Remember this date: 2/17/2009

[RC]

Analog TV frequencies has been sold to the highest bidder and We the People don't/didn't have much of a say.
The drop dead date is: 2/17/2009. That is a Tuesday. There will be an announcement on the Saturday and Sunday before, during the news shows to alert you to run out and buy either a converter or a new digital tv.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9924551/
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., unsuccessfully offered an amendment to move up the hard date by one year, saying "first responders' ability to communicate during times of tragedy can be literally a matter of life and death."

http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/02/analog-tv-shutdown-all-but-set-for-2009/
Who does this affect? The poorest, oldest segments of society -- those who don't buy new TVs frequently, don't have cable or satellite, and are least equipped, technically, to hook up the over air receiver.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/19389303/site/newsweek/
July 2-9, 2007 issue - It sounds like the plot of a political-intrigue novel: television screens across the nation go blank; the government has declared an end to TV as we know it.

But it's true. By law, on Feb. 17, 2009, TV transmitters in the United States will have to discontinue all analog feeds and use only digital frequencies. After that, anyone who gets his TV via antenna (about one in six households) will see only snow—until he buys a new digital TV set or a converter box (the government will chip in a few bucks for the latter).

The idea is to free up the crowded airwaves, and raise money for Uncle Sam. Some frequencies will be handed to emergency responders; the rest will be auctioned off to wireless service companies.


http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#whataboutvcr
What is the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Assistance Program?

Can you provide more details about the converter box coupon program?

What is the digital TV transition?

What is the February 17th, 2009 DTV deadline date?

What is digital television (DTV)?

What is analog television?

How will digital television be different than the current analog television?

What is high-definition TV (HDTV)? How is it different from analog television?

Is HDTV the same thing as DTV?

Why are we switching to DTV?

Once broadcasters transition from analog to digital, will analog televisions will be obsolete?

How do I get DTV or HDTV?

What is the difference between integrated DTVs and DTV monitors?

Will I need a special antenna to receive DTV over-the-air?

Will I need a new TV?

What do DTV sets look like and what will they cost?

Can I see a big difference between analog TV and DTV?

How much better is the quality of HDTV than analog TV?

What about my VCR, DVD player and camcorder? Will I be able to use them with an HDTV set?

When will the DTV transition be complete?

Do I already have DTV via digital cable or satellite?

Will set top boxes used to convert over-the-air digital TV broadcasts for viewing on analog sets also convert digital closed captioning?

[NJCher]

1. valuable post!

Thanks, because I was only vaguely aware of this.



Cher

[annabanana]

2. Boy is this going to come as a shock to the poor & the oblivious.

The oblivious poor will be in the worst shape.

[Celebration]

3. the main issue

Is the rules for the wireless service companies that bid on the frequencies that are freed up--IMHO.

[Sirveri]

4. Isn't less TV a good thing for this country?

I think we spend enough time asleep in front of the damned thing as it is. Next on the chopping block is this computer, get rid of them all and get out of the house and meet the world.

[WinkyDink]

6. No. The "world" one can "meet" outside one's domicile is a restricted one.

[shadowknows69]

5. If you already have digital cable does this affect you?

[Anus Retainus]

7. Excuse my tin-foil hat, but...

What date is the inauguration of the "next" president?

[ArbustoBuster]

8. January 20, 2009

And believe me, I'm counting the days. :)

[Canuckistanian]

9. Technologically ,this makes sense

Analog TV channels are bandwidth hogs and are really ancient technology. The NTSC television system has remained virtually unchanged since the 1940s, despite it's poor quality. Ask any European or Asian about North American TV picture quality.

But it's a nightmare to set a "brick wall" changeover date for such an entrenched medium. Like it or not, the majority of us get our news and entertainment (the same thing these days) from the tube. To force us to change over suddenly like this will be an inconvenience for many.

It would be like ending VCR's, phonographs and 8-tracks all at once, with no option to go back.

