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.
I loved their Star Trek episodes with facts sprinkled in during the episode and the “counters” of various Star Trek cliches in the corner (”Vulcan Greeting Count,” “Dead Red Shirt Count,” etc.)
from Tom Taylor’s daily column on http://www.radio-info.com
(note: TV Channel 6’s audio frequency is 87.75 MHz,
I believe, just below the start of the FM dial)
The Obama “pause button” on Digital TV could affect a lot of radio stations, too.
And budgets, says one T-R-I reader. Here’s why – “Many new educational FMs in the Northeast have had to hold down their horizontal power to protect a nearby Channel 6 TV station, so they may have lots of vertical power, but maybe just 1 watt horizontal. They’ve been waiting for this DTV transition of February 17 to build out their full system – and an indefinite delay from Washington may mess up their construction and/or transmitter ordering plans. There’s another angle, since some TV stations have canceled their tower leases – but will now have to pay extra rent, while they’re running from both digital and analog locations. It could be a mess.” This veteran engineer understands the reasons cited by Obama transition team leader John Podesta in asking Congress to keep analog TV going past Februar y 17 – the Commerce Department running out of money for the $40 converter coupons, and the fear that many elderly, poor and rural TV viewers will be left stranded, here in the middle of Winter. But look at how much planning is already in place – everything from marketing for a new digital frequency (newspaper, billboards and radio) to unplanned transmitter power bills to new stationery.
I believe the Obama administration sees this as a “right”, and that the government will have to pay for the poverty class to advance to this digital age.
My thinking is that we don’t have any rights about tv...its all about a bit of cash in your pocket and antenna reception. The last thing I’d want....is some government agency handing out coupons.
No one's buying up the vacated frequencies, that's what's happening.
That explains the cash flow problem. Thanks, I thought all the freqs were sold.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.