Posted on 01/26/2009 7:30:26 PM PST by Peace4EarthNow
WASHINGTON – The Senate on Monday voted unanimously to postpone the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting by four months to June 12 — setting the stage for Congress to pass the proposal as early as Tuesday.
Monday's Senate vote is a big victory for the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress, who have been pushing for a delay amid growing concerns that too many Americans won't be ready for the currently scheduled Feb. 17 changeover.
The Nielsen Co. estimates that more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog television sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals could see their TV sets go dark next month if the transition is not postponed.
"Delaying the upcoming DTV switch is the right thing to do," said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., author of the bill to push back the deadline. "I firmly believe that our nation is not yet ready to make this transition at this time."
The issue now goes to the House, where Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., has vowed to work with House leaders to bring Rockefeller's bill up for a floor vote on Tuesday.
President Barack Obama earlier this month called for the transition date to be postponed after the Commerce Department hit a $1.34 billion funding limit for government coupons that consumers may use to help pay for digital TV converter boxes. The boxes, which generally cost between $40 and $80 each and can be purchased without a coupon, translate digital signals back into analog ones for older TVs.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Great! Four more months of those irritating messages on TV about how my television will “stop working”.
What's a "funding limit"?
This should jerk us right out of this “financial crisis!” Way to go boys! Good job!
Not ready??? You’d have to be a moron not to know this is going on. You can’t turn on the TV without everyone and their uncle talking about this.
If people haven’t been able to go out and either buy a box or get coupons after all the months they’ve had to prepare for this, then they deserve to sit in their living rooms without American Idol until they do.
It’s amazing to me. The complaint seems to be that the government hasn’t paid for enough of the changeover. Funding limit? I suppose it’ll be part of the CBS bailout, whenever that happens.
“The worst TV reception since the Great Depression!” - Barack Hussein Obama
How many years of warnings will it take for dumbed-down Americans to get their tax-payer funded converter boxes?
I may still get a few baseball games in on the old Watchman.
Why is this happening anyway? Who cares? Why the hell is govt. mandating a change and then spending tax dollars with these coupons to help people with the transition?
This is good news for me. Carries me thru until summer reruns. Thank you Congress.
Right it is everywhere. I don’t watch any over the air tv. I have satellite. Nothing was going to happen to the channels I get. Yet they made sure to run commercials to tell everyone on that too. The people that didn’t know about this should have to deal with it and pay for their own stupid converter boxes.
I thought Hawaii already switched, and it went surprisingly smoothly. How could Hawaii convert early if there’s going to be a mandate that analog Bcast continue until June?
I don't need a television. Most of the time, it just raises my blood pressure.
(tinfoil helmet on)
Control the transmitter, control the receiver, control the broadcaster, control the content. . . .
No common thread here.
(/tinfoil helmet off)
I'm sure all the broadcasters that have already switched are not jumping for joy right now since they spent millions to be in compliance on the dead line.
And on June 17th we can expect another extension. If I remember correctly, the original date of the cutover was supposed to be a couple of years ago and our congresscritters kept pushing the date out.
Same for me. Well, more or less; I have cable rather than satellite.
The original deadline should have been the day before the Super Bowl and they should have stuck to it.
The Conservative Freedom Fighter for anyone who cares to listen to the archive.
Guess who benefits from this? One of Obama’s people. He is tied to a company that competes with Verizon. Verizon was going to benefit from this deal (something to do with bandwidth becoming available).
This is happening because you can broadcast 8 to 12 digital channels to what it takes to broadcast 1 anolog channel.
Let them eat cake or cornbread, their choice.
They fear people listening to talk radio while being productive at home. They fear people actually spending their evenings meeting and talking to their neighbors about the communist takeover. They fear a people who go to the internet for their news and information.
I've seen thousands of beautiful houses built by men who were listening to the radio as they work, but I have yet to see one built by men who were watching Trance Vision!
Digital Delay is really a sop to Obama's donors at Sprint.
I just left a thread where a FReeper was crying about the switch to DTV. Not ready, they said.
Pathetic.
That's exactly what will happen to millions that purchased portable televisions.
In addition, when the grid goes down, everyone will have dead blank pictures.
For the most part, today's television caters to the easily led, drooling slobs.
Of course, some of us use other means of communications.
Now they'll pay even more to keep two transmitters running.
It was May, 2006.
Agreed. However, without so much government assistance, too many Americans will also have to go without their nightly drive-by media propaganda shows. Methinks that's part of what's behind this as well.
Agreed.
I agree with you 100% as usual people waiting for someone to hand deliver them something without doing an ounce of work themselves.
I personally find it hard to believe that many people have an analog TV I am sorry to say.
All so “they” can more closely monitor how their brainwashing is working by digital data. I like it about as much as I like spyware on my computer.
The change frees up part of the broadcast spectrum which the government is selling; the converter box coupons are funded by those spectrum sales.
Not only that, but the govt and the Neilson Co. have gotten you to register your name and address.
Broadcast TV is drival anyway. Pulled the plug on broadcast and cable TV years ago. The family hasn’t missed it at all. We watch an occasional rental DVD and that’s it. Don’t have to watch Obama on the news. Life is good.
The BHO PR spin machine is trying to convince us there is actually a significantly large population of poor, elderly, isolated, & clueless folks who adjust their rabbit ears to be able to watch tornado or blizzard warnings on their ancient teevees. I ain't buyin' it.
I read a lot more than I watch TV. Therefore I do not want to spend any extra money on a converter box until I absolutely have to. So I am very happy about the delay. Anybody that has a problem with my lifestyle choice, can kiss my duppa.
Actually though I have been wondering about the impact the upgrade will have on the MSM TV monopoly? Most people get their news from the TV and internet. The papers are dying. My guess is that most people will go directly to cable or sattelitte instread of the converter box. Will it be the death knell of CBSABCNBCPBS when most people switch?
In my area they’ve all been converted already. Can’t believe this is being dealyed. But the Gov’t isn’t the smartest people we have. Just why is that?
Good, good, good. Now I can put off writing that heartrending letter to my congressman about the choice of either paying my heating bill or buying a converter box.
Obama's constituency is morons. Most likely morons that are glued to a TV 24x7. It's just another opportunity for Obama to buy some more votes with money stolen from taxpayers. He's already campaigning for 2012.
Deadbeat checking in here. Retiree checking in here. It makes me puke that the govt sold the bandwith for profit, something that used to be free and now they are forcing me to put out extra cash just to hear local news. All these companies are rolling in the cash and their pukey CEOs making big bucks buying off the govt. How many coffees at McDonalds do I have to give up to buy this converter box. Hell I think they should give it to retirees FREE.
You know, some time without American Idol and MSM news and people may actually have to think for themselves again and the government can't have that happening. They can't take a chance of a lapse in TV coverage. LOL.
“Why is this happening anyway? Who cares? Why the hell is govt. mandating a change and then spending tax dollars with these coupons to help people with the transition?”
Well so far the government has spent 1.2 billion on coupons. With maybe another 650 million on the way. From what I understand they are selling off the analog air waves for something like 4 billion. I guess they still come out ahead.
This is defined as a great victory for the Democrat’s? Okay...
How about we just put this on hold indefinitely and let the market decide when it will be ready fr this with little harm during the transition.
And which area might that be?
Can’t believe this is being dealyed. But the Gov’t isn’t the smartest people we have.
You have a gift for understatement.
Also, the digital signal is only good for about seventy miles. Depending on terrain (if you're in a valley or behind hills etc) it may be even less than that.
I guess old folks living in rural areas on fixed incomes and can't afford satellite will be screwed.
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.