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Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by blue hairedgrannies celebrate!
http://www.pcworld.com/article/15836...ransition.html
They said that "It would take an act of Congress" to postpone the digital TV transition, said a board member of the DTV Transition coalition earlier this month, this before Congress began considering President Obama's request for a delay. And now, that's exactly how this saga is playing out. The U.S. Senate voted at 9:15 PM Monday evening to delay the switchover from analog to digital television broadcasting, on a bill sponsored by Senator John Rockefeller (D W-Va). The original date was set for February 17, 2009, just 22 days from now; under the bill passed in the Senate, that deadline would postponed until June 12, 2009. The House still needs to vote, but it is expected to pass similar legislation extending the transition. The reprieve for analog is a response to concerns that an estimated 6.5 million U.S. households continue to rely on antennas and will go dark when the switchover to digital occurs. A year ago, the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 13.5 million households would require a converter box. At the heart of the transition's delay are Issues with the deployment of funds from the U.S. Commerce Department's coupon program, which offers households up to two $40 coupons to defray the cost of a digital TV converter box. The coupon program launched over a year ago; and 19 million coupons have been redeemed--a redemption rate of around 50 percent. By the end of 2008, though, the funds allocated for the coupon program had dried up: Consumers who tried to request a coupon were put on a waiting list. "There was a set amount of money-$1.3 billion-for coupons," explains John Taylor, the aforementioned board member of the DTV Transition coalition, and vice president of communications at LG Electronics. But the coupons are good for a limited time only. "As the coupons expire, the money goes back into the treasury." The money then has to be reallocated to back new coupons--a process that has taken longer than expected. Before the Senate vote for a delay was announced, Taylor expected another 10 million coupons to be redeemed before the February transition deadline. Taylor notes that having a hard date for the transition is important. "It gives certainty" to the process he says, both for consumers and for consumer electronics companies. According to the coalition's most recent survey data, he notes, 97 percent of households know about DTV today and know that the transition was scheduled to happen in February. If you do have a DTV converter box today, you'll have to take action on the presumed new transition day: You'll have to rescan the channels on your converter box. "When 600 stations move to a different frequency that night [of the transition], that affects everyone with a digital TV and an ATSC tuner," says Taylor. ----------------------- WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate passed a bill on Monday to delay the nationwide switch to digital TV signals, giving consumers nearly four more months to prepare. The transition date would move to June 12 from February 17 under the bill that was fueled by worries that viewers are not technically ready for the congressionally-mandated switch-over. It also would allow consumers with expired coupons, available from the government to offset the cost of a $40 converter box, to request new coupons. The government ran out of coupons earlier this month, and about 2.5 million Americans are on a waiting list for them. Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller said delaying the TV switch is the right thing to do because the United States is not yet ready to make the transition. "The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process," the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement. Many lawmakers worry that an estimated 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households are not ready for the switch, which requires owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals to buy a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite TV. Broadcasters are moving from analog to digital signals to give public safety officials more spectrum, especially useful for emergencies, and to improve viewing quality. Momentum had been building for a delay since President Barack Obama backed it earlier this month. The digital TV bill also would extend the licenses of AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, which are waiting for the airwaves to be vacated when all TVs convert. The companies, which paid $16 billion for the public airwaves in an auction last year, would get 116 extra days on their licenses under the proposed legislation. CTIA, the wireless trade association, has said a delay could hurt confidence in the FCC's spectrum auctions. |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by blue haired grannies celebrate!
