Digital TV transition delay bill fails to pass in House
By Darren Murph 
posted January 28th 2009 1:36PM
posted January 28th 2009 1:36PM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted January 28th 2009 1:36PM
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Most of the people who are so thrilled about the negative vote in the house misunderstand what is happening.
Digital TV IS ALREADY ON THE AIR in most markets. The Feb 17 date is the date that stations are required to stop broadcasting analog signals. If stations had wanted to, they could have stopped already; there is no requirement that they keep broadcasting analog until that date. So the broadcasters don't want to stop analog and won't until they are forced to. The populace doesn't want to stop analog either until they are really ready. The people who want digital already have it. So why the big fuss? What is not publicized and most people don't realize is that it is all about lobbyists, money and government colluding with big business. It is all about the money, not about what is good for the consumer.
The government has already auctioned off the spectrum that is going to be freed up when analog tv goes dark and stands to bring in $19 billion when it becomes available. A big justification for the sale to the private sector was that it was supposed to be a way for new wireless phone carriers to enter the market and compete with the existing big carriers. But guess who actually bought it? 90% of the available spectrum was bought by existing providers Verizon and AT&T. A small percentage of the spectrum was supposed to go to public safety like fire, police, ambulance, etc, but none of that piece has been bought.
The whole thing is a give-away to Verizon and AT&T. Broadcast spectrum is a limited valuable resource and when it is taken it is gone. Verizon and AT&T want to lock in their purchase as soon as possible so no one else can get it. The government wants their $19 billion. The only thing they were required to do in return was to spend a small fraction of that money to make sure that consumers are helped through the transition. But the FCC under the Bush administration did virtually nothing until the last minute to make that happen. Even now, the transition plan is woefully understaffed. Call centers have been mandated to provide help to consumers in the transition but they weren't staffed. Coupons were given out, but they had expiration dates (why should a coupon intended to help a consumer through this transition have an expiration date? for the same reason that businesses give rebates instead of reducing product prices: they count on a lot of consumers not filing in time so they don't have to provide the discount they advertise).
During this whole transition, no one has been looking out for the consumer. Finally, Obama has listened to the Consumer's Union's report on how the country has not been readied for the transition by the agencies who were supposed to make it happen. That is why he proposed the delay.
Delaying the transition helps the consumer. The only people that don't like it are Verizon, AT&T and the parts of government with their hands out for the $19 billion. This delay should be a no-brainer, but the telephone company lobbyists and their government pals are the ones blocking it!
http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/TV_theater/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212701459&subSection=News
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_telecom_and_utilities/006502.html
apparently mike is only person who realizes , whats going on
and yes i will get my foil hat.
it protects me from retardation beam that has melted the rest of you all.
Why should the delay to full power digital broadcast television be a no-brainer? Nothing about the delay will "help the comsumer", because, if the consumer hasn't heard the nearly back-to-back Feb17 DTV transition messages by now, they won't in the next 4 months (literally must not be watching broadcast TV). Nor will they actually do something about their situation (except rant when it happens).
I also am leery of believing "their" (whomever "they" are) number of 6.5 million without a) cable, b) sat dish, c) own a converter box (or plan to buy), or d) own a TV of recent vintage.
Our house has 3 TVs over 10 years old, analog only (hey, they still work). Suppose "they" are counting us 3x as part of the 6.5 million?
--
Yes, the spectrum was bought and sold to the highest bidder. That fact is completely separate, and the only thing it has to do with the transition is winning bidders are now waiting on what they purchased (otherwise known as "unearned income").
How does delaying the switch make it better for me (or ANYONE) waiting to get a -strong- digital signal from the transmitters?
It should be a no-brainer because it doesn't hurt anyone to delay it, yet it helps a lot of people to delay it for a little while. If you want to receive digital TV, you already can; it is already there at full power. You will not get any more power after Feb 17. The only thing that will happen will be that millions of people that depend on analog TV won't be able to get it anymore. If you don't depend on analog TV, you will not be affected in any way!
People who read Engadget tend to be technically-aware people, and have known about the transition for a while, but most of the population is not like that. Public service announcements only started very recently. Most people don't really understand what is going to happen. Even most of the people on this board don't understand what is going to happen...they don't realize that digital TV is already being broadcast! When the analog cut off happens, analog TVs will suddenly go to snow and their owners won't know what hit them.
