Digital TV: 7 Steps to Success (switch to digital can work-if the feds follow my lead-Phil Swann.)

tvpredictions.com ^ | January 14, 2009 | Phillip Swann

[Las Vegas Dave]

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[Las Vegas Dave]

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[gwilhelm56]

YOu want the US Government to do something that Resembles COMMON SENSE???

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Can you tell that I’ve had dealings with Federal, State, and or Local Governments??

/Sarc

[Las Vegas Dave]

Philip Swann’s words........

[gwilhelm56]

**Philip Swann’s words........**

Understood!
thus the reason I used the /sarc (SARCASM) at the bottom.

[HangnJudge]

People have had plenty of warning
TV watching is not a Right
The World will continue spinning on it's axis
This will all pan out in time

The government was kind enough to
offer to help in the transition,
when it was under no obligation to do so.

So what, if that act of kindness is not all encompassing.

Get it over with

[Tarpon]

Government and common sense, it's rare these days to find those words in the same sentence.

How long has this been going on, ten years or more ...

You want to know what this is all about, it's about the Mexicans along the border who don't get the coupons and won't be able to keep up on the status of stealing the jobs Americans used to have. Maybe Osama-Obama will give Mexico coupons to fix the problem. Pay attention.

[PAR35]

Anyone who didn’t know they needed a converter apparently didn’t watch much TV anyway.

As for programming the box, I bought one at WalMart (RCA) that suffered from instructions that omitted a key step. I bought one at Radio Shack for $10 more that was not a problem.

Of course, since the digital signals are much weaker, I’ll probably have to spring for a rooftop or attic antenna.

[gwilhelm56]

**Government and common sense, it’s rare these days to find those words in the same sentence.**

I gave up on that, the day Nixon started the wage and price controls. (I was just a pinch too young to be outraged at Johnson).
And everytime I have to deal with any government agency, your statement above is reinforced.

[Mr. K]

My brother has gotten a digital converter and he said he picks up 3 times as many TV stations over the airwaves now, with great pictures.

He is thinking of getting rid of his cable connection.

Anyone else have any experience with this?

[NVDave]

Nothing in that list of suggestions deals with the translator/low-power issues in much of the rural areas.

When a plan forgets to address a significant portion of the customer base, well, it is sorta doomed from the outset. And that’s the problem with the DTV conversion plan(s). The bureaucrats and industry flunkies thought that everyone lived in cities. They don’t. They thought that all the sources of signal would be converted to broadcast in DTV. They won’t be.

[LongTimeMILurker]

UHF is UHF, regardless of whether it is digital or analog. Calling a station Channel 2 or Channel 4 doesn’t mean a thing if that signal is broadcast on a UHF channel (now 14-51, or analog to 69). If the digital signal is at or near the noise level, you won’t get the picture. UHF has many problems, especially in hilly areas and areas of vegetation, even your neighborhood trees cut the signal a lot. And most TV signals will now be on UHF.

The $75,000 income rule for coupons proposed here sounds a lot like a “progressive” income tax.

[Hot Tabasco]

Clinton signed the conversion to digital bill during his watch so people have had approximately 10 years to save $5 per month in order to buy a nice 26" LCD HDTV............

No sympathy here, let the change begin!!! Did I say "change"? I didn't mean it in "that" way.......

[reagan_fanatic]

And I also believe that that should be the government's attitude -- they started this transition so they have a responsibility to do everything possible to help their citizens keep their TVs. The cavalier comments from some (government and private industry) officials that people will just 'figure it out later' are shameful.

Good grief. How much is enough? Have we not had enough PSA's advising of the changeover? Have we not had enough of the near constant ticker tape scrools across the bottom of the screen, the newspaper articles, the news stories on the networks?

You would have to be a complete moron not to know about the switch to digital by now.

My Mom knows absolutely nothing about digital vs analog and is technologically challenged, but even she knew what was coming and now has her converter box hooked up and running.

People need to stop being so dependent upon the government doing everything for them and start doing some of it themselves.

[lbama]

Who watches TV?

[Himyar]

We are rural and the CBS affiliate has already completely converted. Some nights it comes in fine some nights it sucks. Thank you, feds.

[Paleo Conservative]

1. Delay the Transition By Five Months Move the transition date to August 17, 2009, not May 17, 2009 as some congressmen are contemplating. The May date would be in the middle of Sweeps Month, the critical ratings period for local TV stations. Moving the transition to a time when stations could lose some viewers, at least temporarily, just doesn't make sense. August is a low ratings period; there will be less disruption on both the local stations and viewers who won't lose the season finales of their favorite shows.

Does this Bozo know how hot it gets in Texas in August? If people need to get on their roofs to install new TV antennas, it would be better in the spring. Anyway, mid-August is too close to the beginning of football season.

[Straight Vermonter]

The cavalier comments from some (government and private industry) officials that people will just 'figure it out later' are shameful.

Hardly. If people haven't figured out what they need to do by now it is hard to imagine that more time will improve matters.

The idea of the government subsidizing TV viewing and even purchasing TV hardware is laughable. I want a Wii can they help me out with that?

[Future Snake Eater]

I want a Wii can they help me out with that?

Sure, just wiggle your way into some of that bailout money and skip the FCC altogether...

[Tunehead54]

Jeez louise! Switch off analog for 3 hours primetime, every day for one week and watch people that need them scramble to the stores. Let’m submit original receipts for their boxes - do it for a month and I guarantee you the problem is solved and we’re all digital in May 2009. That is, if you asked me ... ;-)