http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090127/tv_nm/us_dtv_congress

Durn it. :(

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Wow! What a waste. These people aren't ready now they aren't going to be ready in four months. They should just flip the switch and when their TV doesn't work then they'll start going into the store and buying the boxes they need.

They should just flip the switch and when their TV doesn't work then they'll start going into the store and buying the boxes they need.

I think there's some concern that technically-clueless senior citizens will declare jihad en masse when they flip on their set and can't catch their Matlock re-runs. :eek:

But I'm definitely with you in spirit. It's been long enough.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090127/tv_nm/us_dtv_congress

Durn it. :(

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Our new Prez has been trying to push this through since the election results. Even before he took office.

good grief!!
As if these people weren't already given enough lead-time and time to prepare for the transition.

Personally, I don't know anyone that is not ready for this.

Do you guys??

Yeah I think a year is more than enough time for you to know that you either a) need a new TV or b)need to go to the website they plastered all over the place to get a free coupon. Enough is enough, when are we going to stop letting the minority rule what the majority do. I'm sick of it.

Yeah I think a year is more than enough time for you to know that you either a) need a new TV or b)need to go to the website they plastered all over the place to get a free coupon. Enough is enough, when are we going to stop letting the minority rule what the majority do. I'm sick of it.


I agree with your basic sentiment but there are 2.5 million people on the waiting list for coupons, and if you consider those 2.5 million as households instead of individuals it is a significant part of the population.

In the end I am not sure how this affects me either way, I have gotten local OTA HD for over 6 years now so my guess is I am not going to see any serious changes one way or another.

If you read the article you'll see it's not a done deal. It passed in the Senate but the bill hasn't gone before the House yet. I don't understand why anyone is complaining about a delay. In my area all the stations are already running their digital channels along with their older analog channels. Choice is a good thing. In my home I get a crappy signal from the CBS station in analog, but I don't get any signal at all in digital. Personally I'm glad I have a choice.

Yeah I think a year is more than enough time for you to know that you either a) need a new TV or b)need to go to the website they plastered all over the place to get a free coupon. Enough is enough, when are we going to stop letting the minority rule what the majority do. I'm sick of it.

Actually it is the other way around. Believe it or not the majority have not all run out and bought HDTVs yet. You have rural areas that can't even get an HD signal.

Due to the economic collapse the money for those converters is tight. The government is already bust. I know for all of the money poured into wars we could have many of these things instead...they could actually give them out free.

Besides digital is mostly crap. Have you seen digital TV lately? It is a terrible pixelly tiled mess with muffled sound. The greedy networks just use the bandwith to pump out more channels of highly compressed crap.

In my home I get a crappy signal from the CBS station in analog, but I don't get any signal at all in digital. Personally I'm glad I have a choice.Yeah, and if they delay this, WBBM-DT won't be moving from low-VHF 3 to hi-VHF 12, which would've made it a lot easier to get.

Actually it is the other way around. Believe it or not the majority have not all run out and bought HDTVs yet. You have rural areas that can't even get an HD signal.

Due to the economic collapse the money for those converters is tight. The government is already bust. I know for all of the money poured into wars we could have many of these things instead...they could actually give them out free.

Besides digital is mostly crap. Have you seen digital TV lately? It is a terrible pixelly tiled mess with muffled sound. The greedy networks just use the bandwith to pump out more channels of highly compressed crap.

true, i live in in town and cant get but one OTH HD channel that is watchable (even with boosted antenna). this may mostly be a digital problem i dunno but i see a problem. you MUST have cable here or nothing.

There is, I believe, 460 million dollars in coupons/vouchers for the conv. boxes, it is part of the trillion dollar pork package. Expect to see new coupons in the next year or two. And maybe dtv by 2012, if the earth doesn't blow up first.:D

Mike

House defeated this bill.

House defeated this bill.

Good. Hope it stays that way.

Most AVS Forum Members won't be affected by the DTV Transition.

Chris

So? Some are. ;)

Digital is more stable then analogue sure its still SD but its still better to yoru eyes,

in any case a conpressed image will always look bad, but its a dream to have the dtv switch as it WILL be beter.