This is without a doubt the least interesting Usenet LET'S CHARGE THE
BARRICADES, BOYS! REVOLUTIOOOOOOOON! post I have seen in a long time. Oh no! They want to mess with our TEE VEE! Wingdingaling6 hunched over a computer, typing feverishly; Thunder crashed, Wingdingaling6 laughed madly, then wrote: http://www.pcworld.com/article/15836...ransition.html They said that "It would take an act of Congress" to postpone the digital TV transition, said a board member of the DTV Transition coalition earlier this month, this before Congress began considering President Obama's request for a delay. And now, that's exactly how this saga is playing out. The U.S. Senate voted at 9:15 PM Monday evening to delay the switchover from analog to digital television broadcasting, on a bill sponsored by Senator John Rockefeller (D W-Va). The original date was set for February 17, 2009, just 22 days from now; under the bill passed in the Senate, that deadline would postponed until June 12, 2009. The House still needs to vote, but it is expected to pass similar legislation extending the transition. The reprieve for analog is a response to concerns that an estimated 6.5 million U.S. households continue to rely on antennas and will go dark when the switchover to digital occurs. A year ago, the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 13.5 million households would require a converter box. At the heart of the transition's delay are Issues with the deployment of funds from the U.S. Commerce Department's coupon program, which offers households up to two $40 coupons to defray the cost of a digital TV converter box. The coupon program launched over a year ago; and 19 million coupons have been redeemed--a redemption rate of around 50 percent. By the end of 2008, though, the funds allocated for the coupon program had dried up: Consumers who tried to request a coupon were put on a waiting list. "There was a set amount of money-$1.3 billion-for coupons," explains John Taylor, the aforementioned board member of the DTV Transition coalition, and vice president of communications at LG Electronics. But the coupons are good for a limited time only. "As the coupons expire, the money goes back into the treasury." The money then has to be reallocated to back new coupons--a process that has taken longer than expected. Before the Senate vote for a delay was announced, Taylor expected another 10 million coupons to be redeemed before the February transition deadline. Taylor notes that having a hard date for the transition is important. "It gives certainty" to the process he says, both for consumers and for consumer electronics companies. According to the coalition's most recent survey data, he notes, 97 percent of households know about DTV today and know that the transition was scheduled to happen in February. If you do have a DTV converter box today, you'll have to take action on the presumed new transition day: You'll have to rescan the channels on your converter box. "When 600 stations move to a different frequency that night [of the transition], that affects everyone with a digital TV and an ATSC tuner," says Taylor. ----------------------- WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate passed a bill on Monday to delay the nationwide switch to digital TV signals, giving consumers nearly four more months to prepare. The transition date would move to June 12 from February 17 under the bill that was fueled by worries that viewers are not technically ready for the congressionally-mandated switch-over. It also would allow consumers with expired coupons, available from the government to offset the cost of a $40 converter box, to request new coupons. The government ran out of coupons earlier this month, and about 2.5 million Americans are on a waiting list for them. Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller said delaying the TV switch is the right thing to do because the United States is not yet ready to make the transition. "The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process," the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement. Many lawmakers worry that an estimated 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households are not ready for the switch, which requires owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals to buy a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite TV. Broadcasters are moving from analog to digital signals to give public safety officials more spectrum, especially useful for emergencies, and to improve viewing quality. Momentum had been building for a delay since President Barack Obama backed it earlier this month. The digital TV bill also would extend the licenses of AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, which are waiting for the airwaves to be vacated when all TVs convert. The companies, which paid $16 billion for the public airwaves in an auction last year, would get 116 extra days on their licenses under the proposed legislation. CTIA, the wireless trade association, has said a delay could hurt confidence in the FCC's spectrum auctions. -- Zapanaz International Satanic Conspiracy Customer Support Specialist http://joecosby.com/ Flee your warm cushion! Slippery-slap at the window, The lampreys are here! - Cat Haiku, Dunter Powries :: Currently listening to Lieutenant Kijé Suite Op.60 2 Romance, 1933, by Prokofiev, from "Alexander Nevsky & Lieutenant Kijé" |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by bluehaired grannies celebrate!
Wingdingaling6 wrote:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/15836...ransition.html They said that "It would take an act of Congress" to postpone the digital TV transition, said a board member of the DTV Transition coalition earlier this month, this before Congress began considering President Obama's request for a delay. And now, that's exactly how this saga is playing out. (snippage) Just in time for my senile Aunt who insists she doesn't need a digital converter since she only watches one channel! |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by bluehaired grannies celebrate!
