Comments on: Yes, Virginia, the DTV transition still isn't over

Friday marks the day that full-power TV broadcasters will finally stop sending analog signals and will transmit only digital signals.

[eBob1]

Hopefully, this will bring about an end to those PSAs. It is really silly to broadcast those on the digital stations anyway. If you are watching the digital broadcast, then you have prepared for the transition, haven't you? Why then is it so necessary to bother these people with these advertisements?

[Seaspray0]

I don't think they have a choice. The digital signal on the -001 is the same one that is still broadcast analog.

[superman227]

If you were able to read this subject line, you're ready. You don't have internet if you have only 7 working channels.

[thelemurking]

My thoughts exactly... if you are reading this, then you most likely are ready.

[rdupuy11]

Did you not read the article, superman? Some people have a digital television but still haven't hooked up some of their spare telelvisiions...frankly this dwarfs the problem of people who are completely unready.

Oh the horror of all those spare televisions lost, I cannot bear to think about it, I need to go lie down.

[brianhollings]

You are totally wrong. I have not had cable since I was five years old. I am now 17. We don't have cable because we believe most of it is just worthless. I have all the major channels (abc, cbs, nbc, pbs, the cw, fox, my tvz, ion) without a bill for something way overpriced. My family is not even close to being poor, we just find that we can live with only 8 channels. Cutting cable is a great way to save money.

Oh. wait. I have internet too? Just because people don't pay for hundreds of worthless junk doesn't make them low income.

[madeinttown]

Like brianhollings, I do not have cable TV.

I do have a gaming PC with internet though. I also have a large screen TV, but that is for my PS3 and Wii.

But since I don't watch TV (the same reason I have internet and no cable), I am not "prepared" for the DTV switch. But even if I was, it wouldn't matter since I don't watch the over the air channels.

[jefflac]

brianhollings,

You're a perfect case. You get your signal OTA and yet you're READY for the switch - because you read the headline and you know what you're talking about, you're already ready. That's the point! The people who aren't ready may have Internet access, but they certainly aren't spending their days reading CNET.

[notovny]

Untrue. For me (and I suspect, for a lot of posters here) if it was a choice between losing broadband internet service and dropping cable/satellite/pay tv service, the choice would be to keep broadband, And cable's not the only way to go for high-speed internet. Or even dialup, if you must.

On the other hand, I suspect the typical person who'd read this article on CNET was probably ready on February 17.

[manualfunky]

americans... make everything seem so darn difficult... i cant wait for the headlines tomorrow here in the southern hemisphere about americans whinging and moaning because they didnt know it was happening, it'll probably even get an airing on either "today, tonight" or "A current Affair" (the two worst tabloid programs in Oz) heck i'm sure the Chaser boys will have a field day with this one too, just like they did when they drove a fake motorcade through the APEC security in sydney a wee while back...

[thelemurking]

Well ya know, Obama didn't want to be the president who took away the free TV from the little old white ladies so we got the extension.

It's sad really, that 4-6% of the population has caused this much havoc... and out of that 4-6%, there's no way to tell how many of them even watch TV, or even have a TV.

[BCF1968]

to thelemurking

Yes blame Obama. The coupon program was signed into law by BUSH. The digital transition law was passed by a republican controlled Congress and signed into law by Clinton in 1996. So how is Obama to blame for anything?

[rickhigginshtbr]

BCF, because most people don't know it was passed that long ago, that's how some people will blame Obama...

[ecartman0]

I live out in the sticks and I know of NO ONE who has rabbit ears for TV. What a waste of money for these ads. Speaking of money what happened to the billions the government made on this deal? Public airwaves were sold so where is my check?

[man_w_balls]

they wasted it all on the stupid PSAs and the $40 coupons

[thelemurking]

haven't you heard, your check was used to help bail out companies that made bad financial decisions. some bank CEO vacationing on his $8 million dollar yacht thanks you for your cooperation and understanding.

[BCF1968]

"they wasted it all on the stupid PSAs and the $40 coupons "

Actually less than $2 billion of the $20 billion the government made was used on the converter box coupon program and PSAs. So please get your facts straight before psoting stupid stuff.

