What? A delay in the analog shutdown? What do you think?
January 9th, 2009 at 10:23 am by Dennis Majewicz under TV Tech Talk
We’re looking for opinions here on the move by Consumers Union and others seeking to delay the analog shutdown date. Is it too late now? Would it help?
Please leave your comments here.
-dm
Tags: DTV Transition
I’m getting sick of seeing the warning scroll across the screen every couple hours on every station. Personally I can’t wait. If your not ready by now, you’ll never be ready. Lets get on with it already!!
The country is going to dogs and this is all the new boy wonder president can come up with?! What a moron! Along with all those jerks that have waited years to get on board with whats been advertised for years, they wait until last minute to cry the blues about it. Screw’em all! Why should the rest of us settle for another delay because of the rest of these jerks? Pull the plug on them and maybe they will get their ass’s in gear and get what they need to watch TV.
The unfortunate part here is that the Consumer Products sold in the US drove the marketplace into a stir with spin and incentives at the box stores from day one of this transition years ago. I cannot begin to tell you how many I’ve spoken with over the years who have consistently thought that the only way to truly watch HD was over cable or Dish, and were perpetually perplexed between the differences between HD and DTV.
Not to travel too far on a tangent, but with MPEG-8 platforms and further in development, it’s unfortunate that this entire transition has taken place on an MPEG-2 platform. Does this mean that broadcasters should save part of the 19+mbps bit stream for potential mpeg-4 mobile broadcast in the very near future? I digress.
I think further delay of the transition would be great as long as we truly have a more concentrated consumer education initiative, explaining to the populous the differences between all platforms, outlining the differences in services and bandwidth limitations between OTA, Cable, Dish, & Fibre.
I’m closely watching the Canadian market transition and the deployment of information from the CRTC. As for now the data has been nominal at best, but there seems to be a better grasp of the technological differences amoungst platforms in the Canadian Marketplace.
I’ve rambled quite a bit, but in closing please note I think a delay would be beneficial, if and only if there are dollars on the table to extend the coupon programme, and also educate the consumer base further.
Lastly – why did the FCC and the beautiful minds on the DTV transition commitee place expiration dates ont he coupons? If they are a one time only use item, why limit the card by a term? I think TV needs a “bailout”…lol.
-Steve
BTW – the plan set forth by the FCC on those scrolls and crawls about the transition do state that they should run at various hours of the day, not at the same time every day!
Steve, I think the expiration date on the coupons was probably designed to allow for putting the money back into the pot when coupons went unused for too long. This is what’s happening now. There is a waiting list of applicants that will eventually get coupons as the expired ones are rolled back into the fund. What I’d like to know, however, is what happened to the extra appropriations that were to kick in after the original allotment was gone. Did this already happen?
To clarify another point, we are using the NAB-proposed option 2 for DTV transition awareness. This specifies that a certain number of crawls run during specific dayparts but does not say that it cannot run, for example, at 10:00AM every weekday. We are complying precisely with the FCC rules.
-dm
The longer it is delayed is better for me. With analog, I can still watch a snowy picture when the signal is weak. With digital, I have a great picture or none at all. Currently when digital is non exsistant, I can switch back to analog and still enjoy the TV. I have the latest tuner, external big antenna and a signal booster on the antenna.
Perhaps Mr. Kevin Martin can send whoever it was who picked February over to my neighborhood to let him risk crawling up on the ice-covered roof of my retired widowed neighbor to work on her TV antenna. The date sounds suspiciously like yet another ‘nudge’ from the CATV industry to wrangle in more customers at $50/month. How about passing an FCC regulation that Basic CATV must be provided for free for all over age 65?
FYI, the “Cliff Effect” in digital is cutting off a lot more OTA subscribers than I suspect the ‘Authorities’ realize. In helping my retired neighbor, it seems to be adversely impacting Public Television a lot more than the major networks.
And I understand that in the US Midwest, the new digital system hasn’t yet implimented tornado warning systems.
-hh
DM Says: “To clarify another point…We are complying precisely with the FCC rules.”