More channels will be available for those of you who cant get signal (hint of you poster) because the range will be diffrent and easier to get once the switch over takes place.

And you DONT have to buy an HDTV all you need is a coverter box, whats with you putting or indiciating misleading information?

this switchover is NOT for HD its for analogue to digital switch its still SD not HD...

ps people shouldnt bit*h about it this box doesnt cost like 1grand its only 50 bucks!

Actually it is the other way around. Believe it or not the majority have not all run out and bought HDTVs yet. You have rural areas that can't even get an HD signal.

Due to the economic collapse the money for those converters is tight. The government is already bust. I know for all of the money poured into wars we could have many of these things instead...they could actually give them out free.

Besides digital is mostly crap. Have you seen digital TV lately? It is a terrible pixelly tiled mess with muffled sound. The greedy networks just use the bandwith to pump out more channels of highly compressed crap.

Digital is more stable then analogue sure its still SD but its still better to yoru eyes,

... its a dream to have the dtv switch as it WILL be beter.

More channels will be available for those of you who cant get signal (hint of you poster) because the range will be diffrent and easier to get once the switch over takes place.

And you DONT have to buy an HDTV all you need is a coverter box, whats with you putting or indiciating misleading information?

Even given the converter box debacle I think it's time to move ahead but your posting sounds like a Radio-Shack employee trying to make a sale. The quoted portions above are either misleading or wrong. Please do some careful homework before speaking with such authority.

One specific example: my in-laws can get all the local OTA analog stations (both UHF and VHF) with their existing antenna. They can't get any digital transmissions. So they need a new antenna to go with their digital tuners.

Most AVS Forum Members won't be affected by the DTV Transition.

ChrisMost won't be affected because we have tv's with ATSC tuners...but some of us are living in areas with stations that are still analog and dragging their heels.;)

how do i sound like im trying to push for a sale? just because im claiming that its inexpensive to get a box?

My rant against that is because here we are working for our hand earned cash only to give to those arses that bit*h about the cost of an coverterd box, its soo pissin off.

you dont need a special antenna heck even a hanger wire you can get reception, i have made out of them when mine break (lil kids) temporarly solutions until i go to the store i just make my own.

the only thing that changes is the box that changes the frequency to a understable one, beyond that you still use the same antenna

As far the not getting a digital signal can be because their current antenna cannot reach that far of a distance to pick up a digital one. check your address here to see how many miles and what you should/nt get

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Even given the converter box debacle I think it's time to move ahead but your posting sounds like a Radio-Shack employee trying to make a sale. The quoted portions above are either misleading or wrong. Please do some careful homework before speaking with such authority.

One specific example: my in-laws can get all the local OTA analog stations (both UHF and VHF) with their existing antenna. They can't get any digital transmissions. So they need a new antenna to go with their digital tuners.

My rant against that is because here we are working for our hand earned cash only to give to those arses that bit*h about the cost of an coverterd box,...
you dont need a special antenna heck even a hanger wire you can get reception,...
the only thing that changes is the box that changes the frequency to a understable one, beyond that you still use the same antenna...
As far the not getting a digital signal can be because their current antenna cannot reach that far of a distance to pick up a digital one. check your address here to see how many miles and what you should/nt get
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Again I say: The quoted portions above are either misleading or wrong. Please do some careful homework before speaking with such authority.

So? Some are. ;)Lemme guess... They didn't know it was coming? :rolleyes:

Lemme guess... They didn't know it was coming? :rolleyes:

If the Feb 17 date holds, I bet you see a least a couple of threads complaining about it, or outright posts of "Howcum my TV don't work no more?". :p

I don't understand why anyone is complaining about a delay.

Well the station owners will complain because running an analog transmitter isn't free and the economy is tight. The people waiting to use the spectrum can complain that they've had to be patient for too long already.

House defeated this bill.

Ack. Apparently, only temporarily. They voted on it again, and passed it:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1116832


Looks like the DTV Transition DELAY is back on. :(

ps people shouldnt bit*h about it this box doesnt cost like 1grand its only 50 bucks!

