Digital TV is here!

[cycloneye]

Its expected to also pass the House and then signed by the President.

WASHINGTON - People who have not gotten their TV sets ready for the changeover to digital signals could earn a four-month reprieve under a bill making its way through Congress.

The Senate voted Monday to delay until June 12 the deadline for the changeover from analog to digital television broadcasting. People still getting their pictures through old-fashioned antennas otherwise would face a Feb. 17 cutoff.

It's estimated that more than 6.5 million U.S. households — mostly poor, elderly and rural — are still not prepared for the upcoming transition.

The bill would also allow consumers with expired $40 coupons, available from the government to offset the cost of a converter box, to request new coupons. The Commerce Department ran out of coupons earlier this month, and about 2.5 million Americans are on a waiting list for them. Converter boxes generally cost between $50 and $60.




http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28863961/

Another source to this information:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate passed a bill on Monday to delay the nationwide switch to digital TV signals, giving consumers nearly four more months to prepare.

The transition date would move to June 12 from February 17 under the bill that was fueled by worries that viewers are not technically ready for the congressionally-mandated switch-over.

It also would allow consumers with expired coupons, available from the government to offset the cost of a $40 converter box, to request new coupons. The government ran out of coupons earlier this month, and about 2.5 million Americans are on a waiting list for them.

Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller said delaying the TV switch is the right thing to do because the United States is not yet ready to make the transition.

"The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process," the West Virginia Democrat said in a statement.

Many lawmakers worry that an estimated 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households are not ready for the switch, which requires owners of older television sets receiving over-the-air signals to buy a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite TV.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090127/tv_ ... v_congress

[JonathanBelles]

*GROAN*

[cycloneye]

Delay will cost PBS $22 Millon.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28863917/

[Category 5]

This is silly imo, there has been a year of warning.

[cycloneye]

This is silly imo, there has been a year of warning.

Agree on that,but always there are lazy people that dont do nothing until the last minute.

[Category 5]

This is silly imo, there has been a year of warning.

Agree on that,but always there are lazy people that dont do nothing until the last minute.

Well that's their own problem.

[Brent]

This is SO stupid. People need to get with the program. The date was set years ago and the local stations have been flooding the airwaves with the February 17th date for months. I'm very annoyed as someone who has been ready for this day for years. Who wants to bet the June 12th date will change because some people will NEVER be ready.

[jasons2k]

This is silly imo, there has been a year of warning.

Agree on that,but always there are lazy people that dont do nothing until the last minute.

Yep, and the good old government is always there to save them at taxpayers' expense. Basically, my tax dollars are funding laziness once again. Not to mention the amount of money this will cost TV stations and stores, etc., that have been adveretising the switch for over a year (after the date was extended the first time). It just makes my head spin.

[cycloneye]

This is in spanish but I will translate.Below is news about what the TV people in Puerto Rico are saying about loses of money because of this delay.

Canales perderían dinero con aplazamiento de la televisión digital
martes, 27 de enero de 2009
Actualizado hace 7 horas
(11:35 a.m. )
Mariela Fullana Acosta / Primera Hora

El presidente de Wapa Televisión, Joe Ramos, expresó hoy que la posposición de la llegada de la señal digital del 17 de febrero hasta el 12 de junio, representaría una pérdida económica significativa para esta empresa.
Ramos señaló que sería “desafortunado” que el Congreso de Estados Unidos apruebe hoy la medida de retrasar por cuatro meses la fecha de la transición del sistema análogo a digital.

“Nosotros vamos a tener que mantener prendido los transmisores análogos y digitales simultáneamente por cuatro meses más y eso representa el doble de gasto en electricidad”, señaló el presidente.

Agregó que los canales locales han invertido en publicidad para preparar al público para el cambio y que el atraso en la fecha significaría una “dilatación” de todo el proceso.