It was the responsibility of the government, when they made this deal to sell the analog spectrum, to make sure that the country was helped through the transition. They knew this was going to happen years ago when they made the deal, but didn't do anything about it until recently.
The point is that this transition has very little to do with helping consumers. It is happening because the government and the telephone companies suddenly saw an opportunity to sell some of the government's spectrum to the private sector. By forcing consumers off of the analog spectrum, the government gets to sell it and make a big chunk of change. Verizon and AT&T get to corner the market on the last of a valuable resource. The consumers are just the pawns in the game.
More facts:
- Digital TV is not HDTV. Most of the new digital broadcast is not high definition. In fact it is mostly SDTV, which is no higher resolution than the analog TV we now receive.
- Digital TV, by it's nature of being digital, is all or nothing. You will get a good picture on your TV until you can't, and then the picture goes dark. With analog TV, people in the fringe areas of reception will be able to still see a faint, or snowy, or ghosted picture, but will still be able to see something.
The people who still depend on analog TV are generally people in the country where they are far from a broadcast tower, or people of low income, or old people, or people who are not on the cutting edge of technology. These are not people who will be able to suddenly jump to digital TV with little notice or preparation.
No one is saying that the cut off shouldn't happen. It should happen eventually. But what should be the driving force is that the people who depend on analog have been helped over to digital first, not that Verizon and AT&T are anxious to lock out competitors.
Yay!!!
Go Here to see how your congressman/woman voted so you can thank him/her or yell at him/her.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll041.xml
Thank goodness. Please, just let it happen on Feb. 17 like has been announced for AGES now. Seriously, just do it and let's deal with the issue when it gets here. Let's face it, it doesn't matter how long they delay it, there will still be people who aren't ready. Let people write it off on their taxes, let the cable companies foot the bill and be reimbursed,
How about instead of our government delaying it to send out more coupons they start a "Converter Box Rebate Program"? This way people that need it can go get it and be prepared before the switch, send in their receipt, and the government will have time to figure out where to get the money from. Like what was said before, what about the Emergency Broadcast System? Most people that really need the box would get a better radio signal than TV signal anyway. Plus if there is a hurricane and the power is out then its better to get a battery powered radio than it is a battery powered TV. Most people will miss the emergency message because they are moving the rabbit ears to get reception. DTV doesnt have this problem.
Omg, our House actually did the correct thing. This is a great day in history. Obama sure has brought change to the White House, just not the way he wanted. :-)
Here's the roll call for the motion: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll041.xml
Looks like the Republicans saved the day.
this is a good thing.
Too low for anybody to see, I fear, but there's a terribly simple way for this to be dealt with (not that I think it should be -- if you managed to miss the press on this for the last handful of years, shame on you for being an idiot). Tax credit. Instead of sending people a $40 coupon, put a line on the 2009 1040 that lets you check a box and entitles you to a $40 tax credit (single, MFS) or $80 (HOH, MFJ). Same thing like the "rebate" check from last year -- if you didn't get the check this year, it's a credit this year.
Easier, simpler, no need to change the date.
finally some good news!!! Everyone had more then enough time to figure this out!! If some people are left with no tv it's not the end of the world.
The coupons were a horrible idea in the first place. If you don't have $40, you shouldn't be watching TV.
Yay! :D
It got delayed by years once already, lets move forward.
The industry would've been just fine with a later move. I work for a cable company and we've had so many issues with this digital switch it's unreal. Entire cable plants need to be swept and signal levels reset to accomodate an all digital signal. We're finding that specific frequencies pixelate much easier than the frequencies we're all used to working on. It's been a serious pain in the butt getting ready for this thing. ADS is a great idea and it's definitely necessary... but cable companies would have been more than happy to get the extra time to work out the bugs.
NOT SO FAST! The House defeated a motion to Waive the Rules to pass the DTV Extension Act. The AP is running the story as if the bill and DTV transition delay is dead. The DTV extension bill will now proceed under the normal rules, which requires a simple majority, and will likely pass without difficulty.
I don't get a voucher when I need to upgrade my computer. They don't need vouchers for their TVs.
Test
I'm glad the communists didn't win this one.
just another way of the us govt , screwing their people over. i wonder if i can pull this stick outta my ass they keep thrusting deeper and deeper. i can almost taste wood in the back of my throat
That just made me soooooooooooooooooo happy :)
The ignorance here still surprises me.