On Jan 26, 9:19*pm, Wingdingaling6 wrote:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/15836...elay_dtv_trans... They said that "It would take an act of Congress" to postpone the digital TV transition, said a board member of the DTV Transition coalition earlier this month, this before Congress began considering President Obama's request for a delay. And now, that's exactly how this saga is playing out. The U.S. Senate voted at 9:15 PM Monday evening to delay the switchover from analog to digital television broadcasting, on a bill sponsored by Senator John Rockefeller (D W-Va). The original date was set for February 17, 2009, just 22 days from now; under the bill passed in the Senate, that deadline would postponed until June 12, 2009. The House still needs to vote, but it is expected to pass similar legislation extending the transition. The reprieve for analog is a response to concerns that an estimated 6.5 million U.S. households continue to rely on antennas and will go dark when the switchover to digital occurs. A year ago, the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 13.5 million households would require a converter box. At the heart of the transition's delay are Issues with the deployment of funds from the U.S. Commerce Department's coupon program, which offers households up to two $40 coupons to defray the cost of a digital TV converter box. The coupon program launched over a year ago; and 19 million coupons have been redeemed--a redemption rate of around 50 percent. By the end of 2008, though, the funds allocated for the coupon program had dried up: Consumers who tried to request a coupon were put on a waiting list. "There was a set amount of money-$1.3 billion-for coupons," explains John Taylor, the aforementioned board member of the DTV Transition coalition, and vice president of communications at LG Electronics. But the coupons are good for a limited time only. "As the coupons expire, the money goes back into the treasury." The money then has to be reallocated to back new coupons--a process that has taken longer than expected. Before the Senate vote for a delay was announced, Taylor expected another 10 million coupons to be redeemed before the February transition deadline. Taylor notes that having a hard date for the transition is important. "It gives certainty" to the process he says, both for consumers and for consumer electronics companies. According to the coalition's most recent survey data, he notes, 97 percent of households know about DTV today and know that the transition was scheduled to happen in February. If you do have a DTV converter box today, you'll have to take action on the presumed new transition day: You'll have to rescan the channels on your converter box. "When 600 stations move to a different frequency that night [of the transition], that affects everyone with a digital TV and an ATSC tuner," says Taylor. ----------------------- WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate passed a bill on Monday to delay the nationwide switch to digital TV signals, giving consumers nearly four more months to prepare. The transition date would move to June 12 from February 17 under the bill that was fueled by worries that viewers are not technically ready for the congressionally-mandated switch-over. It also would allow consumers with expired coupons, available from the government to offset the cost of a $40 converter box, to request new coupons. The government ran out of coupons earlier this month, and about 2.5 million Americans are on a waiting list for them. Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller said delaying the TV switch is the right thing to do because the United States is not yet ready to make the transition. "The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process," the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement. Many lawmakers worry that an estimated 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households are not ready for the switch, which requires owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals to buy a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite TV. Broadcasters are moving from analog to digital signals to give public safety officials more spectrum, especially useful for emergencies, and to improve viewing quality. Momentum had been building for a delay since President Barack Obama backed it earlier this month. The digital TV bill also would extend the licenses of AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, which are waiting for the airwaves to be vacated when all TVs convert. The companies, which paid $16 billion for the public airwaves in an auction last year, would get 116 extra days on their licenses under the proposed legislation. CTIA, the wireless trade association, has said a delay could hurt confidence in the FCC's spectrum auctions. IF YOU BOUGHT THE CONVERTER BOX -- GUESS WHAT, YOU STILL NEED AN ANTENNA AND AUDIO/VIDEO JACK (color coded yellow, white, etc.) EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS NOT IN THE BOX. AS GOMER PYLE WOULD SAY --- SURPRISE, SURPISE, SURPRISE! |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by blue haired grannies celebrate!
Fire, Hell, Damnation.
TV wrought upon the Dumb Nation. BLOW UP YOUR TV! "schizobeck" wrote in message ... On Jan 26, 9:19 pm, Wingdingaling6 wrote: http://www.pcworld.com/article/15836...elay_dtv_trans... They said that "It would take an act of Congress" to postpone the digital TV transition, said a board member of the DTV Transition coalition earlier this month, this before Congress began considering President Obama's request for a delay. And now, that's exactly how this saga is playing out. The U.S. Senate voted at 9:15 PM Monday evening to delay the switchover from analog to digital television broadcasting, on a bill sponsored by Senator John Rockefeller (D W-Va). The original date was set for February 17, 2009, just 22 days from now; under the bill passed in the Senate, that deadline would postponed until June 12, 2009. The House still needs to vote, but it is expected to pass similar legislation extending the transition. The reprieve for analog is a response to concerns that an estimated 6.5 million U.S. households continue to rely on antennas and will go dark when the switchover to digital occurs. A year ago, the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 