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155K views 600 replies 141 participants last post by  Robbers Bhell 
#1 ·
FCC Cites Dell For Failure To Label TV Sets
(Broadcasting & Cable)

Dell.com has joined the list of online TV sales Web sites cited by the FCC for failure to label analog-only TV sets.

As of May 25, sets without digital tuners must be clearly marked, either on the set or in close proximity, with the warning that the set will not receive over-the-air broadcasts after February 2009 unless equipped with a converter box.
http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=152842
 
#108 ·
DTV delayed dealine

Delaying the dealine for the switchover in the US on Feb. 17th will only further confuse an already very confused population. They should go ahead with the switchover then deal with it! You would have to live under a rock or in the desert not to know about DTV in the US. The amount of TV ads on all the networks is enormous...a set back in the US could also translate into further delays in Canada. As far as I'm concerned DTV OTA is WAY overdue in North America...it should've happened 10 years ago already!
 
#109 ·
Heck even New Yankee Workshop (the carpentry show on PBS) has dedicated a show to the switch over. I caught a minute of it as I was channel surfing. It was quite funny watching this guy with antennas laid out across his workbench instead of tools and wood.

Let it die already. I've had satellite for 6 years so I've had no reason to know about it (since I would not be directly affected), but I've know about it for at least two years. I finally got a TV with a ATSC tuner in it this month. I'm looking forward to getting rid of analoge just to see what differences there are with everything from Buffalo coming only in digital. I love what I've got so far, and since I started my setup in January it's not much yet (too cold and slippery to get up and do a roof installation). What would be nice to see would be for the Canadian govt to tell the stations up here to move everything up and start broadcasting with some actual power.
 
#110 ·
CFTM in Montreal always identified itself as "Canal 10" for decades, yet they evolved and everyone refers to them as "TVA".

Same thing with CFCF being identified as "Montreal's 1-2 watch, CFCF-12". Now they are referred to as simply "CTV Montreal".

Why can't the American stations do the same? Using channel numbers seems so primitive.
How exactly does one punch "TVA" into one's remote? :D
 
#119 ·
This is bit off topic but I noticed that Can. stations stopped giving their channel numbers out when they realized that most of their viewers were watching on cable/satellite as the numbers had become meaningless. Even now the actual channel number is useless except for those privileged to be in an area where they can watch a variety of stations OTA.
 
#111 ·
Some broadcasters want to switch signals Feb. 17.
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009
By Rick Bentley / The Fresno Bee
Congress wants to delay a long-planned conversion to digital television. But Valley broadcasters say they can't afford to wait.

Many local TV stations still hope to make the switch from traditional analog broadcast on Feb. 17, the date long set before concerns arose in Washington, D.C., that many elderly and low-income residents would be left with blank screens.

Surveys by Nielsen Media Research show that among the nation's major markets, Fresno is one of the least-prepared for the change. But two stations, KSEE (Channel 24) and KVPT (Channel 18) already have filed petitions seeking permission to make the switch on Feb. 17.

"We could delay six months, a year, and a certain percentage of local viewers will not know there is a change going on," said KSEE general manager Todd McWilliams. "Our plan is to shut off the analog signal Feb. 17, if the government allows us."
http://www.fresnobee.com/entertainment/tv-radio/story/1158642.html
 
#113 ·
Just In... Bill defeated in the House of Reps.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives has defeated a bill to postpone the transition from analog to digital television broadcasting by four months to June 12.

House Republicans succeeded in scuttling a bill to delay the transition, which is scheduled for Feb. 17, less than two days after the Senate unanimously passed the plan.

The defeat is a setback for the Obama administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill, who fear too many Americans are not ready for the switchover.
 
#115 ·
There is still the possibility of a presidential exective order pushing it back to June 12, AFAIK.
I don't believe that's the case under the U.S. system.

For anyone that is interested in the mechanics:

Democrats were more than two-dozen votes shy of the tally they needed to pass the bill (S 328) under suspension of the rules, an expedited procedure that limits debate, bars amendments and requires a two-thirds majority for passage. The final count was 258-168, with six members not voting.

