Did everyone survive Digital Day?

[mirium]

Broadcast TV in the U.S. switching from analog to digital signals on February 17, that is. Congress decided to extend the deadline for stations to switch over, because there were problems with getting the coupons for converters out to people who still have ancient TVs which can't get digital signals. But a lot of stations are sticking to the original schedule instead of going through the hassle of changing their plans; they aren't required to keep broadcasting in analog until the deadline rolls around.

All you Canadians and Europeans and other non-Americans are already digital and are laughing up your sleeves, aren't you? I can hear you!

[jaglady]

Even many of us AMERICANS are laughing. Heck, HOW LONG have they been talking about this??
Considering we don't watch a lot of TV, I think we're okay (pats self).

[csikt]

We bought my nana a new tv for Christmas. Her tv was so old she didn't have a remote . After we bought her the tv she decided to get directv, and the day after Jay got it hooked up for her she said she had most fun channel surfing XD. She also said she never knew how deprived she was.

We were safe ;D

[luf100]

I didn't think Canadians already had digital... but this whole thing confuses me. We're all still being told to get a digital box if we have an antenna or an old TV. I just asked my mom and she doesn't even know. xD

Doesn't really matter to us anyway, we have satellite and so does my Nannie. Everything's good. Katie you're lucky your grandma can understands it. xD My Nannie and Pa have had satellite for about 3 years now and still don't know how to use the guide properly. They just know the channels they like and put them in with the remote.

[cutecollege1]

Feb 21, 2009 14:14:52 GMT -5 csikt said:

We bought my nana a new tv for Christmas. Her tv was so old she didn't have a remote . After we bought her the tv she decided to get directv, and the day after Jay got it hooked up for her she said she had most fun channel surfing XD. She also said she never knew how deprived she was.

We were safe ;D

More proof that I'm your lost twin. We have directv here too Plus we have the DVRs (digital video recorder)so whenever they want to switch, they can because we're ready. Only thing now is I'm waiting for my DVR to get hooked up in my room.

Mirium:

But a lot of stations are sticking to the original schedule instead of going through the hassle of changing their plans; they aren't required to keep broadcasting in analog until the deadline rolls around.

They're not required, but if they're smart, they'll wait for the deadline. Don't want to lose too many viewers now, do they!

[mirium]

Anyone who has cable or satellite isn't affected -- those services feed a predigested signal to their TV, so to speak; it's already been converted from analog/digital to cable/satellite. Although I know of one cable company *coughChartercough* that's going to take the digital signal, convert it BACK to analog, add a few extra glitches and feed that to customers who aren't paying extra for digital service.

jaglady said:

Even many of us AMERICANS are laughing. Heck, HOW LONG have they been talking about this??

They've been talking about it for ages, but one of the issues was cost of forcing people to convert old analog-only sets to digital; the very fact that someone has hung on to an ancient TV and is still using it makes it more likely that they can't afford to pop out and buy a digital-ready one.

The gummint compromised by offering coupons for $20 off a converter, and making sure there are a few converters available that cost $20 and a lot that cost about $40. Problem is, the coupons are only good for a month after they're activated, and the gummint folks sending them out activated them and then took 2 to 4 weeks to mail them -- so they were no good when they were received, or expired in just a few days -- and you can only request a coupon once. So folks who had done the right thing didn't get a coupon that could actually be used, and can't afford a converter without it. The deadline delay is meant to give the gummint a second chance to get it right and to give impoverished shafted citizens more time to save their pennies; it probably won't have much effect on anyone who hasn't been paying attention anyway. ;D

cutecollege said:

if they're smart, they'll wait for the deadline. Don't want to lose too many viewers now, do they!

The commercial stations won't care about losing analog viewers, and might even welcome it -- they'd be losing the lowest income section of their demographic. Get rid of the poor folks, and they can tell potential advertisers that the average income of their viewers is higher now. Public television stations do seem to be waiting for the new deadline, but they're focused on providing service, not selling ads.