Digital TV subsidy program

[Will E Worm]

Digital TV subsidy program running out of money.

The Feb. 17 transition from analog to digital television broadcasts looms and as many as 8 million households are still unprepared, but the government program that subsidizes crucial TV converter boxes is about to run out of money.

People who still rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air signals - whether it is through rabbit-ear aerials on TVs or antennas on the roof - will see their screens go dark when the changeover happens. To avoid that, those people have to switch to cable or satellite TV, buy a television set with a digital tuner or buy a converter box that can translate digital signals from the airwaves into analog.

Digital TV

Now the NTIA is warning that unless lawmakers step in quickly with more funding or new accounting rules, it will have to create a waiting list for coupon requests. That would mean it could send out additional coupons only as unredeemed ones expire, freeing up more money for the program.

The NTIA program does not provide technical support.
Why are they handling the program if they can't help with the service?

Even with the $40 coupon you will still have to pay $20 or more for the converter box. So, why aren't they free?
You will still have to buy digital channels from your cable or satellite providers.
So, what are we really changing over to?

Limitations
Simultaneous TV watching and recording of different programs requires two converter boxes if the recording device lacks a digital tuner.

The inability of many boxes to add new digital channels without a full rescan (wiping out all existing channel settings) renders them unusable to viewers which rely (or will soon be ****** to rely) on directional antennas and rotors to receive distant stations. Signal strength meters, where available, are awkward, typically only displaying information for channels that have already been found. This is problematic as digital signals are most often transmitted on higher frequencies or with far less power than their analogue counterparts, requiring careful antenna orientation and location to avoid obstructions, fading and multipath interference problems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CECB]Coupon-eligible converter box and more Limitations

What if your converter box wears out, will the government give you another coupon? I doubt it. Supposedly it's to free up frequencies for public safety communications. I doubt that is the reason.

This program is just a way to sneak another tax on the public and maybe more.

 

[Friday on my mind]

I've seen the boxes sell for $40 or sometimes $49 but your right however they do it they should be free to all people who need them for an indefinate time period.Even more alarming about all this is that they are essentially urging all people with the older TV's to scrap them and buy new ones.While that may do some good for the economy although we don't make TV's in the US anymore think about all that lead and other nasty stuff in TV's that will end up in landfills from who knows how many 100s of millions of old but perfectly good TV's.

 

[D-rock]

Another thing I'm worried about is how well the digital signals are going to come in. I have converter boxes but when I try them out I only get two channels that I can watch with them when with the analog signals I am getting five almost perfectly clear ones. Since the digital signals are supposed to be better at even fainter signals I wonder what is happening since I know the stations around me are broadcasting in digital that I can't get when I can see them perfectly with the analog ones. I just sure as hell hope that when the switch comes around the stations near be boost up their signals big time because I will be pissed if the federal government just cost me some of the few stations I can even watch television on.

 

[86150]

What really Sucks is that I live in an area that is sort of prone to rough storms, like Tornados.

I have two small TVs that I use to keep track of the storms if the POWER goes out!

How the hell am I supposed to keep up with them with just batteries for power???!?!?!?

They didn't exactly think this through. Stupid way to do things.

 

[dmwill]

How the hell am I supposed to keep up with them with just batteries for power???!?!?!?

Laptop with a USB Digital TV tuner - cheap option if you already have a laptop.

The cut off for analogue TV here in Australia was supposed to be 31st Dec 2008, it had been talked about for at least 5 years, though I think the Government decided to push it further as sales of digital TVs/Tuners indicated the take up was not so great. There is talk of supplying tuners to pensioners and the likes now, but there is still the whole issue of decent antennas, educating people on how to use them, support etc.

I used to work in a retail store, very few people understood digital TV. Not to mention many just assumed that you can plug it in with a small internal antenna, like a set of rabbit ears or something and it will work.