Digital TV Beckons, but Many Miss the Call

[groovedaddy]

HOUSTON — Vesta Clemmons, who is 77 and lives alone, relies on the battered Zenith television in her tiny apartment here as more than just a lifeline to the outside world.

“It’s like a friend,” she said in her living room, which is also her dining room and bedroom. “I would feel very isolated without it. I get lonesome anyway.”

So Ms. Clemmons was concerned to learn from a public-service campaign that after Feb. 17 the rooftop antenna connected to her television would no longer function properly, and thus neither would her TV — unless she bought and installed an adaptor. On that day the country’s broadcast stations have long been scheduled to shut down the old-fashioned, analog signals that have carried their programming since the days of Milton Berle, and replace them with high-definition digital signals that offer a clearer picture, among other benefits.

But less than a month before the Feb. 17 deadline, so many American households have yet to take the necessary steps to continue to watch over-the-air television — more than 6.5 million, according to Nielsen Media Research — that Congress has considered giving them more time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/arts/television/29ears.html?th&emc=th

[sharp_stick]

1. It doesn't matter how much time you give people

for some reason it's always a race right at the end of a deadline period that people come out of the woodwork.

I've seen ad's and announcements about this digital TV switch for well over a year and I hardly watch any tube at all. If you add another 4 months onto this we'll be hearing all about it again in 3 months.

[BridgeTheGap]

2. We got our converter box earlier this month and hooked it up. Low and behold

stations we used to be able to get with just "rabbit ears" we can't get now. The stations (one being our local public t.v. station - our fav) inform us that we will need an outside antenna to get their signal. Also, the digital signal tends to break up alot during inclement weather.

[thatgemguy]

4. Same Deal Here...

Although, I do have an outside antenna. I have my converter boxes and am unable to get anything with them.

The two stations I receive with an analog signal are about ten miles away to the north and south. Because I live in a valley surounded by hills even the analog signals are not perfect, with multipath(ghosting), and weak signals.

With the converter boxes connected all I get is the "No Signal" message. I've called the local stations, but they could care less.

Corporate America doesn't want us to have free, unfettered access to the airwaves. It's easier for the masters to control message to the masses that way.

[frebrd]

3. I have two converter boxes and a new digital replacement TV ........

What I don't have is a UHF antenna, and I won't be putting a new antenna up there until I can get the roof replaced (whenever that is). I'm still hoping for a delay until summer.

Oh well, the only thing I'll really miss is my daily recorded game of Jeopardy with my breakfast, to wake up my night-person's brain.

:(

[BridgeTheGap]

5. Digital switch could start revolution - lte in paper yesterday

Digital switch could start revolution
Without realizing it, the federal government, via the Federal Communications Commission, may have planted the seeds of a real revolution in our country. Polls show that most people are aware of the switch from analog to digital TV broadcasting on Feb. 17. Forty-four percent of those polled think they will have to subscribe to a cable or satellite service to continue viewing (this isn't the case). Given those numbers, I have a hunch that those industries pushed hard for this change.

One of the other aspects of the change that people may be unaware of: Just because you can watch channels like KET through your rabbit ears now, doesn't mean you'll be able to receive the KET digital signal through them. A KET tech informed me that, given our location, we would need either an attic or outside antenna to receive their signal. I don't recall ever being informed of this possibility on any of the programs on the changeover. Also, Fox 56 doesn't have a digital signal that will work in Lexington yet. They're waiting on the FCC to give them another broadcast band.

Mess with our Constitution all you want. Take our money and give it to sleazy bankers. But mess with our ability to watch TV, and a line is crossed that will fire Americans up like nothing in recent times. Feb. 17 may be another day that will live in infamy. Good night and good luck.

http://www.kentucky.com/595/story/675553.html