Delay in digital TV conversion
The House reversed itself today and agreed to President Obama's wishes for a delay the conversion to digital television.
The Senate has already voted for the delay, from Feb. 17 to June 12, to give viewers more time to get converter boxes if they need them.
Senator John F. Kerry applauded the move, citing Nielsen Co. figures that more than six million households will lose all television reception if the February transition date remains in place and noting that more than 30,000 households in Massachusetts are currently on the waiting list for converter box coupons.
“We’ve got to make sure the transition to digital television is done in a way that protects consumers,” Kerry said in a statement. “A short delay will give us time to work through the problems left by the Bush Administration and help ensure the transition goes as smoothly as possible without disrupting critical services such as emergency broadcasting announcements. I’m glad my colleagues in Congress and President Obama agreed that a delay was necessary and took action to protect the millions of consumers at risk of losing their television signal.”
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some people will NEVER be ready.
So, now when June 12 gets closer, those same households will most-likely be in the same predicament. We've known that Feb 17 was the date for years now. So, why have people not prepared? They can't afford the 40 bucks?
It's only TV people. Just do it and get it over with...
Oh great... Start the count down clocks again. Now we have to hear about this everyday until June. If people didn't get converter boxes with a year and a half notice what good will four more months do? This story says 6 million people aren't ready for the switch now, I bet the same six million won't be ready in June!
Just do it already. If a bunch of people suddenly don't watch television, that isn't a bad thing, maybe they'll find something more meaningful to do with their time.
More dumbing down of America.
What are they going to do in June when there are 4 million feet draggers who still have not taken necessary steps to receive the digital broadcasts?
The only reason people are not ready is their own failure to plan.
give me a break, how long have they been pushing this switch...if people are too dumb or lazy to take action then they should suffer the consequences and lose their TV signal.
It doesn't matter what day you put the conversion on, some people still won't be ready. We had years to prepare for this, and most people who "aren't ready" were probably too lazy to prepare and don't want to be caught flat-footed. I don't want to see any more people complaining about this come June 12.
I had a call center job to help people with the switch over
NOW I'M OUT A JOB
Tks dems and Pres Obama
Little old grannie says on Feb 12:
"Hmm, my TV still works. I guess those talking heads on the tube decided to get rid of that 'conversion' thing. Now I don't have to worry about it anymore!!!!!1"
Bush will still be blamed for this.
I'm so surprised by all these comments... some of these people may be elderly or low-income. Just because a majority of people (including myself) enjoy nice tv's, with digital reception and DVR's they can't live with out, doesn't mean that those who don't are stupid or lazy. The 30,000 people in MA are still waiting for the coupons. I wonder if it were your grandma or remote relative would you be so flippant? Not everyone is a twitter-techno-savvy-savant. And by the by, if the companies want this switch so bad, because analog holds them back, why aren't they the ones subsidizing the boxes?
YOU KNOW, I BET MOST PEOPLE ON HERE WITH THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS ARE REPUBLICANS. MAD AT THE WORLD BECAUSE OBAMA IS PRESIDENT AND FEEL THAT ONLY LOW INCOME DEMOCRATS ARE THE ONLY ONES NOT PREPARED.....GET OVER YOURSELVES. PROBALY RUNNING AROUND HERE CALLING YOURSELF A CHRISTIANS BUT, TALKING LIKE SATAN. PEOPLE LIKE YOU GUYS ARE THE REASON THE WORLD IS THE WAY IT IS. HOW ABOUT HELPING THE LESS FORTUNATE, NOT CRITICIZING. EVERYONE'S SITUATION IS PREVENTABLE. FOR YOU MONEY HUNGRY RICH PEOPLE, IF YOU DONATE ENOUGH OF DIGITAL BOXES YOUR NEXT YEAR TAX REFUND WILL BE MUCH HIGHER...THINK ABOUT IT!! OR PRAY ABOUT IT , IF YOU NEED TO!!
If it were my grandma, I'd have set her up already and paid for it myself.
My in-laws just got the cable box for their cable-ready analog tv so they are ready. My mom got the boxes this past summer as well. 3 boxes for 3 tvs. This is big business for the cable companies. And by the way - she doesn't think this is an improvement. They just end up with another remote sitting on the coffee table.
No matter when they delay this to there will be people "not ready". WBZ has been scrolling this at the bottom of the morning news for the last year. How could you not know this was coming? WBZ has been scrolling this on the bottom of their morning newscast for the last year!
Tim
re: Slow to judge
I'm no republican but digital TV is coming whether you like it or not. The bandwidth used up by analog broadcasting could be used for so much more
The boxes are $50 at BestBuy, Walmart etc. It's not like you have to get cable to afford this transition - it's a onetime deal.