[martin_c_e]

Public airwaves were NOT sold for the transition of DTV. There is no check.

[martin_c_e]

Public airwaves that were for tv were sold for wireless phone/data service, not for use as tv.

[JoeKoskovics]

I haven't watched regular television in several years. The quality of programming is, shall we say... not high quality. So when analog goes dark, it will be no big deal.

Thankfully, I can VOD whatever I need on the Internet, and ignore the low quality stuff too. (Legally)
Podcasts are great, if you know where to look.
Streaming radio is Okay, if you avoid the cookie cutter stations.
Weather radios are still available too.
It's just another change in the surroundings... that's all. People will adapt. So those who need it will migrate, those who don't care will use alternatives.

[martin_c_e]

Basically, you are just saying that you are a snob. Most people watch some broadcast channels normally because most local news is broadcast and there is quite a bit of quality programming on broadcast.

[rootofjesse]

"But it may also be due to the fact that digital signals travel differently through the air than analog signals." - Ack! No, no, no.. I might expect a statement like that from my local newspaper, but not CNET. Digital broadcasts propagate in the same way that analog broadcasts do. The FCC has no control over the properties of electromagnetic radiation. However, the requirements for acceptable reception of those digital signals are different than analog.

[Been_there_Saw_it_before]

" But it may also be due to the fact that digital signals travel differently through the air than analog signals. So some TV viewers who may have been able to tune in analog channels may not be able to receive digital channels." Well, CNET just struck out, three batters in a row, and now it is my turn at bat.

Radio Frequency Signals being broadcast through the air do not introduce themselves to the Air and say, "Hello, I'm Mr. Digital, treat me differently."

Someone at CNET needs to enforce journalistic accuracy and do some proofreading by a technically competent proofreader. One of my favorite quotes is that "All digital circuits (and signals too) have a little analog circuit (and signal too) hidden underneath just waiting to get out. All radio and TV signals are analog, the only thing that makes them digital is the rise and fall time of the modulation and how the signal is proccessed. Digital signals are subject to the same rules that plague analog signals. The issues that were discovered, described, and delt with a hundred years ago are still the same: power, noise, bandwidth, propagation path, transmitter and receiver characteristics, circuit design, and technology. The only thing that is better now is the technology for dealing with all the other issues. Digital broadcasting is only better because you only need to send the information "once" and not include so much "duplication and redundancy" and the associated bandwidth that requires. Go back and read about the history of radio if you do not understand this posting

[JWreford]

Why do they make it seem like it is the end of the world if a person does not have TV.

TV is a luxury not a necessity. There are so many other was of accumulating knowledge (Global issues, local issues, etc) other than TV. Newspaper, magazines, internet, and old fashioned conversation.

It is only an issue to the advertising companies, and any other company that wants to see you something or bombard you with product identity.

Some people don't react until it is too late. Procrastinators. Since when does the government need to hand hold grown adults. So much for sink or swim. We should encourage people to learn and grow and help themselves.

You can survive just fine without TV.

[subslug]

I agree with you. But check this out...
I just made a random joke about being "digital ready" at a party we were at a week or so ago.
A younger female, 25ish actually said, "what's digital ready mean" lol...I thought she was kidding. Turns out after some conversations that she hasn't actually watched any sort of news cast in more than two years.
She's an MTV only person.
I realize most of the time the news is a downer but my gosh, how is this even possible? She reads no news papers, watches no news other than what MTV squirts out it's nasty regions, it's scary to think of this. I pray that she isn't any representation of 25ish people in our world now.

I think DTV is but the tip of the iceberg as far as humanity's problems go.

[gefitz]

The reason the delay occurred was for national security/disaster preparedness reasons, gang. The fact is that (especially for the least technology-savvy in our country; in other words, the very people that didn't switch in time) television is the main source of information for these folks--and the backup is radio, not the other way around.

I think if the Gov't would have framed it this way, these folks might have jumped and done something. So, delaying the deadline was only a symptom of the problem: if the Gov't would have made a better case by framing it in such a way that made it important, more people would have been ready a long time ago.

