shows on the Web. Losing broadcast TV isn't going to bother me at all.
they dont last that long......hell I got my coupons like back in march last year and by the time I could find a converter box I my Vocuhers had expired......not that I would have used them immediately anyways.......but had I had to pull a TV out the closet cause my others had gone out and I didnt have cable......then I would need those boxes......
hope that never happens........
Some people contest that it is a requirement to have broadcast television and radio since they are one of the methods for notification of substantial national emergency events. I don't particularly agree since I feel you should be able to live an oblivious/isolated life if you really want. I mean, The Constitution grants you that right and some of the wording could be construed to support it.
"Digital TV?
That is not change I can believe in!"
Has anyone surveyed people on this? I feel like 90% of the requests for these boxes are superfluous, done by confused cable subscribers who think they need it. Switch it over, and people will figure it out.
Hopefully given the horrendous efficiency of Congress, it won't be passed before the transition date.
I wish the government didn't give a shit about anything that has to do with televisions. obama obviously want to be able to broadcast nationwide political agendas and control our lives.
I just hope i can get digital tv in time to watch that hot air balloon race!
@ Dude
dude, that is the most techno-arrogant comment that i've ever heard. TV and the use of the broadcast system is not a private enterprise. It is something that is commission by the govt, not private industry. So in the US, sorry...but you're dead wrong. Free, local broadcast television as well as radio is more of an entitlement than a luxury. I say its an entitlement because you get the basics, and govt also has a very convenient way of notifying millions of people in case of emergencies (natural and unnatural disasters, etc).
Again the switch from ana to digi isn't something that was implemented by the private sector, it was done by the FCC...again a govt agency. I know its hard to believe since it seems like fewer and fewer people have corded phones, but imagine is the FCC said we will no longer be allowing analogue telephones. Again that would alienate hundreds of millions of people.
anyways, end of post, i think u get the picutre
I voted McCain. So much for Obama being the almighty for everyone, eh? If he'd leave it alone maybe people would go buy some HDTVs (not mistakely, just to upgrade the TV instead of buying a box) and help our suffering economy.
Oh, God. Not again.
In b4 political shitstorm
Nah, I'm not trying to start a political storm. Obama has many strong points. However, I felt that McCain had more strong points than Obama. Neither was the perfect presidential candidate, however it must be kept in mind that there is likely NO perfect candidate.
I'm not trying to offend any Obama supporters. I just wish to point out to those who are head-over-heels in love with Obama and see no flaws in his judgment, that he makes mistakes too. This, in my opinion, is a mistake.
"Experience the Benefits"
Aren't these McCain's television sets? =P
Wow, it didn't get out of hand... hehe... I wanted McCain to win too, but I will Support OUR new president even if I disagree with policy and the left's blood lust for Marxism and socialism.
I imagine McCain supports a delay as well. I mean, he's probably still up @ night waiting for the fireside chats. [rim shot]
Make me buy an HDTV with money I don't have? Great idea! Maybe I should buy a house I can't afford as well!
Then there's the "You don't need TV" argument. Well, I have a TV that I bought and right now it works. Once they switch to digital TV, it will no longer work, and I will have to spend more money to make it work.
I don't need a car either, I could take a bus to work. I have a car right now that works, so let's say the government decides to ban all gas except E85. My car would no longer work, and I would have to spend more money to make it work.
You don't need a TV to live or work. If you did, now is the time to start talking to your employer about covering the costs.
McCain would not have done anything to change the USA as we know it today. We would be doing the same thing in the next four years.
I hope all the stations just pull the plug anyways. If I owned a station, I certainly would proceed as planned after investing the money to shut it all down on or before a particular day. This will cost many, many, many, many millions of dollars. Thanks, O.
hell...just use part of the 350 billion you just got
this thing has been in the pipeline for YEARS. Its time to MOVE FORWARD. As much as I hate Bush, I remember when he first announced the transition that would happen Feb 17, 2009. I knew that come that day, there'd be some mass effort to postpone cuz people wouldn't be ready.
aaahhh I want my free HD
Uhh.. Sorry to make you look stupid but over-the-air HD has been available for years. I've been using it for over two years now.
lol free HD is already available.. just because theres a cutoff date, doesn't mean you cant use that tiny box you bought until after the cutoff date...
epic fail.
Yes, what are you people crying about? OTA HD has been available for some time now. I my internet/tv cable bill went from $130 to $60 with free OTA HD and a Home theater PC.
Oh god. Can we just get this over with already?
shut up already on all of the obama news. It's bad enough that we know in the back of our minds he's going to be president!
No need to start name calling.
Maybe he's simply one of the 56 million people who voted against Obama for President. It's not like he won by a landslide. A lot of people didn't want him in.
oh no there are other reasons.......
I left off not wanting a woman to have control over her body and socialism........
oh and "he gonna take my Moneyz"
Nah, people like Aggie like to throw in racism and other hot button catch phrases so they don't have to argue a subject on it's merits. There are, unfortunately, people like this on both sides of the political spectrum.
oh I can very well do that when its required. But on THIS blog, what would its purpose serve?? its like having a verbal conversation with a deaf person. Its a minute chance that the Deaf person can read lips and POSSIBLY get what you are saying. But they wont get it 100% so why bother??