This comment is for Slow to Judge. Go back to Venezuela or what ever communist country you came from. Why should I donate a $50 dollar converter box to some slug who has been sitting on his ass to lazy to buy one. When the world converted from Cassette Tape to CD, I don't remember paralyzing my ability to be entertained by waiting for a stupid coupon to come in the mail. I was motivated, got off my ass and mowed a few lawns to purchase one! That's the problem with you hypocritical socialistic scum. Everyone is not entitled in this country. If you want something, go get it! The New Administration has not taken that away from you yet! I took care of my parent's... did you!
For someone like me whom is in the statics of americans whom lost their job and house during this economic crisis. (A home I raised my kids in for the last 8 years)I can barely make rent and feed my kids every month these days. So no I don't have the extra $40 to get a converter box. I am currently still on the waiting list just like the 30,000 homes in Maryland alone. These coupons were not even obtainable till January of 2009 so please don't tell me I waited too long, I applied the first day I could.
Nothing incents like necessity; let the tvs go dark and then people will rush to convert. Extend the deadline, and continue wasting power to run both towers simultaneously. Not energy efficient.
re: Slow to judge
Your "CapsLk" button is stuck. It should be on the left-hand side of your keyboard. Write your "congress person" for a personal computer bailout or for training in a "Communicating Effectively" class if you have problems.
In addition to being clueless about digital tv conversion, I guess SLOW TO JUDGE never learned about the shift key.
"These coupons were not even obtainable till January of 2009 so please don't tell me I waited too long, I applied the first day I could."
These coupons were available January 2008.
This isn't about "knowing how to use shift keys" and Satan speaking Christians - this is about a divided country which this ridiculous place that some call the "Free World" has been for years. You think that you are ready and don't care about others. You idiots are on here posting the dates that the coupons were allegedly available; that doesn't mean that you could go and get them just because some website said that you could. Many places were already out of them when people got off work and requested them - I guess many of the hundreds of thousands that have been laid off were the early birds (those lucky rascals. Yes I am prepared but my husband and I have been blessed to keep both of our jobs. However, I undersand that "entertainment" is not at the top of the list for those that have lost everything. And I don't see how it will limit my entertainment, (unless I myself am a boring, blithering dim-witted people like many of the neqative posters on here). Who cares about having to wait a little while longer so that the country can better prepare itself? I have been checking out the HD channels curently offered and they are frequently dropping signals anyway, I can just imagine what would happen if we as a country clumsily joined the network. If that other person is from another country then he/she is lucky to not have to deal with prejudice, selfish, mindless critics that I am forced to call fellow Americans. And by the way when did television become this political - GET OVER IT - OBAMA IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and rather you like it or not he was the better
choice.
"More dumbing down of America." This shows how some folks are so out of touch... Many hard-working, honest Americans are strapped by job loss and price manipulation. Good for you that $40 is not a big deal to you. Wake up and see that corporate millionaires are getting bailed out to continue taking company holidays and hookers on our dime. Yet middle class Americcans get nothing but layoffs and gasoline prices that have swung from $4 to $1.50 with no explanation.
Hallelujah! Obviously most of the comments here don't see things the way I do, I have been writing letters for months and glad to see SOMEBODY GETS IT. 1. My problems with the conversion is that it doesn't consider the MILLIONS of people who rely on battery operated TV's in emergency situations. Those of us who have lived through a tornado or hurricane understand the importance of have visual access to information when electricity is out. Even if your electricity is on and your cable goes out, you're screwed - and our cable is always having problems. Many of our parents and grandparents can't afford the new battery operated digital tv . At this point, there are few choices and nothing under $150. I work with people who have been laid off and this is not the time to take away their options - most have given up cable because of the cost. This is not the time to make things harder. #2 - Noone seems to know what to do with all the millions of tv's that cannot be converted - and there are many - not just battery operated. Can parts be recycled or do we just send them all to the dump. Those of us who work with the less fortunate need time to deal with all this. Yes, we know it;s coming, but give us some answers and it seems we are not addressing these issues yet.
Some of us just do not get the digital signal. I have the converter box, hooked up according to directions. And still get nothing. I know many people in the same situation.
What I still don't understand is why the switch to begin with. I know that they say that there selling the VHF bandwith to private companys for a profit. Which in my opinion is B.S. who get's to decide that VHF is there's to sell. Personally it should be the peoples not fat cats sitting on there thrones laughing at masses as they reap massive profits.Not to mention the fact that if you live in a rural area like me that the digitial reception is less than desired. I mean before if your signal was weak your reception was fuzzy but now you get no signal at all. So convertor box or not the majority of people that live in the country are screwed to begin with. But I guess that is the way she goes