Who is a delay going to hurt? Honestly, who? AT&T, Verizon? Who cares about them. When most stations are already broadcasting Digital at full power, why does it hurt you if there is a delay? Honestly, I would like to know.
And here's an argument no one here can refute. ABSOLUTELY NOBODY!
I have a question for you: What do the DTV transition ads tell you? You know, the ones you claim are everywhere and no one could have missed. Yep, I know you've seen em. Let's see, they state something about people ONLY needing to buy a converter box and BAM! You've got crystal clear Digital picture.
I'm calling the BS here.
Anyone wanna know why? It's simply, the UHF band combined with Digital signals = one giant middle finger for rural television viewers. Look it up, Digital signals aren't traveling anywhere near what the Government and all the DTV preparation people wanted. Couple this with the all-or-nothing nature of Digital and what happens? The majority of those rural TV viewers turn on their converter boxed TVs on Feb. 17th and find that they don't have signal.
Where I live, I know plenty of people who get over the air TV who understand they need a Converter box. So, I tell them its useless. The majority of people I know who either have a new TV or a converter box can't get digital in the area. Some areas receive degraded analog signals, but for the most part, the analog signal quality is def. watchable. Scan for the digital channels however and you get met with a big 0 channels found message. These are people with large roof-top antennas. There is no reasonable antenna upgrade for these people. And here's the thing: Nobody bothered to let them in on this tidbit. They heard the ads, they believed they only needed a converter box, and that's a lie.
This is all while not thinking about the residents of apartments. People who couldn't upgrade their antenna even if it would help.
So tell me, Why should these people bend over backwards so Verizon and AT&T can grab these frequencies? Are you really suggesting that we should rob these people of their television for Big Business's benefit?
Really?
Get a grasp on the situation before you go spouting about how wonderful the Digital Transition is. You can get Digital now, Stop complaining.
Wow, Patriotsfan, you are spot on. A simple search turned up:
http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/11/fcc-oks-digital-workaround-for-dtv-signal-range-problems.ars
I have cable and HD but in my car the TV part of the Pioneer touch XM/Nav/TV/DVD unit is analog of course.
I simply asked around and one of the cable people who requested vouchers gave me one.
You want an argument for why I want it on the 17th of February?
Because on that day, if the analog signal is turned off, then the digital signals in my area (and most others) will be increased because the stations will be able to divert full power to them. That means that I get to tune in my locals a lot easier than I do now, and that I'm not fighting to get the more distant ones, or suffering drop-outs in the middle of a show.
It also hurts us because it shows we'll continue to coddle these people as long as they drag their heels, and they've had plenty of time to save up two $20 bills.
I want my signals at full strength once and for all. That's reason enough for me.
@Jay Voorhees: The reason for the DTV coupons is not that people can't afford it, it's because if we want to continue watching TV over the air, we have no choice but to buy a DTV converter box. If I had a perfectly good analog TV, it would bother me that I would be forced to spend some more money on something just to allow me to keep watching TV. I could afford to buy a converter box (I actually bought an LCD TV with built-in digital tuner a while ago), but I for one don't like spending money only because I have no other choice. It's a matter of principal. With the DTV coupons, the government understands that a DTV converter box is a necessary upgrade (not an option) and thus is willing to help offset some of the cost for consumers. This is not necessarily a government hand-out; it was the government that mandated the DTV switch in the first place.
wow this is just a box that tricks people think they are getting digital cable lol. This one guy was like im getting digital cable wohoo i can watch G4! little does he know he just bunny ears with a different face. Cmon people get comcast or ATT not digital bunny ears >_>
It's not only old or poor people who need converter boxes. I added to my car a Pioneer Touchscreen/Nav/XMradio/Radio/TV unit.
I just realized last month that though Im a wired HighDef guy all around, my car is going to lose its TV capability in a month.
(don't worry folks, its supposed to be disabled when driving.)
Fortunately, as many have pointed out, a lot of cable tv owners "accidently" requested vouchers theydon't need.
I simply put out the word on a town forum and someone gave me one of their coupons.
Hey guys, I think this great to news. To celebrate, call your grand parents, better yet, go over there and make sure they are ready for the switch.
Mine are dead, so I can do yours if you want, just post their email address here.