[qdemn7]

11. A "nightmare"?

The TV Stations have been fighting this tooth and nail since they didn't want to spend the money to buy digital broadcasting equipment. The government has extended the date and extended the date and finally said enough. Truthfully, Analog TV should have gone dead back 2-3 years ago. No tin-foil hat stuff here.

[Canuckistanian]

12. A nightmare in the sense that it's a sudden change

Like look when they changed from phongraphs to CD's. The sales of LP's suddenly ended, almost overnight.

Then the turntable companies stopped producing as a result.

And the people with massive collections of LP's suddenly found themselves having to replace those collections at great expense or else try to maintain a their old turntables.

I'm not against change, but introduce these technologies more gradually maybe even allowing the two to coexist for a number of years.

[Pyrzqxgl]

17. You're wrong there. Turntables are still available (many w. built in CD recorders)

You can even get a new turntable that plays vintage 78rpm recordings. The LP record has become a collectible (as the 78rpm & 45rpm did before it. Hell, there are still people collecting 8 Tracks). People will argue still the relative merits of analog & digital sound. As I am sure they will do with TV
systems. I know people who collect TV sets with old tube technology (talk to someone who plays his records with a tube amplifier about how much better they sound). I'm not looking to argue either side but as technology's change, the old technology just becomes something else to collect and
there are folks out there who deal in things collectible, both with shops and around the web. Only about 10% of what was recorded on 78rpm got
reissued on LP (33 1/3rpm). Probably less than that has been reissued from LP to CD. Those looking for old time music of what ever kind will have to
get it in whatever format its available & there'll always be ways to play it. They even make machines that play old acoustic Edison cylinders with an
electric pickup.

[Canuckistanian]

18. Of course they're available.

But can I go to my nearest mall and get a Shure replacement cartridge? Or a new stylus? A record cleaning kit? No, I cannot.

Yes, I know, it's all online. But for someone like my father who's never come within 20 feet of a computer, it's a problem. For people like you and me, no.

Anyways, my point was that some people either don't have the inclination nor the time nor the money to be buying new equipment every few years.

They're not Luddites. They just don't want to be FORCED into getting something new that basically does what the old stuff did.

[cynatnite]

10. The warning about it comes with most analog TV sales...

We got it with the last couple of TVs we bought. They were for my husband's truck. We've known about it for a while.

[tammywammy]

13. I've even seen quite a few posts on DU about this

In the last couple of years. And a few stories on my local news.

[stevedeshazer]

14. Isn't this a huge opportunity for Pirate TV?

Excuse my ignorance, but doesn't this mean that those analog frequencies will be abandoned?

What's to prevent transmission by anyone else on VHF channels 2 - 13 or UHF 14 - 83 by the average Joe?

[KharmaTrain]

15. Analog Low Power Will Remain

For anyone who has a digital TV, they know the advantages of the picture clarity and signal quality. Til now the problem has been most tuners have been in expensive HD sets, but that is changing and new TVs with digital compatibility are now around $300 and coming down. Tabletop boxes...similar to the old UHF converters some of us old timers remember...also are on the market from around $50. Overall, it's a big step forward...that will benefit all viewers.

Most people won't be affected by the change over...as your cable box will still work on your old TVs...those are't affected and will do the conversion for you. My cable company already has done so. The same goes for satellite systems...which used digital signal technology from day one.

Lastly, for those in the inner cities or small towns that have older sets, the "flash-cut" regulation is for the large stations, not the small low-powered signals...many that serve ethnic or rural audiences.

Now if the FCC could have overseen the transformation of radio in anywhere near an orderly fashion. HD Radio has been a total bust out.

[tbyg52]

16. The digital signals don't carry as far, I can tell you

When the analog signals go, we're going to have to either get a roof antenna or cable. We can get some stations in digital, but nowhere near all.

[Phrogman]

19. Guess what? Life gets better without a Tee Vee set.

Haven't watched one in years.