Hey, you know that all-important February 17, 2009 date for being ready for digital TV. Yeah...the U.S. Senate has voted to push that back to June 12. Confused yet?
The United States Senate has passed a bill that would delay the U.S. nationwide conversion to digital television from a mandated cutoff on February 17, 2009, to a new deadline of June 12, 2009, in order to give consumers more time to make the switch and obtain $40 vouchers good toward the purchase of digital TV converter boxes for analog televisions.
Although the Senate’s passage of the bill doesn’t mean the DTV deadline has been changed, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to support the move, and the new Obama administration has already come out in favor of delaying the transition.
The idea behind putting off the digital TV transition is to give the estimated 20 million Americans who rely solely on over-the-air television broadcasts time to obtain converter boxes to receive digital television signals. The U.S. government has been offering $40 vouchers to defray the cost of those converter boxes; however the voucher program ran out of money, and has been issuing new vouchers only as older, unused vouchers expire. Although many urban television viewers and folks who’ve purchased new TVs in the last few years are ready for the transition, many poor and rural viewers rely on over-the-air broadcasts and have not been preparing for the transition. Some viewers will also need to set up new or enhanced antennas to pull in DTV signals, since old-style analog antennas don’t do a particularly good job.
The February 17, 2009, cutoff date has been heavily publicized for more than two years; some industry watchers have claimed changing the date will only create more consumer confusion. Others have decried mismanagement of the converter voucher program, and claim a significant portion of the U.S. population isn’t prepared for the conversion. Analog television “going dark” would mean those viewers can’t receive news, emergency alerts, or other important information…plus, Oprah might take a hit in the ratings.
Shutting down analog television broadcasts will also free spectrum in the 700 MHz band, which has already been auctioned off by the FCC—and largely snapped up by communications providers—to develop so-called 4G mobile broadband services. Delaying the digital TV transition will extend licensed to the 700 MHz space bought up by companies like Verizon and AT&T.
Showing 3 comments
RSSWow, your creditability has just dropped 100%. There is no such thing as a digital antenna. There are UHF and VHF antennas. Digital 8-VSB covers both regions. Most of the digital stations are in UHF band because the VHF band was fairly full in most regions. So some people need to add a UHF antenna to get digital stations (If they didn't already have one) BUT even after the transition some of the stations will be in (some are moving that day back to) the VHF band so a so-called HDTV antenna (how they market UHF antenna's these days) won't cover that.
Man the media is so-confused and fact less.
To me this is the most important reason that putting off the transition is a good idea. I got a converter box last summer, as soon as I could find one in a local store - one of my coupons expired before any boxes were available locally, but fortunately I didn't ask for both at the same time. Since then I have been trying to get a reliable signal. With the best indoor antenna I have been able to find locally, which rotates by remote and amplifies by up to 22 db, and an additional amplifier of up to 24 db before the converter box, I can get digital signals on 4 out of the 5 stations I used to get well on analog better than 80 % of the time and the 5th station almost 50% of the time.
I have researched the signal directions and strength and antennas, but I can use the extra four months to try to get something better, and I am at least somewhat knowledgeable and motivated and aware. Many neighbors are less prepared, because they don't understand, not because they aren't trying.