The bill passed under normal rules.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012801883.html
ugh sorry i read the link too quickly. the bill was defeated just like the headline said :)
you gotta be fucking kidding me, cant they get anything straight or count the god damn votes before gettin it out the door? all well, doesnt effect me
@fhyageu: saying that broadcast uses up "less bandwidth" because one signal goes to everybody is like saying spam uses less bandwidth by being sent to thousands of addresses instead of just one.
@MegaByte: your assumptions become false when AM/FM and TV are no longer allowed to hog all the frequencies that can be used for other data transfer instead. Once loud (energy wasting) broadcast signals are out of the way, targeted signals on the same frequencies can go just as far, or even farther via methods like mesh networking.
All your old assumptions and analogies are wrong. Try getting away from the boob tube and force-fed media, and learning something new for once.
The march towards digital has been ongoing for a decade now, and the 2/17/2009 cutoff has been in stone for three years (signed by King George 2/8/2006). The public awareness campaign has been working at a fever pitch, covering television, radio, newspapers, mall kiosks, billboards, and even bus advertisements. Unless they've been under a rock or in a cave someplace, everyone has had exposure to information about the transition along with a whole range of resources on how to find out more.
The government HAS helped smooth the transition by requiring the necessary tuners be incorporated into newer televisions sold over the past several years, and by making the coupon program available (on a first come, first served basis) for those who for some reason cannot come up with $40 to buy a converter box. At what point does the government's responsibility end and personal responsibility begin?
There are seemingly 6.5 million households who are, or have been, living in total isolation from the rest of the country. That's the only explanation I can come up with for why they wouldn't be aware of the conversion, and not educating themselves and taking the steps to get ready for it. Maybe they just don't care? Maybe they are going to wait until they absolutely have to act?
If they haven't acted in the past decade, or more importantly the last three years, how many of those 6.5 million households are going to take responsibility and the steps to ensure their continued access to television in a post analog world? They've had forever to get ready and educated about the conversion, but they haven't acted. How is dragging the process out for an extra four months going to change that?
Four months isn't going to change fringe reception issues.
Four months isn't going to help an elderly person get a converter box.
Four months isn't going to help those who can't figure out how to connect two wires.
Four months isn't going to incent someone to go out and get a converter box.
The truth is an extension isn't going to change a thing. Let the House decision stand, and let's look forward to and end to those commercials on 2/18/2009.
I love to hear this news... We Americans must be prepared and not be lazy and not buy a HDTV or Converter since this Febuary 17th thing first appeared on few public busses and subways the day the Apple Store @ Fifth Ae. opened, so we have been warned for a few years now... This is Change and we need this Change to improve our poor D- infrastructure. A slip? = F!!!
Also, we need to limit our freedom of speech which freqently may affect Change. Period...
A little background is in order. The FCC sold the analog TV spectrum for 19.6 BILLION dollars. There are 112 million TV households in the U.S. . We own the airwaves, it is our money, poor or rich. If it was all divided among TV households it would be around 170 dollars a household. The Feds are sending out two coupons per household for a total of 80 dollars. I have no problem with anyone requesting a coupon even if you can afford a decoder box without it, IT IS YOUR MONEY. And for those that think the coupons should only go to those poor people that really need it, maybe you should not request your tax refund this year and just let it go to those people that really need it. This whole thing was handled wrong, these boxes should be free, paid for by the Feds and be sitting on the shelf at the stores for people to grab one if they need one.
Hey! I'm still waiting for my coupon from the government so I can switch from my analog cell phone to a digital one.
Oh wait...they never offered that.
I do agree that no matter how long you wait there will always be some one holding out until the very last moment. So we need to jump on this right now just like we did with the WMD threat in Iraq.... Oh wait...
Actually right at the moment I am making some good pocket change helping elderly people get their boxes and showing them how they are installed.
It actually only takes about 45 minutes to an hour for each one and they appreciate that someone takes the mystery out of it for them. If any of you have set up a computer for your parents or grandparents you know what I mean. They just need it explained without any of the buzz words.
If the concern is that you be able to reach people on the emergency broadcast system, then the government can either a) use the stinking radio (everyone has AM and/or FM reception capabilities), or b) maintain one channel on analog solely for broadcasting EBS traffic for another 6 months. Considering we're printing up and handing out 1.6 trillion dollars for handouts and corporate jets, I'm sure we can afford to fund this.
