DTV update: Obama asks Congress to delay digital switch
By Chris Gaylord | 01.08.09
Note: This story has been updated to reflect Obama’s new stance on the DTV issue.
In the latest bump on the road to all-digital TV signals, the influential Consumers Union, publishers of Consumer Reports, asked Congress to shape up or push back the February deadline for the DTV transition.
The federal program designed to wean Americans off analog-only TV sets was underfunded and mismanaged, writes the Consumers Union in a letter to President Bush, President-elect Barack Obama, and the heads of the House and Senate commerce committees.
On Feb. 17, TV broadcasters will switch to all-digital airwaves, effectively cutting off service to analog televisions that depend on antennas. Consumers can buy a converter box that will translate the new DTV signal into something analog sets will recognize.
DTV checklist: Survival guide to the DTV transition
DTV warning: Thanks to DTV, my television has ‘fallen off a cliff.’
Congress mandated the transition to free up airwaves for next-generation mobile networks and allocated $1.3 billion for coupons to help subsidize the price of converter boxes. But the government announced Monday that the voucher program has run out of money. The feds do not expect that every issued coupon will be redeemed, but they need to wait for the current ones to expire before handing out any more. And with 103,000 names already on a waiting list, Americans may need to wait until after Feb. 17 to receive their $40 vouchers.
“Millions of consumers could now be forced to spend their own money to navigate this federally mandated transition,” says the letter from Consumers Union. “This economic climate is not the right time to ask consumers to dig deeper into their own pockets to pay for the miscalculation by the federal government.”
Rep. Edward Markey (D) of Massachusetts, chair of the House telecommunications subcommittee, has led the discussions on what to do now. “With the date looming, moving the date back certainly warrants further discussion and may be a wise choice,” Daniel Reilly, a spokesman Mr. Markey, told the Washington Post. Mr. Obama’s team has remained quiet on the DTV switch.
Update: Mr. Obama’s team has joined calls to postpone the DTV transition.
“With coupons unavailable, support and education insufficient, and the most vulnerable Americans exposed, I urge you to consider a change to the legislatively-mandated analog cutoff date,” John Podesta, co-chair of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team wrote in the letter, which was sent to leaders of the Senate and House commerce committees. The Washington Post has more.
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2. Suba T. | 01.08.09
Please, add a link to this article so that people can access and read the comments about it. Thank you.
3. Man in Ohio | 01.08.09
“…dig deeper into their own pockets…”
Come on, it’s only $40.00.
Let’s not push the transition date any further, we’ve all heard this was coming for years. Get with the program!
4. token | 01.08.09
the government did not promise to give EVERYONE a voucher. The gave a certian amount of money to help offset the price of the box. it is not fair to postpone the feb 17 date because 100,000 perple out of millions dont have the $40 vouchers. and waited to the last min to get the box.
5. Erik | 01.08.09
This has been talked about for OVER TEN YEARS, and it kept getting pushed back by successive battles between the broadcasters and television makers who didn’t want to embrace the switch until the other did. Enough is enough, do the switch already! No one will ever be happy, so just get it over with!
6. DTV is overrated | 01.08.09
to some people, $40 is not a negligible amount, especially in the current economy. Why should people have to pay an additional converter amount because the government miscalculated the coupon distribution. Whats the rush with converting to DTV, who really cares it its pushed back another 6 months?
7. Mark Smith | 01.08.09
I’m quite happy with the analog TV that I payed $5.00 for at a garage sale. I’m livid that the federal government is making me pay for a converter box I don’t want (which will also render my remote control useless). If the government can spend billions on a useless war in Iraq, why do we have to pay for our converter boxes? And some of us don’t have the money for the converter boxes.
8. Kaden M | 01.08.09
another 6 months will be another year, another year will be another year after that… as someone said before, they have talking about this for several years!
As far as distinguishing between the DTV boxes, its not hard to research it yourself. Why should it be up to the government to help the consumer on a product they have no association with. Often, someone with a DVD record, would have a newer TV or pay service. May as well be preaching to the choir.
9. Wowza | 01.08.09
Some of you people act like free TV is a right? The transition has been delayed for years as it stands. Get on with it already!
10. Johnnyd | 01.08.09
Great time to push the date out. Especially when any rational person already has either bought a digital television,converter box ordered direct tv or cable. No wonder this country is in the mess it’s in because of the so called leaders we elect.
11. Prophet | 01.08.09
“Some of you people act like free TV is a right?”
Think back. Television was free to the customer because it was advertising with programming thrown in to captivate an audience, just like radio which will soon require more than a $5 transistor to listen to. We watched the commercials and no doubt bought the products so indeed it was a right to have free TV. Along came an idea to bring in out of the range channels and the greed produced the cable/satellite industry. So now we pay for the right to watch commercials which pay for television. We even pay to watch them at movies now. It’s all a con to support the leeches that have grown from an original idea.
12. renee barrett | 01.08.09
I purchased two converter boxes and since I do not live close enough to town, the converter boxes do not work! I should not have to purchase a large outdoor antenna just to get these boxes to work! Some of our stations have already gone digital and are no longer on an analog signal, I have been told that later on the digital signal will be stronger but I am not holding my breath. This switch is to force people have to pay for their television services, I REFUSE! I am an educated person and I can not see having to pay just for 100 television stations and you only watch maybe 5 or so chanels!
13. DTV Why Wait? | 01.08.09
Do people really understand the reason for DTV? Its to free up bandwith on the spectrum. Heres a little TV 101. For every channel on analog it takes 6 frequincy hops between channels. That means if channel 2 is on 24 mhz then channel 3 is on 30 mhz. With it set up for DTV you can fit 6-10 channels on that one frequincy. So you can gain more channels. Depending on your area you may gain more free channels. I currently can get 3 of every local channel. 1 analog 1 digital and 1 HD. Not including access to two local doppler radars 24/7. Just let DTV happen. Also the DTV converters have a remote that controls box channels and volume.