[CaptAdventure]

For help with the DTV transition (and a laugh) see below:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/36608/talkshow-with-spike-feresten-cable-psa

[karpenterskids]

Yeah, I've seen that before! Hilarious! :)

[darfjono]

if you're not ready by now you don't deserve TV. let them be in the dark. stop holding up the nation and annoying the rest of us with those ads for such a small amount of people.

[BtmnHatesRbn]

Robert X. Cringely has the real numbers on who's not ready. And it's more like 99% of the TV audience out there. You'll see. CNET, who is owned by CBS Viacom (and it's 31 flavors and corrupt "breaking-up" of itself which is baloney) will not report the truth, since CBS is the primary breadwinner for the corporation.

[gefitz]

"So here we are, less than a day away from the final transition. And despite months of public service announcements and more than $2 billion spent by the U.S. government to help people prepare, millions will still face a blank screen when they hit that little power button on their TV remotes starting Friday at 12:01 a.m."

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

[rdupuy11]

TV owners get $40 from the government, if they will use it to make an old analog tv work, theoretically paid from the auction of the publicly owned digital spectrum.

OK, but whats public, is public.

If you don't need this box, you get nothing (whether you don't need it because you have satellite/cable service, don't own a tv at all, or all your tv's have digital tuners built in).

Frankly thats non-sensical, to favor part of the public, but leave out part of the public, but the people who thought this up, have no particular values that guide them, they just wanted a digital-analog converter program.

But what was in the best public interest? Give everybody a check, and let them spend it on anything they want. Some people own no tv, and guess what, thats fine. Some people have tv's and don't need a converter box, whether they use satellite tv, cable, or have a digital tuner already, and thats fine too.

The goal here, seems to be encourage the extension of the life of analog tv's.

It's not for the poor, or they would have limited to the poor. And its not for the general public, or everyone would have gotten a check.

The goal here is not the public, but the analog tv's themselves...sparing them from an untimely early demise.

[gefitz]

Again: I'd agree with rdupuy11 if it weren't for the fact that the reason they offered any rebate at all was to be sure the majority of americans would be prepared to continue having access to the Emergency Broadcast System. Yeah yeah, radio. But the idea is to always have two major sources of information in the case of natural disaster or emergency.

[BCF1968]

Um you get the benefit that your first responders now have the extra frequencies to use in case of an emergency situation. You get the benefit the government has an extra $18 to pay for things instead of having to raise your taxes to get it. And there are other benefits that will be realized.

[rdupuy11]

@gefitz,

I don't see how you responded to what i said. Say EBS is a worthy goal. Then why wasn't the coupon allowed for people who own no TV at all, to purchase their first TV, so they could also get the EBS signal....they were left out of there share of these digital spectrum proceeds...new tv's are digital, and don't need the converter. Even if you did own an old analog set, why wouldn't replacing your TV, with one that has a digital tuner, be a valid way of continuing EBS service into your home?

Face it, this program was some kind of analog tv set conservation program, and not an EBS program...if it was an EBS program a different form would have taken place.

[Maggie Reardon]

You made some interesting points here. Thanks for posting! You might want to check out the video that my colleague Erik Palm did about following the last days of an analog TV to the recycling center. Maybe it's not such a bad thing to keep the old analog TV alive. If it's still working fine, there shouldn't be any reason to trash it and have it end up in a landfill in China or Africa where people burn the TVs to get to the internal components like the copper wiring. Apparently burning this stuff releases all kinds of toxic chemicals. The video is linked within my story. Anyway, thanks for your comments and for reading CNET News.

[4score20]

I volunteer with an organization which brings meals to shut-ins and other homebound folks and let me tell you, most of these people are not DTV-ready. Their only entertainment is TV and on the 12th they will be cut off. In the moments I have to deliver their food and help them to their tables so they can eat I've quickly explained the impending changes and although I've assumed I've gotten through to them they have not gotten the necessary equipment. I've given them the numbers to call when their screens go black tomorrow and I feel bad but I can't do anything else for them.

[Seaspray0]

What did you expect? These people are accustomed to having things done for them like have their food delivered, being helped to the table and I bet that's not all. The line has to be drawn somewhere.

[4score20]

Yeah. Never really been good at drawing a line though; I worry I'll leave my humanity on the other side of it.

