“Death To Analog” Delayed Four Months

January 27th, 2009 (5) Posted By Sharku.

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WASHINGTON – 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.

Broadcasters are moving from analog to digital signals to give public safety officials more spectrum, especially useful for emergencies, and to improve viewing quality.

Momentum had been building for a delay since President Barack Obama backed it earlier this month.

The digital TV bill also would extend the licenses of AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, which are waiting for the airwaves to be vacated when all TVs convert.

The companies, which paid $16 billion for the public airwaves in an auction last year, would get 116 extra days on their licenses under the proposed legislation.

CTIA, the wireless trade association, has said a delay could hurt confidence in the FCC’s spectrum auctions.(Reuters)

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  • Hardball1911(Revolutionary Constitutionalist)

    So everyone here is clear. The law mandating that televisions are changed to only accept digital signals was nothing more than a law creating control over the “airwaves” once again. The bands that analog signals are sent over are easily manipulated and transmissions can be usurped by any entity with enough power to send a stronger signal.

    By forcing digital on everyone, two things happen. First, the technology is not cheap to convert analog television signals to digital, which if you know anything about most television studios most cameras still in use capture in analog. Second, it forces the different entities who broadcast television signals in the United States to conform or go out of business. By making the entities conform, they will control the broadcaster’s ability, and in some cases their will, to differ from the opinions of the government.

    The argument that it was to be used in order to free up bands for transmission is suspect at best. The FCC has long worked all communications bands AROUND the VHF and UHF signals. They are claiming that these freed up bands offer that much more in the area of communications. I disagree. Use your favorite search engine and search for “radio bands” and you will see that not only did the television signals in the UHF and VHF bands not take up that much of the spectrum, but they took up less than 1/4 of the spectrum in use.

    Special interests and pandering brought us the shift, as it brought us the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac collapses. Welcome to reality.

  • jake

    i knew it was some sort of back alley scam

  • newhumandesign

    :arrow: great info hardball.
    The thing I’ve been saying about the all along, is why the hell is the government in charge of all this?

  • Mark Tanberg

    Question? :arrow: 1911, Say I have a studio in my basement and have been making republican news info programs and putting them on UHF for whoever cares across town to tune into, how do I continue to broadcast? is the access restricted?

  • sully

    :arrow: “The government ran out of coupons earlier this month, and about 2.5 million Americans are on a waiting list for them.”

    Duh. The gubmint printing office is sorta busy right now printing I.O.U.s so get off their back eh?

    :arrow: “Many lawmakers worry that an estimated 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households are not ready for the switch…”

    Yeah right. They give a fuck about poor elderly country folk clinging to guns and Bibles. ROTFLMAO