johnnymk

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/bu..._r=1&th&emc=th

The nation’s broadcasters may not complete their long-awaited switch to all-digital TV next month, after all.

On Thursday President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team urged Congress to extend the Feb. 17 cutoff date for analog broadcasting, injecting new uncertainty into a switch that has confused customers and cost the government more than $1.3 billion in subsidies.

Several television networks and high-ranking Democrats supported Mr. Obama’s proposal, although it remains unclear whether a change will be made.

Ending analog signals will affect millions of television viewers who own old televisions. Those sets will not be able to receive over-the-air television signals once the mandated upgrade to digital transmission takes place, unless their owners buy converter boxes, which the government is subsidizing.

In the most significant sign to date of concern about the impending transition, John D. Podesta, the chairman of the Obama transition team, said the Congressional financing to support the change was “woefully inadequate.”

Echoing concerns from consumers groups, Mr. Podesta said in a letter to Congressional leaders that the Obama staff had found major difficulties in the transition, which was authorized by Congress in 2005.

He said a federal coupon program for discounts on the cost of converter boxes has, at least temporarily, run out of funds, forcing more than one million coupon requests to be put on a waiting list. To date, 18.8 million coupons have been redeemed; some have expired without being used, and as more expire, new ones will be made available.

Mr. Podesta said that the number of requests — possibly hundreds of thousands each day — could overwhelm the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is running the program. The coupons are worth $40, and the most basic converters cost about $50.

Mr. Podesta also described as insufficient the government’s plans to handle the expected rush of inquiries as Feb. 17 draws near and indicated that Mr. Obama’s proposed stimulus package would include funds to address the problems.

Several high-ranking Congressional members said the recommendation should be considered swiftly. Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia and chairman of the committee on commerce, science and transportation, said he would support delaying the analog cutoff “until we can do it right.”

But some prominent Republicans rejected the recommendation. In a statement, Representative Joe L. Barton of Texas said that “ditching the deadline” would amount to panic. “We don’t need to bail out the DTV transition program because it isn’t failing, and reintroducing uncertainty to the switch will make things worse instead of better," Mr. Barton, a ranking member of the House committee on energy and commerce, said.

Neither Mr. Podesta nor any of the lawmakers indicated the length of a potential delay.

The end of analog broadcasting will free up spectrum for use by wireless companies and public safety agencies. A big advertising campaign by the government and the broadcasting industry, complete with messages on the side of a Nascar race car, has asked consumers, “Are you ready?”

Still, Nielsen Media Research estimates that 7.8 million households, representing 6.8 percent of homes with television, were not ready as of December because they had not upgraded any of their television sets. Unless members of those households purchase new TV’s or converter boxes, they will lose service when the analog signals are shut off. Homes with cable or satellite service will not be affected, only those with old antennas.

The owners of major networks, including NBC Universal and the News Corporation, have indicated that they support a delay. After all, they could see a drop in audience if many TV sets suddenly go dark.

Local television stations in many markets have held digital TV tests, temporarily turning off their analog signal and informing viewers of the impending change. During one recent test in Knoxville, Tenn., Debra Krause Dandaneau, found that the television and antenna she had purchased did not work without a converter box. She requested a coupon for a converter box in October, but it had expired by the time it arrived in the mail.

She has waited four weeks for a new one.

“Now, I wonder ‘Will that coupon be delivered?’ ” she said, adding that she has a Ph.D. in physics and that “this has been difficult and frustrating.”

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DarkFury

Honestly, I didn't know THAT many people still were using "rabbit ear" antennas on their TVs...

18.8 million TV sets that don't have cable/satellite/other TV provider... wow.

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brainsmile

So we'll have some rural people thinking the US was destroyed... minor glitch

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zenbooty

More evidence of why government should be kept out of private industry as much as possible. Nothing ever gets done. Nothing ever progresses.

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DarkFury

As consumers... dayuumed if you do, dayuumed if you don't.


We are bound to get screwed either way in most cases... so you have to pick who you want to have dibs on your backside I suppose.

Maarchk

If the transition happens, people will walk around and ask their friends and neighbors. And they are bound to figure it out at some point...

I don't know why the government is sponsoring the transition anyways. Aren't tv's a luxury and not a necessity? Now if you needed new water pipes or something, maybe? Just seems odd. I'd think the digital producers of content would help you out, they are the ones who will lose viewers.

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attgig

because it's the government that owns the waves that pass through our bodies so that people can get their tv.

If they decide, oh, let me change this from this band of frequency to this one, they're the ones that are screwing over americans who've invested billions into their tvs.

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Yossarian

i'm still wondering why this switch is even happening

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VTGreg

I was under the impression that it isn't just those using rabbit ears. If you have a direct cable feed (i.e. no cable box) your tv will not work any longer without a converter or a cable box. I for one have a tv that falls into this category.


It said why in the article. To free up spectrum.

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LPMiller

and it is a vast improvement in both quality and signal strength.

I say no delay. They've been warning people forever, and frankly there is always going to be someone who is clueless. Europe switched years ago without this kind of hassle, just friggin do it already!