13.5 million households would require a converter box. At the heart of the transition's delay are Issues with the deployment of funds from the U.S. Commerce Department's coupon program, which offers households up to two $40 coupons to defray the cost of a digital TV converter box. The coupon program launched over a year ago; and 19 million coupons have been redeemed--a redemption rate of around 50 percent. By the end of 2008, though, the funds allocated for the coupon program had dried up: Consumers who tried to request a coupon were put on a waiting list. "There was a set amount of money-$1.3 billion-for coupons," explains John Taylor, the aforementioned board member of the DTV Transition coalition, and vice president of communications at LG Electronics. But the coupons are good for a limited time only. "As the coupons expire, the money goes back into the treasury." The money then has to be reallocated to back new coupons--a process that has taken longer than expected. Before the Senate vote for a delay was announced, Taylor expected another 10 million coupons to be redeemed before the February transition deadline. Taylor notes that having a hard date for the transition is important. "It gives certainty" to the process he says, both for consumers and for consumer electronics companies. According to the coalition's most recent survey data, he notes, 97 percent of households know about DTV today and know that the transition was scheduled to happen in February. If you do have a DTV converter box today, you'll have to take action on the presumed new transition day: You'll have to rescan the channels on your converter box. "When 600 stations move to a different frequency that night [of the transition], that affects everyone with a digital TV and an ATSC tuner," says Taylor. ----------------------- WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate passed a bill on Monday to delay the nationwide switch to digital TV signals, giving consumers nearly four more months to prepare. The transition date would move to June 12 from February 17 under the bill that was fueled by worries that viewers are not technically ready for the congressionally-mandated switch-over. It also would allow consumers with expired coupons, available from the government to offset the cost of a $40 converter box, to request new coupons. The government ran out of coupons earlier this month, and about 2.5 million Americans are on a waiting list for them. Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller said delaying the TV switch is the right thing to do because the United States is not yet ready to make the transition. "The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process," the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement. Many lawmakers worry that an estimated 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households are not ready for the switch, which requires owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals to buy a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite TV. Broadcasters are moving from analog to digital signals to give public safety officials more spectrum, especially useful for emergencies, and to improve viewing quality. Momentum had been building for a delay since President Barack Obama backed it earlier this month. The digital TV bill also would extend the licenses of AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, which are waiting for the airwaves to be vacated when all TVs convert. The companies, which paid $16 billion for the public airwaves in an auction last year, would get 116 extra days on their licenses under the proposed legislation. CTIA, the wireless trade association, has said a delay could hurt confidence in the FCC's spectrum auctions. IF YOU BOUGHT THE CONVERTER BOX -- GUESS WHAT, YOU STILL NEED AN ANTENNA AND AUDIO/VIDEO JACK (color coded yellow, white, etc.) EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS NOT IN THE BOX. AS GOMER PYLE WOULD SAY --- SURPRISE, SURPISE, SURPRISE! |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by bluehaired grannies celebrate!
On Jan 26, 11:19 pm, schizobeck wrote:
On Jan 26, 9:19 pm, Wingdingaling6 wrote: http://www.pcworld.com/article/15836...elay_dtv_trans... They said that "It would take an act of Congress" to postpone the digital TV transition, said a board member of the DTV Transition coalition earlier this month, this before Congress began considering President Obama's request for a delay. And now, that's exactly how this saga is playing out. The U.S. Senate voted at 9:15 PM Monday evening to delay the switchover from analog to digital television broadcasting, on a bill sponsored by Senator John Rockefeller (D W-Va). The original date was set for February 17, 2009, just 22 days from now; under the bill passed in the Senate, that deadline would postponed until June 12, 2009. The House still needs to vote, but it is expected to pass similar legislation extending the transition. The reprieve for analog is a response to concerns that an estimated 6.5 million U.S. households continue to rely on antennas and will go dark when the switchover to digital occurs. A year ago, the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 13.5 million households would require a converter box. At the heart of the transition's delay are Issues with the deployment of funds from the U.S. Commerce Department's coupon program, which offers households up to two $40 coupons to defray the cost of a digital TV converter box. The coupon program launched over a year ago; and 19 million coupons have been redeemed--a redemption rate of around 50 percent. By the end of 2008, though, the funds allocated for the coupon program had dried up: Consumers who tried to request a coupon were put on a waiting list. "There was a set amount of money-$1.3 billion-for coupons," explains John Taylor, the aforementioned board member of the DTV Transition coalition, and vice president of communications at LG Electronics. But the coupons are good for a limited time only. "As the coupons expire, the money goes back into the treasury." The money then has to be reallocated to back new coupons--a process that has taken longer than expected. Before the Senate vote for a delay was announced, Taylor expected another 10 million coupons to be redeemed before the February transition deadline. Taylor notes that having a