Then don't bother. Stirring up an argument with the race stick is not exactly serving a purpose either. At least not a good one.
there is a "race stick"?
Ugh... just get it over with. Postponing only means more tax dollars wasted on transition advertising. You know what the best advertising is? ***NO SIGNAL. BUY DIGITAL CONVERTER***
No. Stop pandering to the whiners and just do it. Postponements of this type rarely work; you'll have the same people bitching in June that you do now. Just get it over with and free up that bandwidth already.
Also what the fuck business if it of the government to take tax payer money and subsidize converter boxes? I guess they want to make sure everyone's telescreen is connected so they can deliver the propaganda... Obama is watching you...
I hate to say it, but I really do feel that Television is a tool to keep people passively entertained and therefore easily governed.
more like they want the BILLIONS from the spectrum they have already auctioned off.......DUH.....
even tho they say its to have a "nationwide emergency network" for police, Firemen, EMS and the like.....
Ugh. Just because the dumb hayseeds are too lazy to get their stuff ready doesn't mean this should be delayed yet again. They will hear they have until June and put it off again, then in May Obama will want another 6 months.
Pull the plug and if they can't watch TV, F-them.
If we do delay it can we convert all the existing mpeg-2 feeds to h.264 like the rest of the world?
If we do that, and give h.264 converters to people wiht mpeg-2 converters... well then I MIGHT support the delay.
Ordeith, I don't think you can even begin to see the hassle that would entail. First off, H.264 converter boxes would cost a fortune, and imagine the logistics involved in getting people to send in their box and you sending them a new one. Second, existing HDTV owners would have to purchase a converter box because AFAIK there is no HDTV sold in America with a built-in H.264 decoder (it would make no sense as of now). Third, it would confuse people even more (not that DTV is confusing in the slightest).
The transition has to happen NOW. In Spain we still have another year to go and people will be doing the same. Difference is here there is no coupon scheme, you just buy your converter box and basically STFU. Not like $50 is going to kill anyone.
I never really got this to begin with. It's television! This isn't exactly a necessity, but yet we're going to spring for everyone to get not one but two of these boxes. Meanwhile, companies set their prices based on consumers already having at least $40 to spend, so they can price them higher than they might otherwise. I don't understand why we're comfortable spending money to make sure that people have television, but health care is off the table.
Something else that frustrates me is that many of the people who got these boxes are folks who are well off and already get cable/dish and aren't planning on making a switch. At $20 after the discount why not just see what's out there, or use it to supplement poor local stations with a dish? Well, because it's costing the government (and thus tax payers) a ton of money. Meanwhile, there's folks with no cable who are now waiting for a coupon.
I bet if we put our mind to it, we could think up way better uses for $80 per family. I know a lot of folks with needs way greater than TV. Food, shelter, health care, education...
The government coupon is not required to get the box...it was done to limit the impact the purchase of a box would have on low-income families...or clever individuals who happen to have an old TV out in the garage that needs rabbit ears.
From day 1, the public was warned "get your coupons early, and use them before they expire!" But of course, whiners chose to wait, and are now getting hung out to dry.
Choke up the $50 and quit complaining folks. Life isn't fair, and you can't always wait for a government handout to help you.
On another note, hopefully the signal strength of the digital stations is able to increase once the analog signal is taken down. The so-called digital cliff is quite an annoyance to many folks, we don't get a Fox network signal over the digital rabbit ears, when it worked fine via analog.
I completely agree with you there. Saw the boxes at walmart on a HUGE display at the front of the store selling boxes for $45. Surely if free tv is that vital to you, you'll find a way to budget an extra $45 dollar expense into your budget.
I'm sorry, but how long have they been telling people about the switch? How long have the ads been warning of this happening? If you didn't get your shit together by now, you are just gonna have to buy a converter at full price. You snooze, you lose.
Hell no... I'm one of those poor people who have an over the air set and I have been ready for the DTV transition for months. Everyone knew this was happening and it is their fault for not taking part in the program.
I want Full Power DTV and freeing the analog system is vital for national security.
My Problem is that I have bought a converter box, but I can't watch Fox over digital though it comes in fine over analog (a bit of ghosting, but completely watchable). Note on Analog I get both the Providence (35 mi) and Boston (70 mi) Fox stations, but with Digital the Boston station never comes in and the Providence station looses signal every 10 seconds and is jumpy making it completely unwatchable. So personally, even though I have converted, I want the Analog signal shut off delayed as long as possible (or boost the digital signals).
(Note: this is with a powered omnidirectional antenna mounted about 40' high)
Many markets can't boost the digital signal until the analog ones are shut off.
In all honestly I think his administration just want to say delay it and to show they are sympathy to those who are not yet ready. I really think would prefer to have it turned off on the scheduled date and provide little effort in delaying it.
It doesn't benefit the Democrat Party to switch from analog to digital.
By staying in analog, they still have a monopoly with liberal propaganda with PBS, CBS, ABC, etc... not that they don't have a monopoly already.