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DarkFury

If you have direct cable, then you can probably go to your cable company and get a box.

johnnymk

My mother has an analog TV and has cable. From everything I have read, she will have no problems.

Chgoman

The government is behind the switch because digital transmissions take up much less bendwith frequency than analog. It frees up a huge amount of the spetrum that they can then sell of to the highest bidder for hundreds of millions of dollars.

In Hawaii they already made the swith a few weeks ago. After an intesive advertising campaign to educate everyone, once they threw the switch anyone without digital capabilities saw a repeating message explaining what they needed to do and providing a toll free number for support. They were flooded with calls by all the people who never paid attention, but with that support it's going farily smoothly overrall.

The government should follow that model. It worked pretty well.

raimin

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/28/d...pass-in-house/

go representatives!!!

In an absolutely shocking move, the United States House of Representatives has failed to pass the digital TV transition delay bill that was all but certain to fly through just days ago. The bill needed two-thirds of the votes of the House under "special rules adopted for the vote," and reportedly, the vote was just 258 to 168 in favor of changing the date. As it stands, an estimated 6.5 million Americans are not yet prepared for the switch -- which is now back on track for February 17th -- and the money well for government-issued vouchers has ran dry. Honestly, we're elated to hear the news. The February date has been blasted from the rooftops for years now, and changing it this late in the game would wreak all kinds of havoc in the industry, not to mention instill even more confusion. Soon-to-be-vacated airwaves, we're ready for you.

johnnymk

Digital TV conversion delayed until June 12

02-04) 13:32 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Television viewers who rely on sets with antennas to pick up their broadcast signals have about four extra months to get ready for the nation's switch to digital TV.

The House of Representatives voted 264 to 158 today to move back the Feb. 17 deadline to June 12, sending the fast-tracked legislation to President Obama, who has promised to sign it. The vote, largely along party lines, gives approximately 6.5 million unprepared households more time to prepare for the day when all analog TV broadcasts are turned off.

"We are not ready for this transition," said U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, during the House debate. "We can fix these problems and minimize this catastrophe if we pass this legislation."

The Senate first passed the bill unanimously last week and then resubmitted it after a corresponding House vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Wednesday's House vote required a simple majority.

Consumers who rely on traditional over-the-air broadcasts will need to upgrade to a pay TV service such as cable or satellite, use a TV with a digital tuner or buy a converter box for their older analog television sets.

The bill passed by the House does not include new money for a federal program aimed at providing viewers $40 coupons toward a converter box, which can cost $40 to $80. The program has dispensed its allotment of $1.34 billion worth of coupons and is waiting for unused coupons - good for 90 days - to expire before issuing new vouchers.

About 3.5 million requests are now on the waiting list. The new legislation also allows consumers to reapply for a coupon if their vouchers have expired.

Obama's stimulus package includes $650 million for the converter box coupons, but Republicans argued the money will not be available for weeks if not months.

Opponents of the delay said the new transition date only adds more confusion, delays the handover of old spectrum to emergency first responders and doesn't come with money of its own for the coupon program. Some Republicans took issue with the Democrats' streamlined approval process for the bill, which prevented representatives from amending the legislation and adding funding for the coupons.

"We're delaying a hard transition today without any additional money or any way to send out additional coupons," said Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Commerce Committee. "How silly is that?"

The delay does not mean every station will continue to broadcast in analog. Broadcasters will be permitted to shut off their analog transmission before June 12. That creates a potential uneven transition for analog viewers, who might still lose some channels, depending on what local stations decide to do.

Despite that scenario, proponents said the delay was necessary to not only disburse more coupons but also help educate them about issues that arise from the transition.

"We knew there was going to be some challenges moving forward even if the date is moved, but this allows ut so get more information and assistance to folks," said Mark Lloyd, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund.

For more information about the transition to digital TV, go to www.dtv.gov, or call 1 (888) 388-2009.

DarkFury

Ok.. this is getting messy now.

VTGreg

Tell me about it. Just flip the switch already. Now we pushed the date out with limited to no means to aid in the transition.

Prngr44

I just wonder how many people got boxes that had zero need for them?

Get a free box, then turn around and sell it on ebay?

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DarkFury

The boxes weren't free... at least not as originally planned.

the coupon was for $40 off of the purchase of a box... (unless they found a box that retailed for $40 I suppose.. )

PrObLy

I know quite a few people who purchased boxes although they had no need for them.

It wasn't a question of greed or trying to sell them for a profit, but rather due to a lack of knowledge.

There seemed to be a lot of "OMG, get a digital box or you can't watch TV anymore" commercials. The commercials then said to go to some website for more details....which a lot of people neglected to do. Therefore, many people purchased boxes "just incase" and later found out that it wasn't needed.

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zippyjuan

Some stations still say they will shut down on the 17th- it costs them money to run multiple transmitters. I also saw a new ticker item which said some of the box makers said they may run out of them. Ah- here it is: http://enews.earthlink.net/article/t...90206390459977 I got one for my parents and hooked it up in August. They are pretty happy so far. The picture on the stations they get is much better than with the antenna- there were a couple that they could not get on the new box.

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