There's no reason to delay this transition. If someone hasn't gotten on board after 10 years of being told that this is coming, then guess what...another 6 months isn't going to fix that.
For those of you who really do not understand this DTV transition and what it is really about, I feel for you being ignorant. This is not about making TV better for the general population but how the government has once again snookered the people of the US. The major reason for the change was to be able to "auction off" the analog airways to the cell phone companies. If everyone has been following this story and looking at what is really going on, AT&T and Verizon has just purchased the bulk of these frequencies for cell phone use to the tune of around 36 billion dollars for a specific amount of time. That is what this is all about. And for the millions of those who will lose their TV signal all together, another fact that the FCC won't tell you, there is always the radio. Digital is not that good a signal. For those who try to subscribe to Time Warner Cable, well for TW to hook up my house they wanted me to contribute in excess of $23,000! Those who think this is bull let me know your e-mail address and I will send you a copy of the letter I received from TW. As for Dish and Direct, under their terms the elderly, those on fixed income and the just plain poor are not going to be able to afford the fees and costs per month. So this is just not about people being ready. And for thought, where is the money that was supposed to be in the budget for these expired, not issued coupons? Where did these funds dissapear to if it was before?
they stopped producing VHS tapes. anyone without a dvd player should get a coupon for a free one.
Thank the gods! Anyone who still hasn't heard the "message" (Feb.17th) is trying not to. They can go frak themselves. It's time to move into the future already!...
How exactly did the government 'snooker' the public?
How is it shocking or sinister that the government sold the analog spectrum? That's what they ALWAYS do when spectrum becomes available, and that recycling, has been part of the plan since broadcasters were first given their digital channels. As part of the PLANNING PROCESS, and the EXPECTATION the analog spectrum will be returned, the government auctioned future licenses to the highest bidder, in this case Verizon and ATT. Again, it's not really any secret those companies want to use those frequencies for their upcoming 4g network and services. While they aren't going to start site construction in three weeks, they need to get started soon for their OWN budgetary concerns and planning. Contrary to the conspiracy theorists, I really don't think the government, ATT and Verizon came together and hatched this plot in 1987, or even 1997.
Yeah, I said 1987...the move away from analog television to digital has been underway for an insanely long time. The initial planning started nearly two decades ago as part of an effort to maintain american dominance and competitiveness in the technology world. To create a standard we could offer the rest of the world (as we did with NTSC), versus one we would have to adopt from the Japanese, Europe, or elsewhere. American pride...
From that planning two decades ago, to adopting a standard and the first broadcasts a decade ago, to the finish line in here in 2009. It's not been a secret that digital tv was coming. In fact, over the last decade it's all been pretty much public domain. As part of the effort to smooth the transition from analog to digital, the government:
>>GAVE each OTA broadcaster an extra channel for their digital signal (April '97). They didn't auction it off, they gave it with the expectation that the analog channel would be returned at the end of the transition. Also, in addition to the spectrum giveaway, the government mandated when stations had to get their digital signal on the air.
>>Several years ago, they started requiring that all new televisions have the necessary digital tuners built in.
>>In 2007 created the coupon program to help people with the digital conversion by covering some of the cost of the converter boxes. The coupons became available in 2008 on a first come, first served basis. Sadly the program is out of money, and pending possible replenishment, people have to shell out the 40 bucks on their own. To be perfectly honest, this REALLY is a minimal outlay. As some have said, if you can't scrape together 2 $20 bills, you really should be doing something aside from watching tv.
>>2007-2009 saw the launch of a massive program to increase awareness of the conversion, bombarding the public (with increasing frequency) with television ads, billboards, radio spots, news articles all talking about the converstion and providing information on what needs to be done to prepare.
The bottom line is this, the government has done what it can to hold the public's hand, but really enough is enough, and it's time to move forward. It's time to suck down the nasty horse pill and get it over with.
Reality check...technology changes and evolves
--carriages gave way to cars
--candles gave way to electric lights
--black and white tv gave way to color (twice).
--am radio gave way to fm, which is now giving way to HD radio
--analog cell phones were replaced with digital
--analog television is going digital as well
Contrary to what some have said, digital tv does offer several benefits
--high definition video and sound for those who have the equipment. Wtih a good signal, the images are spectacular.