“Perderíamos un poco todo el esfuerzo que hemos hecho en lo últimos meses”, dijo.

http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/tv/e ... al_/268056

Channel 4 president Joe Ramos says that the delay to implement the transition to digital will cost a significant amount of money to the channels.We will have to mantain the analog and digital transmisors on and that is a huge cost of money.Also we will to make another media blitz to promote the new date.

[jasons2k]

Exactly Cycloneye.

[Squarethecircle]

If they haven't changed yet, then they don't even watch TV (the ads are pretty much ubiquitous), and shouldn't care regardless.

[southerngale]

This is ridiculous. If they're too lazy to have taken care of this, that's their problem. If they haven't been able to save up enough money for a converter box after all this time (and/or request the government giveaway towards one), then perhaps they should worry less about watching TV and go to work.

[cycloneye]

On the other hand,the TV networks are glad of the delay because of the ratings as more people watch TV on Febuary than in June because of the weather,read below.

NEW YORK - The big broadcast networks, already suffering from terrible ratings, will catch a break if the planned transition to digital signals is put off until June.

Pushed by the Obama administration, the Senate approved the delay and the House is expected to follow suit. Instead of Feb. 17, the deadline will be June 12.

That means the transition — expected to leave millions of households at least temporarily without TV pictures — will take place after the TV season is over. With warmer weather and more reruns, fewer people are watching ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in June than in February, anyway.

There's also the expectation that more homes will be ready to receive the digital signals by then. The latest estimate by Nielsen Media Research is that 6.5 million American homes still aren't prepared for the switch.

"June is a much softer landing for both the networks and the viewers," one network executive said Tuesday.

While still trying to get viewers ready for the switch, the TV industry was preparing for the expected fallout. The traditional February "sweeps," when ratings are used to set local advertising prices, was put back to March. Networks made programming changes.

CBS and ABC, for example, scheduled more reruns than usual for late February to keep fresh episodes of series available for March. CBS made sure that its big events for February (the Grammys and starts of new "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" seasons) happened before Feb. 17.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28881235/

[Ptarmigan]

I am already ready for the digital transition. I am tired of weak digital signals and long a day without them. They may as well not implement it.

[vbhoutex]

And for the few that this delay will benefit it actually could endanger some. June 12th is during hurricane season. IOW, those that haven't made a switch by then would be left without at least one means of getting warnings etc. if they were being issued. At least if the switch is made now and they go without TV for a while they will have the time get everything in order. I realize this probably wouldn't affect millions, but it is still something to think about.

[Ptarmigan]

And for the few that this delay will benefit it actually could endanger some. June 12th is during hurricane season. IOW, those that haven't made a switch by then would be left without at least one means of getting warnings etc. if they were being issued. At least if the switch is made now and they go without TV for a while they will have the time get everything in order. I realize this probably wouldn't affect millions, but it is still something to think about.

Never thought of that.

[Nimbus]

The broadcasters still have the choice of transitioning to digital early, the new legislation only changes the date stations MUST transition to digital. In Wilmington, N.C. for example the stations have already made the transition.

Most stations in my area have both a digital and analog station. It costs a lot of money to pay the electricity to run both. After the switch the digital stations will be stronger but lower on the frequency spectrum.

For those of us that have already upgraded it may be a mess. Even now when weather conditions are not conducive for picking up weak signals I have to change channel back to the stronger analog broadcast. It would be no fun at all if we had to rescan for channels multiple times as broadcasters decide politically when to move their viewers.

The effect of keeping the digital broadcasts "under construction" may drive people to buy cable.

[Dionne]

As cycloneye pointed out...."pushed by the Obama administration, approved by the senate......"

Get used to this kind of stuff folks.

[gtalum]

As cycloneye pointed out...."pushed by the Obama administration, approved by the senate......"

Get used to this kind of stuff folks.

That's often how legislation works. Why should it be any different under President Obama?

[lurkey]

The U.S. House has defeated an attempt to delay the Feb. 17 transition to digital television signals.