Senate passes bill to delay digital TV switch

[kirock7]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/usTopNews ... 3M20090127

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.

[barres]

Great. Four more months of ads on my satellite TV programming telling me that my antenna-based TV's aren't going to work any more. Let's keep spoon feeding people, like we have been for the last six months or so, and maybe they'll all finally get the message before the government cuts off the brainwasher, I mean idiot box, I mean analog TV signal.

I was tired of these commercials over four months ago, now I might have to listen to four more months worth of them. Just great.

[anygunanywhere]

Everyone who is on the supply side of the tax spectrum as opposed to the receiving side needs to remember to getsum of those coupons because your tax dollars are paying for them.

ANygunanywhere

[Captain Matt]

Everyone who is on the supply side of the tax spectrum as opposed to the receiving side needs to remember to getsum of those coupons because your tax dollars are paying for them.

I requested mine and got the cards but they expired. I didn't see any name brand converter boxes at reasonable prices and when I googled the ones selling for $50-60 (coupon covers $40) they had bad consumer reviews. The more I thought about it the more I realized there's almost nothing worth watching on broadcast TV anymore.

[NcongruNt]

Everyone who is on the supply side of the tax spectrum as opposed to the receiving side needs to remember to getsum of those coupons because your tax dollars are paying for them.

I requested mine and got the cards but they expired. I didn't see any name brand converter boxes at reasonable prices and when I googled the ones selling for $50-60 (coupon covers $40) they had bad consumer reviews. The more I thought about it the more I realized there's almost nothing worth watching on TV anymore.

Fixed it for ya.

[ELB]

More to this than meets the eye. Obama's advisor for telecom stuff pushed for Obama to ask for the delay to "help the consumer." Turns out the advisor is also an executive vice-president of Clearwire, which is teamed with Sprint to provide 4th generation wireless broadband, using spectrum that Sprint already owns. Their main competitor, Verizon, has purchase spectrum to also offer 4G wireless. Unfortunately for them, the spectrum they own is now occupied by TV analog signals, so they can't begin using it until analog TV is dead and everyone goes to digital TV. So every day that the switch to digital TV is delayed is another day that Clearwire/Sprint are ahead of Verizon in the 4G arena.

Haven't looked up campaign donations yet, but would do you suppose one would find...

This is probably chump change compared to the rat holes Obama and congress are pouring "stimulus" money down, but it is another indicator...

Story here:

http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/colum ... 11609.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[anygunanywhere]

Buy the chap ones and stow them away for TEOTWAWKI.

Anygunanywhere

[The Annoyed Man]

More to this than meets the eye. Obama's advisor for telecom stuff pushed for Obama to ask for the delay to "help the consumer." Turns out the advisor is also an executive vice-president of Clearwire, which is teamed with Sprint to provide 4th generation wireless broadband, using spectrum that Sprint already owns. Their main competitor, Verizon, has purchase spectrum to also offer 4G wireless. Unfortunately for them, the spectrum they own is now occupied by TV analog signals, so they can't begin using it until analog TV is dead and everyone goes to digital TV. So every day that the switch to digital TV is delayed is another day that Clearwire/Sprint are ahead of Verizon in the 4G arena.

Haven't looked up campaign donations yet, but would do you suppose one would find...

This is probably chump change compared to the rat holes Obama and congress are pouring "stimulus" money down, but it is another indicator...

Story here:

http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/colum ... 11609.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So much for the vaunted transparency of the Obama administration. First, it's putting an admitted tax cheat in charge of the IRS. Then it's nominating a defense industry lobbyist for assistant Sec Def. Now this.

Disgusting.

[boomerang]

Buy the chap ones and stow them away for TEOTWAWKI.

Anygunanywhere

Who's going to be broadcasting digital TV after TWAWKI ends?

[bdickens]

I don't watch TV. End of problem.

[anygunanywhere]

Buy the chap ones and stow them away for TEOTWAWKI.

Anygunanywhere

Who's going to be broadcasting digital TV after TWAWKI ends?

The bootleg tv broadcasters. All of the satellites will be down.

Seriously, when cable and satellites stop working you might find one of those boxes useful. Maybe they have one with a hand crank....to go along with that hand crank radio and shake to charge flashlight.

Anygunanywhere

[kd5zex]

More to this than meets the eye. Obama's advisor for telecom stuff pushed for Obama to ask for the delay to "help the consumer." Turns out the advisor is also an executive vice-president of Clearwire, which is teamed with Sprint to provide 4th generation wireless broadband, using spectrum that Sprint already owns. Their main competitor, Verizon, has purchase spectrum to also offer 4G wireless. Unfortunately for them, the spectrum they own is now occupied by TV analog signals, so they can't begin using it until analog TV is dead and everyone goes to digital TV. So every day that the switch to digital TV is delayed is another day that Clearwire/Sprint are ahead of Verizon in the 4G arena.

Haven't looked up campaign donations yet, but would do you suppose one would find...

This is probably chump change compared to the rat holes Obama and congress are pouring "stimulus" money down, but it is another indicator...

Story here:

http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/colum ... 11609.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bingo, slots in the RF spectrum are hard to come by and very valuable.

[Owens]

I knew I smelled a rat in this. Just didn't know which wall it had died behind.

[mr.72]

The more I thought about it the more I realized there's almost nothing worth watching on broadcast TV anymore.

Sports (Spurs games, the superbowl), House, Fringe, 24, Lost... and I really don't watch much broadcast TV.

Of course this whole problem is caused by the government taking virtual ownership of the radio spectra. Try and remember that somewhere, deep down, at one time in history, the USA was intended to be a capitalist nation.

[TxD]

Of course this whole problem is caused by the government taking virtual ownership of the radio spectra. Try and remember that somewhere, deep down, at one time in history, the USA was intended to be a capitalist nation.

Yep.
Can't wait till they fix Health Care.