--for those who don't have HD equipment, even standard definition is improved with generally better, sharper, and more vivid picture and sound quality.
--It's digital data, wwhich can be compressed more efficiently than analog. Means that where a broadcaster used to only be able to offer ONE channel via analog, digial allows them offer several channels of content in the same amount of space. They can offer high and standard definition feeds, ancient tv shows, 24 hour news/weather/information...all generally with better picture and sound quality.
Sure, there are problems, it's inevitable with any undertaking this large...but they will be worked out over time. Whether it's replenishing the coupon program in some fashion, or tackling the fringe reception issues. There are solutions, and broadcasters will pursue them becuase they want your eyeballs. BUT, if we have to wait until every issue is resolved, and everyone is 100% it will never happen.
It is amazing that there are so many out there who do not even understand the points they are making and how stupid some of these responses are.
So how did the government snooker the US citizen? Let's see . . . when I first heard of this change in my neck of the woods, it was necessary to free up these frequencies for security reasons ie: better communications for police, military, fire and rescue, etc. So how does selling the bulk of these frequencies to AT&T and Verizon help us be more secure?
As some have stated, we have been in this process for over 21 years ("Yeah I said 1987"). So why is this such a big problem for those who say that the general population has had ample time (2-3 years) to make these changes when the Governmant has had 21 years (not three) to perfect this system of change and coupon program? Please, how can having 21 years be off set by people having three years to change based on false information? And above all, after 21 years there should be no bugs to work out with anything, especially fringe reception, If that problem has not been addressed and corrected by now then maybe there is no addressing to it and it cannot be fixed? I think the latter of that last sentence is true. Really, find a good honest Tech and ask him. You'll be surprised waht they have to say.
How has this digital transition changed the free enterprise system? If you have been looking at Dish and Direct TV they have been targeting the areas in the rual communities, they know won't receive any digital signal, with advertisments (mailings directly to you home with your name on them! How did that happen?) with outlandish offers. When you read the fine print these good offers turn to stone sort of like those loans where you get a low interest rate. And if you are late one second late with the payment the rate goes to 30 percent. And for all of you on Time warner Cable, if you are up to date, Time Warner announced today a 5% increase in it's rates. How about that all you cable lovers?
So I ask as one other did. Seeing the TV stations are already braodcasting in digital at full power, what is the problem with delaying the transition other than you won't be able to get your 3g phone to work? And again, what happened to the money in the budget for the coupon program if there are so many expired coupons?
Believe me . . . I am not against this digital change at all. What I am concerned about is that the government is not being honest with any of us who will lose our signals all together and because of location have no possible way of getting any signal, digital or satelite. And I repeat, if the governemnt has had over twenty years to impliment this switch it could have been done much, much better and this web site would not have to exist.
@adc6
1) The planning and development of the US digital broadcast standard started about 20 years ago. I'm sure if Miss Cleo could have helped sidestepped the problem had she been consulted. :)
2) The digital broadcast standard was adopted about ten years ago, based on information available at that time.
3) Digital signals have been broadcast in parallel with analog for nearly a decade now.
4) Congress set the hard analog cutoff three years ago, after digital signals had been on the air for almost seven years.
5) With the establishment of a hard cutoff, government and broadcaster efforts to help the transition ramped up including tuner requirements in new televisions, the coupon program, retail education, and the massive barrage of public service annoucements about the transition.
So in reality, people have had TEN years (not three as you claim) to get ready for digital. Again, none of this has been kept secret.
There's alot of bandwitdh in the spectrum being returned to the government, a portion of which has been set aside for public emergency services, while the rest of the licenses were auctioned off to the highest bidders, ATT, Verizon, Qualcomm.
Public safety spectrum
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2008/01/auction_faq?currentPage=1
"Under the current proposed rules, 20 MHz of spectrum will be set aside for the creation of a public-private partnership that will eventually evolve into a new, nationwide broadband network with public safety as its primary goal."
"Under these terms, a public-safety licensee will oversee the entire network. The actual building, however, will be done by the commercial licensee. As an added incentive, the FCC is offering the commercial licensee extra spectrum adjacent to the public-safety block for the company to use as it wants."