hard date for the transition is important. "It gives certainty" to the process he says, both for consumers and for consumer electronics companies. According to the coalition's most recent survey data, he notes, 97 percent of households know about DTV today and know that the transition was scheduled to happen in February. If you do have a DTV converter box today, you'll have to take action on the presumed new transition day: You'll have to rescan the channels on your converter box. "When 600 stations move to a different frequency that night [of the transition], that affects everyone with a digital TV and an ATSC tuner," says Taylor. ----------------------- WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate passed a bill on Monday to delay the nationwide switch to digital TV signals, giving consumers nearly four more months to prepare. The transition date would move to June 12 from February 17 under the bill that was fueled by worries that viewers are not technically ready for the congressionally-mandated switch-over. It also would allow consumers with expired coupons, available from the government to offset the cost of a $40 converter box, to request new coupons. The government ran out of coupons earlier this month, and about 2.5 million Americans are on a waiting list for them. Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller said delaying the TV switch is the right thing to do because the United States is not yet ready to make the transition. "The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process," the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement. Many lawmakers worry that an estimated 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households are not ready for the switch, which requires owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals to buy a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite TV. Broadcasters are moving from analog to digital signals to give public safety officials more spectrum, especially useful for emergencies, and to improve viewing quality. Momentum had been building for a delay since President Barack Obama backed it earlier this month. The digital TV bill also would extend the licenses of AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, which are waiting for the airwaves to be vacated when all TVs convert. The companies, which paid $16 billion for the public airwaves in an auction last year, would get 116 extra days on their licenses under the proposed legislation. CTIA, the wireless trade association, has said a delay could hurt confidence in the FCC's spectrum auctions. IF YOU BOUGHT THE CONVERTER BOX -- GUESS WHAT, YOU STILL NEED AN ANTENNA AND AUDIO/VIDEO JACK (color coded yellow, white, etc.) EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS NOT IN THE BOX. AS GOMER PYLE WOULD SAY --- SURPRISE, SURPISE, SURPRISE! All the cables I needed were in the box on both converters I purchased, and all the cables needed were also in the boxes of the two converters my mom purchased. As far as antennas, in many cases the same indoor antenna works fine. In other cases, may need a more powerful antenna. |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by bluehaired grannies celebrate!
schizobeck wrote:
IF YOU BOUGHT THE CONVERTER BOX -- GUESS WHAT, YOU STILL NEED AN ANTENNA AND AUDIO/VIDEO JACK (color coded yellow, white, etc.) EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS NOT IN THE BOX. AS GOMER PYLE WOULD SAY --- SURPRISE, SURPISE, SURPRISE! Huh? I would respectfully ask what you are talking about. Why would they "STILL NEED AN ANTENNA"? The -only- reason they would need a converter box in the first place is because they are already getting their TV signal from an existing antenna. If they already have it (and they HAVE to), why would you say they need to get an antenna? And no, in most cases, they will not NEED the color coded cables as the large majority of the converters -also- have an RF output (Ch. 3 or 4) and many (but not all) converters include the color coded and/or RF output cable(s). |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by blue haired grannies celebrate!
Broadcasters are moving from analog to digital signals to give public safety officials more spectrum, especially useful for emergencies, and to improve viewing quality. Momentum had been building for a delay since President Barack Obama backed it earlier this month. The digital TV bill also would extend the licenses of AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, which are waiting for the airwaves to be vacated when all TVs convert. The companies, which paid $16 billion for the public airwaves in an auction last year, would get 116 extra days on their licenses under the proposed legislation. CTIA, the wireless trade association, has said a delay could hurt confidence in the FCC's spectrum auctions. IF YOU BOUGHT THE CONVERTER BOX -- GUESS WHAT, YOU STILL NEED AN ANTENNA AND AUDIO/VIDEO JACK (color coded yellow, white, etc.) EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS NOT IN THE BOX. AS GOMER PYLE WOULD SAY --- SURPRISE, SURPISE, SURPRISE! My RCA converter had everything EXCEPT one of those cheapie 300 ohm twin-lead (from the rabbit ears) to 75 ohm transformers. Fortunately, the TV already had one with it, but I'd have been SOL if it were for my other analog set. Also, I still have one of the converter box "coupons" or glorified credit card which the program did a huge FUBAR in having them with a mere 90 day life. That was by far their biggest screw-up. Hopefully the lawmakers will allow the expirations to be extended. The picture is better, my TV has closed caption for the first time, but the reception ain't so consistent. Looks like a pre-amp for it may be in order. |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by bluehaired grannies celebrate!
From what I read, it's now a CHOICE if stations want to terminate the
analog signal or wait the four months. More confusion. Just get it over with, it's coming. |
Senate votes to delay DTV transition - RCA TV's owned by bluehaired grannies celebrate!
SC Dxing wrote:
From what I read, it's now a CHOICE if stations want to terminate the analog signal or wait the four months. In other words, the delay is all about the broadcasters being ready, NOT about the poor, confused public... |
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