[rdupuy11]

@4score20

probably what you should do, is not give them numbers to call, but instead call the numbers yourself, and get the coupons ordered. After that you'll probably need another $10 per person, to cover the difference, coupon vs. cost of the device. Finally, hook it up for them.

And you may cry the entire time, but you'll feel better when you are done.

[Maggie Reardon]

4score20, if you would like to help these folks, please check out the FCC's DTV website. They offer programs where people can get digital tuners for the cost of the $40 voucher and they will have volunteers available to help hook up the tuners. But you must act quickly these programs won't last forever. At the most they will be around until July 31 of this year. Good luck and thanks for commenting and reading CNET News!

[4score20]

My thanks to you, Maggie! I had no idea there were volunteers working to install these units. Awesome. I'm off to the FCC's site. Again, thanks.

[JimBrittTN]

How difficult is it to hook up a couple of wires! If people can't hook up this box I'm surprised they can use a remote!

[waynerifish]

Does anyone else find the photograph that has been accompanying these DTV articles is a little misleading? It shows one TV with a very snowy analog picture beside another with a crystal clear (presumably digital) picture. In my own experience, if that snowy picture is the best you can get an analog station to come in, the digital signal you get will be unwatchable. At least the snowy analog picture is watchable; when you start to lose digital signals, watchability degrades very quickly.

[rootofjesse]

I would say that picture is realistic. I get some analog channels that look like that but I can get the digital signal reliably most of the time.

[BCF1968]

The picture is realistic, I get a clear digital picture on some channels that barely come in at all on analog. Certainly MUCH worse that that pic. I'm lucky if I get 2 chanels that come in even that clear on analog.

[martin_c_e]

The pictures are accurate. Because the analog and digital signals are on different channels today and antenna placement will probably favor one or the other depending on how they are set. That said, tomorrow, some of those digital channels that were on UHF will be back on VHF and not only will the tv need to be re-scanned, the antenna may have to be adjusted again. If you have trouble on analog vhf, you may have flaky digital tomorrow.

[Batotahell]

My only problem with the DTV conversion is how it will affect everyone on the Gulf Coast. For years we've had our little hurricane TVs in preparation for storm season. Now those TVs are no good because of this. When you are watching a 5-7" battery-operated TV screen to find out when the power will be restored or what is happening in your area the last thing you will think is "Look how good that digital picture is." Except now you won't get that picture on an old TV because if the power is out the DTV converter is too.

[4score20]

Looks like a battery-powered transistor radio might be the solution there. We relied on one during the 2004 summer blackout here on the east coast. Glad we had it.

[BCF1968]

All the battery operated TVs made since March 2007 have built in digital tuners. If you are that concerned I'm sure you'll spend the $100 it takes to get a new one.

[BCF1968]

This more of a beginning not an ending. I see MORE people using antennas again not less. Why pay your cable or satellite company for HD locals when you can get them for free? People who just have basic cable can now dump that and get the same if not better quality picture.

[miniwas]

I have been ready, only problem the stations here aren't ready. CBS is analog only for the last couple months, ABC drifts in and out, signal keeps dropping and NBC is ok most of the time. FOX is reliable and the one indepentdent that has switched. So tomorrow I'll see if they are really broadcasting in digital. Ah

[gary85739]

Wonder how long it will be, before viewers realize that DTV is NOT HDTV?

[rootofjesse]

What do you mean? Some DTV is HDTV, but not all broadcasts are DTV. A person with a government sponsored converter box can watch an HDTV broadcast but will not see the full resolution. But a person with an HDTV with tuner can watch free over-the-air HDTV.

[rootofjesse]

Oops, I meant to say not all broadcasts are HDTV.

[Renegade Knight]

My cable company was ready. They upped the price of basic cable.

[tppickles]

Really? the cable company im working for is offering basic cable for 9.95 for a year and then around 20.99 after that, its only 20 channels but its great for people who only need their tvs for emergencies or to check the news and weather every once in a while. Myself I have Rogers cable in Canada for the next bit then no cable at all, my tv will be for watching movies off the net and playing xbox360 and thats about it