Posted on 01/08/2009 9:27:20 AM PST by lewisglad
Consumers Union is urging Congress to delay the nation's transition to digital television, saying the program to help TV viewers prepare for the switch next month has been underfunded and poorly implemented.
In a letter sent last night to President Bush, President-elect Barack Obama, House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the consumer advocacy group said Congress should push back the transition "until a plan is in place to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals."
The request comes two days after the federal government said it has run out of money to provide coupons to help offset the cost of converter boxes. Analog television sets that rely on "rabbit ears" or rooftop antennas to receive broadcasts will need a converter box to get a picture after Feb. 17, when all full-powered television stations will stop airing analog signals and move to digital-only broadcasts.
Lawmakers are looking for ways to make sure consumers who need coupons get them in time. "But with the date looming, moving the date back certainly warrants further discussion and may be a wise choice," said Daniel Reilly, a spokesman for Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet.
As of Sunday, consumers requesting $40 vouchers to help purchase a converter box are being placed on a waiting list, and federal officials warn that TV watchers may not receive the coupons in time for the switch.
A coupon is not needed to purchase a converter box. But with boxes costing $80 in retail stores, Congress allocated $1.34 billion to provide coupons to help offset the price. Consumers who have a newer digital television or who subscribe to cable or satellite service will not lose programming.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The new digital stuff no doubt has built-in ‘Nielson Rating’ tracking cookie systems built in. Big Brother Boob Tubes.
To paraphrase an old hamburger chain ad,
Wheeeeeere’s the privacy?
Only if they sell them at a loss. The BOM for a converter is around 9 - 11 dollars.
It doesn’t. It has not transmitter or Ethernet connection to transmit the data even if it did collect it.
Does your tin foil hat pick up HD? The converter box receives the digital TV signal over the air, converts it to analog and sends it to the TV. How does that transmit anything to the FCC van sitting in your driveway?
Hell, we have $700 billons plus another $1 trillion coming. Just buy everyone that can’t afford it a new HDTV. Why not? That’s what the majority of voters want isn’t it?
According to the website, coupons are already gone...they are putting people on a waiting list with ones who have no access to DTV or satellite on any TV as a priority. Local cost here in Texas is $49.99 without a coupon, $9.99 with.
Of course such a plan has been in place for more than a year. Such a silly statement does not inspire confidence in Consumers Union.
But then, get a load of the following quote from a clueless Consumers Union executive praising the choice of Tom Daschle as Sec'y of Health and Human Services:
DeAnn Friedholm, Consumers Unions campaign director for health care reform, made the following statement today in response to news reports that Tom Daschle had been chosen by President-elect Obama to serve as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle has been a leader on health care policy for a long time. Someone with his stature and clout, combined with his passion and expertise in health care, is an exciting choice. Its a good sign that the Obama administration is serious about addressing the nations health care crisis.
So, my conclusion is that Consumers Union is now fully- and irrevocably-committed to making silly public statements...
No problem that a hug from “The One” won't solve
BOM? That's fancy eeeelectronics talk.
BOM = bill of materials = parts list, for those who don't know.
Those would be Obama voters.
Here's a thought: maybe ... just maybe once they can no longer get their daily fix of propaganda from the boob tube they may actually wise up.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
We paid 1.34 Billion. Those watching TV all day and waiting for their welfare checks don't have to worry about our nations infrastructure being updated.
And, once again, we will be reminded how many Americans are complete morons.
Oops, meant people who don’t have cable or satellite will be a priority...sorry, rough morning.
(Imagine "rainbow" test pattern and a nasal female voice repeating endlessly "This is a test of the digital signal scheduled to take effect on . . ." as the same words scroll down the screen. Awful. I thought it would last no more than a minute or two. It took up the whole 30 minute time slot!)
I urge them to postpone the switch over to Obama too. But that aint gonna happen.
Expect your post to be placed into your dossier (um, I mean, your 'permanent record') so that it can be used as evidence against you...
True.
I like it, because ESPN has an HDTV signal that I can receive on cable; whereas, there is no HDTV signal on my cable system for NFL games broadcast on Fox or NBC. There's a reason why the transistion was scheduled for February 17. It's after the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, and NBA allstar game. After the digital transition, my local stations will switch to HDTV, and it will be possible to receive sports broadcasts from local stations both over the air and on cable in HDTV.
I seriously doubt anyone with a "rabbit ears" set top antenna will fare any better unless they are in close proximity to the stations they want to watch.
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