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Broke coupon funds prompts call to delay digital TV
Boston Herald ^ | 01/08/09 | AP

Posted on 01/08/2009 12:04:22 PM PST by raccoonradio

President-elect Barack Obama is urging Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital television broadcasting.

In a letter to key lawmakers, transition team co-chair John Podesta warned today that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcasts won’t be ready.

The incoming administration is pushing for a delay in part because the Commerce Department has run out of money for the coupons that subsidize digital TV converter boxes for consumers. People who don’t have cable or satellite TV or a new TV with a digital tuner will need the converter boxes to keep their analog TVs working.

Obama officials are also concerned that the government is not giving consumers enough help with the TV transition.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: analog; atsc; coupons; digitaltv; feb17; obama
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To: Allegra

LOL! Not even AFTV?


41 posted on 01/08/2009 12:40:25 PM PST by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: raccoonradio
I got the Dish Networks converter box and it is fantastic!

With a pair of amplified rabbit ears and analog TV, I get four snowy channels.

With the same rabbit ears feeding into the Dish Networks box, I get 20 channels as crystal clear as digital cable. No snow, no ghosting, no multipath. Once I install a fishbone antenna, I should be able to receive over 40 channels.

42 posted on 01/08/2009 12:41:14 PM PST by fso301
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To: buccaneer81

Yeah, that’s it. People get emergency information from their TVs. If they stop working, it could be a danger to the public.


43 posted on 01/08/2009 12:41:34 PM PST by SoothingDave
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To: Allegra

Okay..I have an old TV..with an antenna. Can I still view my old VHS tapes without doing anything? It’s the 3rd TV in the house...so I don’t care about the TV programs on this set.


44 posted on 01/08/2009 12:41:40 PM PST by Sacajaweau (I'm planting corn...Have to feed my car...)
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To: SoothingDave
Three words: Emergency Broadcast System.

I hate it when this happens - but you have a point - I didn't think it through. (translation: you're right - I'm wrong) Thanks for clarifying...

45 posted on 01/08/2009 12:44:36 PM PST by GOPJ (Newspapers don't need fewer journalists. Newspapers need more readers. STOP LIBERAL BIAS)
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To: buccaneer81
Well, we have AFN out of Germany and a local satellite system as well, where we get all of these channels in English (movie channels, ESPN, news channels, comedy channel, VH1, MTV, NBC4, etc.) but the commercials are in Arabic.

All of this stuff is by satellite, so maybe we're not impacted?

46 posted on 01/08/2009 12:45:09 PM PST by Allegra
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To: Sacajaweau

Do you think the gov’t is going to somehow prevent your VHS tapes from playing on your TV?

They’re not. This is about broadcasts.


47 posted on 01/08/2009 12:46:05 PM PST by SoothingDave
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To: Sacajaweau

Absolutely. The only thing you won’t get is broadcast transmissions. The old TV is still a perfectly good monitor for game systems, DVD players, VCRs, etc.


48 posted on 01/08/2009 12:46:34 PM PST by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: Allegra

You’re fine. Satellite and cable already take the feeds from whatever stations and re-transmit them on their systems.


49 posted on 01/08/2009 12:47:20 PM PST by SoothingDave
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To: GOPJ; SoothingDave
"Three words: Emergency Broadcast System."

I hate it when this happens - but you have a point - I didn't think it through. (translation: you're right - I'm wrong) Thanks for clarifying...

Pssssst...radio carries EBS alerts also. ;-)

50 posted on 01/08/2009 12:47:23 PM PST by Allegra
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To: Allegra
All of this stuff is by satellite, so maybe we're not impacted?

That would be my guess. If it's by satellite these days, it's digital.

51 posted on 01/08/2009 12:47:36 PM PST by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: Allegra
Pssssst...radio carries EBS alerts also. ;-)

Even XM/Sirius. Always in the middle of a great '70s song they run the test track.

52 posted on 01/08/2009 12:49:09 PM PST by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: raccoonradio

Ebay is loaded with hundreds of boxes for sale - looks like recipients are just laundering the cards via purchased component auctions.


53 posted on 01/08/2009 1:00:52 PM PST by sbMKE
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To: raccoonradio

Funny and all too true! Simply throwing around the terms “analog” and “digital” causes a panic reaction from some people.


54 posted on 01/08/2009 1:04:46 PM PST by 6SJ7 (Atlas Shrugged Mode: ON)
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To: estrogen

Why don’t the NETWORKS pay for the boxes, if they want people to watch their cr*ppy shows?! (since cable subscribers are already covered)


55 posted on 01/08/2009 1:07:33 PM PST by NewCenturions
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To: estrogen

“I don’t consider watching tv a government bailout issue. If the coupons have been used, why can’t the customer pay his $70 without the government kicking in $40?”

I don’t see any logical reason why these things cost $20, much less $40, $50, or even $70.

At its core, it is nothing more than a simple electronic board with a standard chip that can be mass produced for virtually nothing. Heck, once you start mass producing them the power supply would probably cost more than the actual box.


56 posted on 01/08/2009 1:19:17 PM PST by Brookhaven (The Fair Tax is THE economic litmus test for conservatives)
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To: GOPJ

“Three words: Emergency Broadcast System.

I hate it when this happens - but you have a point - I didn’t think it through. (translation: you’re right - I’m wrong) Thanks for clarifying...”

The radio doesn’t work anymore?

The radio is a much better source of emergency information. Unlike your TV, you can actually carry your radio with you.


57 posted on 01/08/2009 1:26:05 PM PST by Brookhaven (The Fair Tax is THE economic litmus test for conservatives)
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To: sbMKE

“Ebay is loaded with hundreds of boxes for sale - looks like recipients are just laundering the cards via purchased component auctions.”

I’m such an idot. Of course.

Get the coupon. Buy a box that doesn’t cost more than the coupon. Put the box on ebay.

Even if you only make $10 per box you are making money.


58 posted on 01/08/2009 1:30:01 PM PST by Brookhaven (The Fair Tax is THE economic litmus test for conservatives)
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To: raccoonradio
Feb 17: DIGITAL DOOMSDAY!

It's Y2K9 for analog TV.

59 posted on 01/08/2009 1:36:27 PM PST by America2012
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To: raccoonradio

special interests have been delaying this over and over and over... no more... the end is nye... give back analog spectrum... you’ve got digital... you cannot have it all.


60 posted on 01/08/2009 2:08:29 PM PST by Trajan88 (www.bullittclub.com)
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