February 19, 2009 No more Analog TV Broadcasts.

[Cobalt Violet]

Coupons for Digital Switch Considered

Brooks Boliek, The Hollywood Reporter

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003557352




Analog signals are scheduled to cease Feb. 19, 2009. From that time forward, TV programming will be transmitted digitally. Digital signals allow broadcasters to air high-definition programming with its movie-quality picture and CD-quality sound or several "standard-defintion" programs or other programming streams. While "standard-defintion pictures aren't as good as high-definition ones, they are better than the regular analog picture.

Lawmakers have questioned the wisdom of the switch and its methods.

When the 2009 date was approved, Democrats pushed for a more robust program for the switch. The $1.5 billion for the set-top box subsidy isn't enough.

"After the administration opposed Democratic efforts to secure sufficient funding in favor of more tax cuts, the administration now shows newfound concern that not all households will be covered," said House Commerce Committee chairman Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. "If the administration believes additional funds are needed to prevent consumers' television sets from going dark, then it should ask the Congress for such funding."

[bananas]

1. I wonder how many people will just stop watching tv? nt

[dysfunctional press]

2. not many at all.

if you think otherwise, then you really don't know this country very well.

[Nickster]

3. Considering the state of our economy, I hardly think throwing more money into

a set top box subsidy is the right thing to do. They need to push the start date back until other priorities are straightened up.

[Pab Sungenis]

10. The 2009 switchover date is GOOD for the economy.

When analog signals are shut off, all of the TV channels in the US will be on channels 2-51, and the space allocated to channels 52-69 will be "deleted" and sold at auction by the FCC, raising a good chunk of revenue from services clamoring to use portions of that part of the spectrum. A part has also been reserved for improved services for police, fire, and EMT.

This is possible because ATSC Digital Television signals are less subject to interference from adjacent and second-adjacent channels and the frequency allotments don't need to be spread out nearly as widely as they are right now. There's even talk about deleting channels 2-6 (low VHF is not good for use with DTV) down the road and reallocating that part of the spectrum, which could raise even more revenue. Best of all, any time there is a change in frequencies for any reason (for example, if they decide to delete channels 2-6) it will be all but transparent to the consumer; DTV channels do not depend on their frequency but are identified by a flag in their datastream. What I think of as channel 3.1 in Philadelphia (KYW-DT) is actually broadcasting on channel 26, but my TV and TiVo both see it as 3.

More people will be ready than you think. Every TV manufactured in the country today, along with all new VCR's and similar items, will have DTV tuners built in. (The law mandating this went into effect March 1st.) As they are mass-produced, the price of set top boxes will drop considerably from their current average of $250.00 to less than $100.00 or even $50.00. Especially since most set top boxes today are for use with HDTV capable sets, and ones designed to just convert from digital to analog won't need expensive component or HDMI outputs, just a simple RF modulator.

The switchover is good.

[Nickster]

13. I'm not so sure that sinking 1.5 billion+ into set top box subsidies

would be easily recouped by selling off the resulting bandwidth. Assuming that the money could be recouped eventually, is it the best time to drop that much taxpayer money into something that's really pretty frivolous? Or would it be wiser to avoid spending that much taxpayer money for awhile longer? I don't have any problem with the idea of switching over, I would be ready myself.

It's just a matter of practicality, you can buy a lot of health care for 1.5 billion and I'd rather people had real needs met first instead of switching over tv signals.

[Pab Sungenis]

14. You'd be surprised how much that prime spectrum can bring.

Also, it's probably not going to be $1.5 billion because a good number of households are already DTV ready, and even more will be there before 2009.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Ohferchrissakes-- two years to come up with...

a hundred bucks or less for a converter. Who can afford a TV, and maybe cable, but can't put away a dime a day even if they can't afford a new hi def TV?

What's the big deal?

A bigger deal is what's to become of the obsolete TVs that are replaced by people who can afford new ones? We gonna load the landfills with them, or send them off to China for recycling? Whatever we do, there's gonna be a lot of old TVs hitting the trash.

[RebelOne]

5. Just put the old TV in another room and play DVDs on it.

[Cobalt Violet]

6. Maybe people who are on a fixed incomes.

The ones who are already going to bed hungry.

[WinkyDink]

7. There are probably MANY thousands who don't get cable, just plug the set in.

Maybe MILLIONS.
And have no idea what's coming down the HD pike.

It's called subsistence living.

[unpossibles]

8. I mostly watch DVDs any more and no longer have cable

just another nail in the Brainsucker coffin for me. I'm not sure I'd bother getting a converter box.

[Roland99]

9. YAY!!! 2 years too late, imo.

[Mugsy]

11. I have both in my house. Not all HD channels stong enough to watch.

I have an HDTV tuner, and even spent $100 on a high-quality outdoor antenna for it, which helped significantly.

But the old 13" in my bedroom still works great with the provided antenna. If an HD signal becomes weak, the picture will drop out completely. By contrast, a weak ANALOG signal might get snowy and some audio static, but never drops out completely.

Not enough people can receive a strong enough HD signal all the time for a 100% HD switch-over to be practical. If you live too far away from a station, a good Analog receiver can still pickup most stations. If not, you get a dish. But "over-the-air" HD signals have significant "range" and "signal strength" problem that need to be overcome first before a complete 100% switch over becomes practical.

[KharmaTrain]

12. This Has Been In The Works For Nearly 10 Years Now

There's no constitutional right to "free" access to a TV, just access (and it was never specified as free) to the airwaves. Without going into the geeky stuff, the quality of a digital TV signal is far superior to analog. The current system was developed nearly 70 years ago...back in the infancy of television. For 20 years, there's been the push for television and radio to go digital...and TV is well on its way.

Yes, the rule is for analog over-the-air signals to vanish in February 2009, but this has been part of a change-over that's been underway for 8 years. Two years ago, every local television station was required to have a digital signal on the air and most stations have complied. Many of these new signals include not just a high definition picture but also several sub-channels that offer more program choices for over-the-air viewers than with analog. Actually, on the scheme of things, this is one of the better transformations. Anyone remember AM Stereo or Quadrophonic?

Up until now, digital TVs were expensive...ATSC tuners were only available in the high-end hi-def televisions, but now a law is requiring ALL new TVs to have the digital tuner...thus the expense will fall as more tuners and receivers get on the market. Predictions are that new digital TVs costing 200 or less will be on the market later this year and converter boxes will be more in the $50 range. And, this has no affect on cable subscribers.

Broadcasting has a lot of problems...Reviewing the '96 Telcom bill is long overdue and deals with the major problems of large corporate control of the airwaves. Just like the marketplace helped the CD turn vinyl records into collectors items in a short time, we'll see the same with digital television.

[ProgressiveFool]

15. I will still be too happy

about the recent end of Shrub's tenure to notice :)

[Cobalt Violet]

16. Ya, Dennis will be almost a whole month into his presidency by then.

:toast: :party: