Skip to main content

White House Expects DTV Delay until June

White House Expects DTV Delay until June

Last week the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would delay the United States’ transition to digital television until June 12, 2009—and while a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives last week failed to get the two-thirds majority required under rules adopted for the vote, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs has said the newly-installed Obama administration expects the U.S. House will approve the legislation.

The new vote will apparently use simpler rules that allow for a simple majority vote to pass the bill.

For the last two years, the federal government, television broadcasters, and television services providers have been trumpeting February 17, 2009, as the cutoff date for analog television broadcasts: after that date, folks who rely on over-the-air transmissions for television reception will either need a digital-capable television or a converter box that can pull digital signals in for an older analog TV. The U.S. government has been offering $40 vouchers to help low-income, elderly, and rural households obtain converters, but the program ran out of money earlier in January, potentially leaving many consumers in a lurch. Approximately 20 million Americans rely on over-the-air television broadcasts.

Extending the deadline to June 12, 2009, would give users more time to utilize a re-funded voucher program, and perhaps provider a better time of year for installing new types of television antennas, since many old-style analog TV antennas don’t do a good job pullin in digital signals. However, changing the date may also create consumer confusion—and will also impact 700 MHz spectrum licenses held by the likes of AT&T and Verizon, who are looking to start rolling out mobile broadband services in the swath of airwaves to be vacated by analog TV broadcasts.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
New $129 Moto Buds+ tap Bose for boom and Dolby for head tracking
The Moto Buds in Forest Gray.

Three new phones under the Edge 50 branding weren't enough for Motorola this week. The venerable manufacturer also dropped a pair of earbuds to go along with the new Android fare.

The main contenders for North America will be the Moto Buds+, which are available now for $129 in the U.S., and $179 in Canada. They look as you'd expect wireless earbuds to look; that's worth mentioning because Moto had some wood-clad phones in its drop this week. They're sleek and stylish and apparently available here only in Forest Gray, though press images show other colors, too. (More's the pity -- those other colors look slick.)

Read more
Walmart is having a clearance sale on Vizio TVs — From $148
People watching sports on the 50-inch Vizio V-Series 4K TV.

Walmart is frequently the home of some of the best TV deals around with the retailer being particularly great right now. It’s currently hosting a clearance sale on Vizio TVs with many models on sale ranging from HDTVs up to feature-rich 4K TVs. If you’re looking to buy a new TV, you need to check out this sale. Hit the button below to check it out for yourself or keep reading while we take you through some of our favorite highlights.

What to shop for in the Walmart Vizio TV sale
Vizio is one of the best TV brands for variety and this sale shows how varied it is. One TV that we instantly gravitate towards is the It usually costs $628 but it’s currently $100 off so it costs just $528. The instant highlight is the large screen but it’s packed with features too. It has Dolby Vision Bright Mode for more lifelike accuracy, color saturation, black detail, and brightness. There’s a full array backlight to ensure LEDs are evenly distributed across the backlight, while active pixel tuning provides intelligent pixel-level adjustments that tune the contrast levels frame by frame in over 2,000 zones. An IQ Active Processor ensures excellent 4K upscaling while the V-Gaming Engine ensures you get the optimal gaming experience automatically with sub 10ms input lag, variable refresh rates, and a finely tuned picture mode. It’s sure to be the best TV for many people.

Read more
Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds are next-level sleep aids to block out noise
Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds worn while sleeping on side

If you had asked me years ago what kind of earbuds I'd be wearing while I sleep, I would have called you crazy. To sleep, I need silence, and anytime someone has a TV or tablet on or makes any noise, it makes me restless. With two kids and a wife who are all loud sleepers, it's safe to say I often have trouble sleeping. Believe it or not, there are earbuds for that. Anker's Soundcore Sleep A20 TWS earbuds, for example, are the second generation of its sleep-aid product. They're specifically designed to be worn while you sleep, thanks to a sleek form factor that doesn't protrude out of your ears or create discomfort while resting your pretty little head -- they're meant for side sleepers.

They also purportedly offer much more substantial snoring reduction than the previous generation via soft ear tips and ear wings that help block out ambient noise. If you like a little background audio, they pair with a mobile device that’s using the Soundcore app and allow you to play sound effects to serenade your slumber. A 4-point noise masking system uses not just the twin-seal ear tips and wings but also masking sounds and smart volume controls to drown out distracting noises. If you snore or your partner snores, it won't wake you up anymore as long as you're wearing these.

Read more