I know you are DM, and I’m sorry if my point came off wrong. From a viewer perspective having the crawl daily at the same time is a tad bit more than annoying at this point. I’m sure running the crawl on higher rated programs may be a bit more effective for the DTV cause, don’t you? -Or- bury it in a rotation that places the crawl periodically throughout a window of time relieving viewer ‘dtv stress’. I suppose it may just be my personal opinion, but seeing the crawl at the same exact time every day is just annoying me now.
It’s partially a moot discussion anyway – since the crawls are a bit excessive of a requirement from the FCC IMHO.
I found a great article this morning that may be of interest in regards to continued DTV Appropriations and the new Administrations plan:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6579010&articleid=CA6628526
Cheers!
Steve
HH,
There was plenty of buzz at the National Association of Broadcasters convention last year citing sales of Antenna’s sharply increasing, and no one being really surprised:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/03/04/sales-of-ota-antennas-continue-to-surge-no-one-surprised/
While there has been little word since mid 2008 on sales, I’m sure we’ll be hearing plenty between CES and NAB at some point.
FIOS has taken a a firm foothold in the TV business across the country, which I’m sure has prompted some of the more recent tumultuous financial strong arm tactics by cable providers across the country as business moves away from the cable industry.
Lastly, I am positive that many of these companies are working hard to capitalize on the lack of DTV awareness, especially with low rates on long term contracts. Thus rooting directly back to lack of coordination from the FCC during the early phases of this transition. Realistically the FCC never made formal plans or announcements on a National DTV outreach campaign till August http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-284629A1.doc which they openly admit was poor on their part, but at least they’re trying now…
Steve
To all the people who are complaining about this transition at least you have help and solutions. I live about ten miles from the border in Canada and my entire life I have watched t.v. stations broadcast from Buffalo. We are unable to get Canadian stations with rabbit ears. When the Digital signal goes on we will be out of luck because the Canadian government has not authorized the sale of the digital converter boxes. Until they are approved for sale in Canada my neighbours and myself will not be able to watch t.v. unless we subscribe to cable or a satellite company at a minimum of $32.00 a month.
Cheryl,
Is it possible to purchase a converter in the states and take it back across the border? The least expensive ones I’ve seen here cost about $40 US.
-dm
Available DTV Converter boxes online, from EBAY to Radio Shack and all points in between:
http://www.google.com/products?oe=UTF-8&q=dtv+converter+boxes&scoring=p
cheryl,
There are many resources to buy digital converter boxes and other OTA products in Canada. However, the Canadian government does not provide coupons. And, as always,… electronic products are priced much higher in our Canadian marketplace.
Warning : Don’t buy any cheapies unless your willing to settle for cheap results.
You can try jmsdigital.ca for some Canadian info.
If you want to hold out to buy a cheap converter box,.. just wait about 10 years and you’ll get one for about 5 bucks at a garage sale.
I have mix feelings toward a delay. On the one hand it is only fair to wait and give everyone a chance to get a coupon. On the other hand it would be nice to see some stations flash over to digital and take full power and assign frequencies. For example WPXJ will start to broadcast in digital on channel 23 on the flash date. WNGS has asked the FCC for an extension, but it will moving to channel 7. I doubt I will pick up WNGS, but according to FCC plotting for WPXJ, I have a shot of picking up there signal. Also where I live, the same FCC signal plotting gives me a shot of getting some of the stations out of Elmira, Corning, but none of those stations are even near full power, and won’t be until after the flash date. So for purely selfish reasons, I would like to see them flash over to digital.
Wivb, thanks for the great programming over the years. I’ve enjoyed your news the best out of all the other stations. However, WGRZ will still be accessible, and you won’t be on the 17’Th of February. I have the money and knowledge to convert, it’s the principle. The government will make 7 BILLION DOLLARS on the sale of the analog signal, and I’m expected to dig into my pocket in these tough times? On top of that, I have to watch advertisements? I will leave that stupidity to the lemmings. My heart goes out to those who have no recourse. BTW, I will still be able to view Canadian TV after the extended deadline, and will do so until the conversion is truly free.
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