Coupon program
-funded by the auctioning of the analog spectrum
-will get additional funding from Obama stimulus package
The government could just as easily not offered a coupon program to help with the transition, fortunately some bureaucrats are human (or at least partially). As we are all well aware, the coupon program didn't go as smoothly as it should have...they seldom do. The biggest issue being the expiration dates. Obviously if coupons are expired and unused, the money is still there...somewhere. They probably look at it simplisticaly like:
"program fund / $40 = n coupons. we've sent out n coupons, thus fund is exhausted."
Nothing can fix it at this point, aside from the government saying the expiration dates are null and void, but then the program will run out of money for sure leaving many people still SOL.
It does appear that the coupon program is being addressed in the Obama stimulus plan, so hopefully the next round runs somewhat smoother.
Reception issues
--The digital standard has been in place for ten years now. It is what it is, and it's not changing or going away anytime soon. Analog television has been around for more than fifty years. Very likely digital broadcasting will be the same.
Yes, as broadcasters built their digital facilities, and tested coverage, they discovered problems like fringe reception. There are some solutions taht will help reduce the impact.
--on the consumer front, the hardware and software in the tuners has gotten much better than in the early years. The tuners have also become much cheaper.
--the FCC adopted new rules that will allow broadcasters to better deal with reception issues in their markets:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-256A1.pdf
The bottom line is that the delay being proposed (four months) simply will not solve anything. If it's not going to solve anything, there's no real point in doing it, except to create pain and confusion. You change for a reason, not just for the sake of change.
The delay won't:
-solve the coupon problem
-fix the reception issues
-push the procrastinators to get the converter box.
The delay will:
-cost broadcasters substantial amounts of cash to continue operating two separate channels (power, production, staff)
-cost huge amounts of money to re-educate the populace through yet another even more intense round of ads about the new cut off date, which in turn will create confusion at the consumer level, and in the end won't change anything.
For most who may lose access to OTA television come next month, there are options out there including cable (if avail), satellite, or a really big antenna. They may not necessarily be attractive options, but they are options nonetheless.
So Richard . . . who do you work for?
The three years that I referenced were from your earlier post and the
fact that this is the amount of time that this change may have or have
not been made aware to the public via the barrage of public
advertisements. The fact, as you state, may have been out there for
ten years but not to the general public. From your comments and
references I assume you must be in the trade to have had this
detailed inside information for much longer than the general public.
For those who have or will lose their OTA signal it will be
permanently and you admitted that fact. Because, and a point that you
failed to address, if it is a glitch that has not been fixed by now
it can not be and will not be resolved. As for cable, did you read my
first post? I tried to get Time Warner to bring the cable down my road
one eight of a mile and they wanted me to contribute just under
$23,000! Just to string a few hundred feet of cable on the phone
poles that already exist. This is the effect that this transition is
having on free enterprise. Seeing you have an answer for everything,
what is your explanation for this? When I talked to Time Warner reps
their comment to me amounted to this: We are not a Public Service and
we can charge what we want to! Maybe $23,000 is not an issue for you.
Maybe $23,000 would be nothing for you to cough up, but money and
freedom of choice are the basic issues we are talking here and there
many people in the fringe who cannot afford any of this. Please, just for one moment Richard, think of these people.
And as for dish or satellite, and you seem to a bright person on this
digital stuff, you should know that if you do not have a clear shot at
the satellite with your dish you get nothing. Again trees, tall
buildings anything in the path of the digital signal stop it from
getting to your dish. In the northern area of NY people who have Dish
or Direct TV have been having real problems with them because of the
heavy snowfall cutting them off for days to weeks at a time. It is
not that the dish gets covered with snow, but as the dish techs are
explaining, snow falling from the sky messes up the digital signal.
That is why the picture pixilated constantly and goes blank. What is
you digitally educated response to these problems?
As I said. I am not against this transition. The point that I have
been trying to make all along is that this has not been well thought
out by the government on the consumer level. And, after as you have
Stated, the government has been at this for 21 years you would think
it would be a snap. But it isn't is it? Again, it is, as you point
out so clearly, all the consumers fault. People are going to lose their signal and they are not going to have any option to get TV. You failed to
clearly define that fact. Those are going to be the people
who cannot afford this the most. If you have been to the stores
lately, in my area the stores like Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, Target, Best
Buy, have all been out of the boxes or weeks if not months. Rain checks are not going to solve the problem either. And while I am on the subject of the
converter box, why now are they producing converter boxes that have
analog pass through and advertising that this is now the box you
really need. Is it because the federal government is leaving
thousands of local stations on the lower (2-12) analog sites
broadcasting in digital and was this explained in your post? Nope!
