I dont have a link on this yet, but it looks like it has passed congress.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=130596&catid=3
My problem with this is I don't think we will be ready in June. I bet we will have the same debate we are having now.
Who is not ready? The ones that have been ignoring the commercials and warnings for over a year?
Screw them, free up the airwaves.
I think the main problem is that there is a waiting list for the $40 coupons. Or there aren't any more available.
...soo...what happens to PBS? Will the government be offering them bail money?
QuoteThe TV Converter Box Coupon Program has reached its funding ceiling. However, coupon requests from eligible households will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis as funds become available from expiring coupons. You will not receive coupons until funds becomes available. If you would like to apply for a coupon today and are eligible, you will be placed on a waiting list.
If you choose to apply for your coupons today and are eligible, you will receive a reference number. You can use this reference number to return to this website periodically and check the status of your request. The website will be updated if funding becomes available, and the mailing date for your coupons will be updated at that time.
Consumers who have an analog TV and rely on a rooftop antenna or rabbit ears to receive their programs are encouraged to take action to ensure at least one TV in their home is prepared for the digital television transition. You may:
* Purchase a TV converter box without a coupon;
* Buy a TV with a digital tuner, or;
* Subscribe to cable, satellite or another pay service.
For more information on alternative options please view our 2009 Consumer Guide Fact Sheet.
https://www.dtv2009.gov/WaitingList.aspx
More people waiting for a handout. Buy a box or get cable/Dish/DirecTV. Step into the 21st century. Or at least the latter half of the 20th.
I find it incredible that someone who would actually be affected by the transition is unaware or unprepared. It would be impossible to have lived in this country and EVER watched television or listened to the radio for the past 18 months without becoming informed about the DTV transition. If you aren't prepared and/or don't know about it by now, you never will be or you don't watch TV anyway. My father got a $40 coupon without issue or delay. He told me he took it to Target or somewhere like that and tried to present it and the clerk had no idea what it was. He said there were other people in line and none of them knew what it was. Amazing. The $40 coupons are not the issue. This doesn't affect me at all but it just gets on my nerves, it is another very slight example of a nanny state mentality. If people haven't gotten their act straight in the 18 months they've been getting warned about it, that's their fault.
I agree Trip... when June arrives there will still be people completely befuddled as to why their TV does not work.
I agree Tripoli1711. TV is a privilege, not a right. My response is to the whole thing is get off your fat ass and exercise or truly expand your mind and read a book. My only sympathy is for the elderly who may not have the means to take the proper steps (no additional money, no family to help them out, or disabled by age), but then again they've still got the radio.
http://www.youtube.com/v/AMeaX8Kz2TM
QuoteIt will now be up to broadcasters to decide when to make the switch between now and June 12, since the bill allows them to move early so long as they clear it with the FCC.
The FCC said Tuesday that over a thousand stations would still be able to turn off their analog signals before June 12 if they choose to.
Some stations have already indicated they are sticking with the Feb. 17 date. The FCC said it had heard from 276 stations to that effect, in addition to 143 stations that had already pulled the plug, and another 60 who said they planned to do so before Feb. 17. The FCC had pointed out that some of those 276 may change their minds once the date changes.
Joe Barton (R-TX), who has led the opposition to the bill in the House, suggested that the bill was unnecessary because, according to acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps, some 61% of TV stations were going to make the transtion before June 12 anyway.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/173613-Congress_Changes_DTV_Hard_Date_to_June_12.php
lol...great video.
So I guess PBS will be able to switch early then.
Its not really a matter of "switching" as much as it is to end their analog broadcast. As it sits now every tv station in Jax broadcasts analog and digital. This is all about when they can pull the plug on the analog half of it.
Quote from: Doctor_K on February 05, 2009, 08:45:03 AM
More people waiting for a handout. Buy a box or get cable/Dish/DirecTV. Step into the 21st century. Or at least the latter half of the 20th.
A(F*cking)Men to that!!!!!
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/usworld/news-article.aspx?storyid=131550&catid=6
This is stupid - I'm not trying to knock Obama, but he was the one to push this, now I think it's more of a mess. He delayed the date, but the stations are paying for both transmitters, so naturally, they are going to pull a little early to save a TON of money.
They should have just done the switch on the 17th like they originally intended to.
I dont believe any of the Jacksonville stations are going to pull early.
It sure doesn't look like it.
This is a perfect example of why politicians should continue to push paper and collect their pensions and why they should stay "out" of private sector. Leave production and moving the country forward to business owners and doers. The govt doesn't seem to grasp the concept of cost - only garnering votes.
Quote from: Doctor_K on February 05, 2009, 08:45:03 AM
More people waiting for a handout. Buy a box or get cable/Dish/DirecTV. Step into the 21st century. Or at least the latter half of the 20th.
There is another option to the box, cable, or satellite. Buy a digital TV and hook up the rabbit ears (internal or external). Enjoy HD and about three dozen digital stations (there are lot more than with analog!) for FREE!It appears Ch. 12 (NBC) is now available in its digital and HD forms after having had antenna problems. Only one I still can't receive with rabbit ears is it's sister station, Ch. 25 (ABC). Let's hope they get that online soon as well. All other broadcast stations are now receivable with rabbit ears.
FYI, for the uninitiated, in digital, the picture quality, when properly received, is exactly the same between rabbit ears, cable, or satellite. The main difference is rabbit ears is free and its HD is free (you don't have to pay a premium for HD like you do for the rip off cable and satellite plans!). Unless you get external rabbit ears, you can expect to have to adjust the ears when switching between certain stations. Whadya' expect for free?! All but one of the stations in Providence, RI, dropped analog this week. Most people apparently did have the proper equipment but didn't understand that you had to rescan the TV channels for the presets as the broadcast digital stations are numbered differently than analog (e.g. analog channel 4 is now digital 4-1 or 4.001 depending on your TV's naming convention). Without reprogramming the presets, they were not seeing the digital numbers. Interestingly, the FCC negotiated for one network station in the market to continue broadcasting in the analog format to insure those who weren't prepared could still have access to news and emergency broadcasts until June.
Today is the day...
QuoteDawn of digital-only TV arrives; analog just a static memory
(CNN) -- An era in American broadcast television will end Friday as the nation finishes its delayed transition to digital TV.
By 12:01 a.m. Saturday, broadcasters must have shut down their outdated analog transmitters, leaving static to watch for those who are not ready.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/12/digital.TV/index.html
my tv didn't work today...is this why? I have been ignoring all of the commercials and tv news stories for 2 years...and now it doesn't work...
I wonder if anyone watching the NBA finals in OT lost their signal.
I was watching the game and didn't see any difference. I only use rabbit ears and everything seemed to work fine.
I had to go check my tvs. They work but the picture doesn't look as good, especially on my plasma. I have comcast as my provider.
If you already have cable or satelitte, Comcast, DirectTV or Dish Network, you will see absolutly no difference. Nothing changed. If your picture doesn't look clear today then there is something else going on unrelated to the switchover. The analog signal only affected folks with rabbit ears or antennas.
I have Comcast also and my picture has gone to crap as well. Did you try to rectify this with Comcast?
No, I thought I was crazy since it had been stated that there shouldn't be any change. My plasma had a great picture before but now I can see the dots. Maybe it is just something wrong with the cable as jbroadglide suggested. I will call tommorrow.