Yes, and there are government coupons that allow you to get converter boxes for free as well. However, people should still complain.

Admittedly, I have only a very, very simplistic understanding of HD and most of the other things discussed here; I did join to learn and make a more informed purchase, though. What I do have a reasonable understanding of are the duties of government and the Constitution. I could make no case against the law from a technical standpoint; digital signals are much better than analog. I can, though, make the moral case against government interference in the free market under the guise of public safety.

This transition has been put off for years, as part of the Digital Transition & Public Safety act of 2005. The idea is that it frees up airwaves by reducing the number of signals transmitted over them, allowing those to be used by fire departments, police stations, etc., thus improving public safety. Maybe I don't have the technical terms exactly correct (airwaves, frequencies--who knows..?), but the general idea is correct.

It doesn't take a huge amount of effort to understand that public safety isn't the real heart of the legislation. Most Americans would agree that they feel generally safe in their neighborhoods; if not, this is a matter that must be addressed on a state level and not a federal one--and likely not an issue which simply opening up airwaves for faster or dedicated transmissions between units would solve. In fact, in most emergency situations (Hurricane Katrina, more recently the ice storms here in Kentucky), this nonsensical, trivial "safety issue" was not even mentioned.

The underlying reason is likely lobbyists that effectively lobbied for this legislation as a way to force the American people into adopting a technology which they were clearly resisting with their wallets. I know that hurts on a forum where everyone loves HD, digital, and whatnot--I love all that technology, too, though; I can't wait to fire up my Xbox on a new HDTV. However, the choice to buy should be the result of a consumer driven shift in the market, not forced legislation.

Yes, I understand that you don't have to buy a new TV to still receive a signal, but you do have to buy a converter box, and the new TV route is simply what a lot of confused Americans will choose. Of course, the government is offering up to two converter box coupons per household. Sounds free right? Everyone wins, now poor people don't have to spend money. The goal of that wasn't to sell TVs and converter boxes after all. Well, not exactly. The government didn't exactly get those boxes for free. They purchased them. A lot of people think of the government as a magical entity with an endless supply of cash, but that money comes from the population. As a result, we inadvertently bought converter boxes even though we didn't need one. Only now we can't use it... it's our neighbor's.

Yes, and there are government coupons that allow you to get converter boxes for free as well. However, people should still complain.

I don't think you have it quite right.

Most households (70-90%) use cable or sat and don't need a converter or a new TV.
The money for the converter boxes came from the sale of the spectrum.
The new comms that should come from this will help with a significant public safety problem. See the report of the commission on 9/11.

I would agree that the conversion has been mishandled but that's not the fault of the people who paid $20b for the spectrum.

I won't reply too much, because I don't want to get too political on the forum, since it's against the rules. Just discussing the transition should be fine, though.

Most households (70-90%) use cable or sat and don't need a converter or a new TV.

True, but irrelevant. The situation I first described still pertains, only it pertains to 10-30% of US households. This percentage only serves to make the measure seem insignificant, rather than addressing its overall incorrectness. In other words it's immoral and likely unconstitutional whether it affects one million or three hundred and fifty million.

The money for the converter boxes came from the sale of the spectrum.

Yes, partly true. The initial budget of 1.34 billion did come from the sale of the spectrum. On the other hand, the spectrum belonged to everyone, and that raises two questions. One, on what authority did the government auction it off, and, two, why are the funds resulting from the sale of public property only being used to benefit a select few?

Also, the current stimulus bill includes $650 million in funds to be appropriated for more coupons. The initial budget is about to run out (part of the reason for the delay).

The new comms that should come from this will help with a significant public safety problem. See the report of the commission on 9/11.

I disagree with this. I won't try to debate it because it would just be way off the topic of the transition.

It doesn't matter because the people that aren't ready now won't be ready then. So just flip the switch already.

Oh well, at least the 13 incher i saved from big garbage day tonight will be able to pick up tv in the garage for a few months!