Now all of those who purchased those boxes and want to watch their
local channels won't be able to because these boxes are only
designed to tune in the stations from 13-69. So does the government want everyone to go out and buy these new analog pass through
boxes at their own expense so they can watch the local news that is
of importance to them? Oh yes, as I forgot, your statement strongly
smells of it is the consumers fault and no one else.
So I ask again . . . who do you work for? Or is it that you just
really need that bandwidth so you can yak, play games or watch TV on
your 3G system while driving down the highway?
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I've been reading articles about digital television for at least 20 years in newspapers, magazines, television, and online. Common, ordinary, everyday publications...all available to the public, no top secret clearances required. Also, I've seen HD sets in stores for the better part of a decade, ranging from the massive rear projection sets of ages past to the slim wall hanging LCD's of today. Been watching broadcasts on said sets for the same period of time. Again, public information, no top secret clearance required.
Information about the public safety spectrum being reserved and the coupon program are not that difficult to find.
Once adopted, the digital broadcast standard was largely set in stone, and not open to substantial changes. I think it was because of this they took a very long time to evaluate the competing standards, and make a decision. Ten years ago (or so), the government chose a standard they believed would work best. Making major changes could invalidate billions of dollars worth of investments by broadcasters, the companies that make broadcast equipment, consumer electronics companies, and most importantly consumers.
Issues with fringe reception didn't come to light until broadcasters got their facilities up and running, and were able to do real world, full power tests. Once the issues manifest, then the powers can try to find a solution. While I'm sure they would like to just wave their magic wand, the reality is solutions can take time to develop and implement, be it through technology such as improving the tuning hardware, or regulatory changes such as this http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-256A1.pdf
Broadcasters tried to mirror their digital coverage with their analog footprint, but it's obviously harder to do in a real world environment. The recent changes by the FCC may give them more tools to address that, but it's up to the broadcaster to implement. It's callous to say, but for the time being that's how it is.
Time Warner is a private company and sadly they CAN charge what they want to run cable. Personally, I would try pursuing it through whoever manages the local cable franchise and see if they can help um...persuade TW to string the cable. My explanation for the cost is pretty simple, it's the nastier byproduct of the free enterprise system, greed.
Satellite has always had it's issues...snow, trees, requiring southern exposure. While trees are an issue sometimes, installers seem to be pretty creative at finding solutions if they exist. At one point, my neighbor had a dish on a 30 foot metal pole attached to his deck and we do have lots of trees here in the Northwest.
Yes, some will lose their television signals. As I said earlier, broadcasters tried to duplicate their analog footprint and are not always successful. Said broadcasters have solutions available IF THEY CHOOSE to implement them. Access to television is NOT a guaranteed right. Show me a single clause that states that.
In my area, the stores have stacks of converter boxes...Radio Shack, Walmart, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc.
Yes, the analog passthrough is an option on some boxes that will allow reception of low powered analog channels (local, community based) through the box. ONly the full power stations (broadcast networks) are flipping the switch next month with the low power stations follwing sometime down the road. If you don't get or watch any of those stations, you don't need analog pass through.
The digital channels assigned to the broadcasters fall in the 13-69 channel range.
Enormous undertakings like this rarely ever happen flawlessly, and I've never said the digital transition was perfect. In my eyes, the biggest flaw is the coupon program. It could have been handled far better, and perhaps with the infusion of cash from the Obama stimulus and improved oversight, it will be. Coupon program aside, consumers are freely able to purchase a converter box on their own...either locally, or online. Ultimately it IS the consumer's responsibility to act and ready themselves for the transition to the best of their ability. DTV has been coming for a long time, and the signs were readily apparent. Since the hard cutoff date was set, the awareness campaign has been in full swing and largely inescapable. Who's fault is it for not paying attention?
When the switchover happens next month, contact the broadcasters and the FCC if you lose your signal.
The NY Times is wrong, at least factually, on the Digital TV Transition. If 6.5 million tv viewers haven't gotten the message until now, are they of any value to advertsiers? Or even politicians? Are these the voters who are always undecided? http://www.medianewsandviews.com/2009/01/nytdigitaltvduhs/