14. S. Sandlin | 01.08.09
Billions of dollars are being made by a select few and the American consumer is footing the entire bill. You, who think $40.00 is peanuts or couldn’t care less about the end product someone else has to buy, probably didn’t see what all the fuss was about when the gas prices hit the ceiling, either. That Macy’s is forced to close stores, that WalMart had layoffs, that schools and hospitals are hitting “3rd world” standards…bet all that doesn’t faze you in the least. Well, you’ll get your fair share of these times sooner or later and, until then, please refrain from criticizing those who feel the brunt of the today’s economic hardships.
15. Personally Responsible | 01.08.09
Why are so maany of you incensed (that means angry) because “the government has done nothing whatsoever to help ….” Do you really wake up in the morning expecting the government to think for you? What’s the matter, can’t you read. Do your own research. If there are people out there without a converter, its because they haven’t been watching television and therefore don’t need one (either that or they are just brain dead).
17. Chonak | 01.09.09
Who needs government help to identify good converter boxes? That’s what Consumers Union is for:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/tvs-services/digital-tv-converter/ratings/dtv-converter-boxes-ratings.htm
Anyway, it’s too late to change the plan now, folks. Stations have planned on this cutoff date for years, and a lot of the antenna leases are going to end after 2/17. Many stations will have to pull the plug then regardless of any extension by the Feds.
18. Bruce Arkwright, Jr | 01.09.09
There is only one converter box, I know of, that cost $40, it is the TR-40 by dish. http://www.dtvpal.com It is ‘free’ with the coupon plus $9 shipping. Has 7 day EPG and a decent non-universal remote and could be run on a 12v battery, because it has a external power supply. It is a shame others make you pay more and everyone has different features and not one, offers surround sound. BOOO The whole deal from convert box makeup to transition day have be a government debacle.
19. Alan | 01.09.09
What many folks don’t realize is that many folks lose access to TV totally when switching to DTV. Perhaps its the broadcasters fault for not buying good enough equipment, but I get only 1 channel over Digital vs 5 analog.
This whole process is so typically goverment. Ill planned, ill implemented, and the whole thing is making me ill.
20. djr | 01.09.09
I did hear that many religious stations simply can’t afford the new broadcast gear. And they have some sort of legal standing to hold this off.
Otherwise, I think this is just reflective of our times; we can’t seem to do anything anymore. We’ve become a nation of lazy / stupid / fat pansies. I hate that painful times are coming (at least I think they are). But, maybe it’ll force us to face reality and realize we can’t forever have a safety net, or bail out or [DTV] delay, just b/c we failed to carry our own water.
21. Rex | 01.12.09
I say we should all throw our older TV’s away on Feb. 17 since we are thinking so “green” nowadays. Has anyone done a study of the “carbon footprint” this will make? I have 5 TV’s in my house but can only get 2 vouchers. So I can throw at least 3 away. With the quality of programming on TV I am considering just watching movies and leaving the TV off the rest of the time. What is on that is so good anyway? The only reason I don’t have cable is why should I pay for TV? So why should I pay for a new TV I don’t need or for 3 more boxes to convert all my TV’s? My vote is we should all just throw TV’s away and go back to reading and talking to the others that live in our households instead of being glued to moral and intelligent insulting programming that seems to be the “norm” on TV nowadays.
22. sam | 01.20.09
Rex makes some good points. I quit watchinh T. V. about the same time I quit smoking. Early 2002. Not only has my health improved but so has my marriage and many other aspects of my life. Try turning it off and looking someone in the eyes for a change.
23. Gavin Kansen | 01.21.09
I don’t buy the blanket claim that analog TV owners without converter boxes have only themselves to blame. Perhaps not the majority, but plenty of them acted promptly and had their coupons all ready only to find that those coupons expired before converter boxes were even on the store shelves. Good for people who have a cable hookup and all of whose TVs (even that second or third one) have digital tuners or properly working converter boxes, but let’s not gloat and and presume that it makes you smarter and somehow more entitled to TV signals than the rest of the viewing public.
24. LJB | 02.02.09
“That Macy’s is forced to close stores, that WalMart had layoffs, that schools and hospitals are hitting “3rd world” standards…”
Dramatic much?? Seriuosly! We are NO WHERE NEAR 3rd world standards. Not by a long shot. A simple $40 from some consumers is good for our economy. It will help boost sales. We’re in a recession, not the end of the world.
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1. K. Gambler | 01.08.09
I received discount coupons last summer and never used them because the government has done nothing whatsoever to help people distinguish between converter boxes that are overpriced junk and those that are a fair deal. If new converter boxes all meet the same standard, why are retail prices are all over the place? Also, why has the government made no effort to propose the options beyond buying whole new TV set or subscribing to a pay-TV service? Why not publicize, for example, that some DVD recorders have built-in tuners that can convert existing TV sets from analog to digital reception without the need for a cable or converter box purchase?
Other questions unanswered by the news media: What role has the cable TV lobby played in convincing congress to tax and penalize consumers who don’t have new TV sets or cable TV service? What is the big emergency that required an utterly irreversible and near immediate changeover from analog to digital-only broadcasting? Why is that of more import to congress than, for say, legislating a definite timeline and public education campaign for conversion of the United States and its manufacturing industries to the international metric standards so that our manufacturing and tooling standards become compatible and competitive with those of every other developed nation — and potential importer of U.S. goods — on this planet?