Digital TV switch delayed until June 12, 2009.

[downtownparks]

I dont have a link on this yet, but it looks like it has passed congress.

[downtownparks]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=130596&catid=3

[Steve]

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.

[jandar]

Who is not ready? The ones that have been ignoring the commercials and warnings for over a year?

Screw them, free up the airwaves.

[Lunican]

I think the main problem is that there is a waiting list for the $40 coupons. Or there aren't any more available.

[ProjectMaximus]

...soo...what happens to PBS? Will the government be offering them bail money?

[Lunican]

The 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

[Doctor_K]

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.

[Tripoli1711]

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.   

[BridgeTroll]

I agree Trip... when June arrives there will still be people completely befuddled as to why their TV does not work.

[Deuce]

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.

[Lunican]

http://www.youtube.com/v/AMeaX8Kz2TM

[Lunican]

It 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

[ProjectMaximus]

lol...great video.

So I guess PBS will be able to switch early then.

[downtownparks]

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.