So next week, they could go through the Rules Committee, schedule it for regular debate and pass it by 50% +1.
 
#117 ·
Whats Going To Happen On Feb 17th ?

Can one of our U.S. cousins explain to this "head scratching" Canuck......what is happening with regards to the Feb 17th cutoff date.
As far as I can see...it was on...then it was off......it was back on again....and now I hear that there could be another Bill vote that only needs 50%+1 (as opposed to the 2/3rds that killed it yesterday).
Due the short time between now and Feb 17th , will the house not be concentrating on the relatively ,more important issue of the economic situation,therefore delaying the OTA issue ?
I also hear that more and more stations are obtaining permission to stick with the original date due to the financial hardship it would cause if delayed.
I have to admit ,I'm confused.
 
#118 ·
Here' my understanding of the situation:
The senate passed the bill & sent it to the house. Everyone expected the house to rubber stamp it.
The house considered the bill under special rules that do not allow amendments & limit debate, but require q 2/3 majority vote to pass. They got a simple majority, but not 2/3, so they expect to bring it up again under the normal rules of debate & amendment.

That's all it is, unless there has been a new development today, of course.

Dave
 
#120 ·
One difference is that most USA network affiliate TV stations are still owned by someone other that the network they are affiliated with. They do their own newscast, and shop for syndicated programs themselves.
Take the popular TV show "Jeopardy!". In Toledo. it's on channel 11 (WTOL), while in Detroit, 80km to the North, it's on channel 4 (WDIV). At 7;30 PM, many viewers can choose either to watch "Jeopardy!" (their coverages have a lot of overlap). At 8:00 PM, the similarity ends - 11 is a CBS affiliate and 4 is NBC. At 11:00 PM, the newscasts are completely unrelated, and, of course, news that happens in Toledo is ignored by channel 4 unless it's really a big (national news) story.
 
#121 ·
#124 ·
PBS doesn't want to wait, big commercial networks do

PBS officials, for example, say it will cost its local stations $22 million to keep pumping out analog signals for another four months. And with the Senate bill allowing stations to go all-digital sooner than June 12 provided they make their analog spectrum available for emergency broadcasting, there are a number of stations that say they won't wait. Perhaps more patient are the struggling broadcast networks, which pushed back February sweeps to March for fear of the audience disruption brought about by the switchover. They favor a June transfer, when their skeds are largely filled with reruns and inexpensive reality shows.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999367.html?categoryId=1054&cs=1
 
#126 ·
The reality is as much as I hate to see a last minute delay like this because of all the confusion it causes, February was a bad month to choose for the transition for many reasons. First of all, winter weather makes it a bad month for people to be making antenna adjustments if they discover they are necessary. Secondly it is the middle of the broadcast season and people who are unprepared might miss a new episode.
 
#129 ·
I was doing some more reading today and it looks like the date change has not passed yet after all. The Senate has passed it, but Congress is still debating it. As of right now the date is still Feb 17 for everyone. The FCC website and dtv2009.gov are both still counting down to Feb 17th. No wonder many of us are confused. One report will say it's changing and then another the same station will retract the statement on it's next newscast.

I'm getting sick of hearing of poor planning and inadequate funding, however. It's 40 freaking dollars people. Yes I understand that if you have multiple TVs is $40 * the number of TVs, but why not go with the Feb 17th date and offer a mail in rebate program. Tell everyone to go buy their converters, send proof of purchase and if you didn't already get the rebate (i.e. there is no $40 discount on your receipt) they'll send you a cheque. People get their converter boxes, the switchover goes ahead as planned and they create jobs (temporary as they will be) to process the rebates. Win-Win-more temporary Win.
 
#130 ·
There's one potential "catch-22" gotcha that may screw some US stations wishing to shut down on the 17th. It goes like so... to shut down analogue before the scheduled cut-off date, a station has to give 30 days notice (e.g. Willmington and Hawaii). If a station planned to shut down analogue on the federally-mandated analogue-shutdown date, no filing was required from the station.

So along comes Congress and, on Feb 5th or 6th, moves the goalposts to June 12th. A station that was planning to shut down analogue on Feb 17th would not have filed 30-day notice. Technically, it would now be required to file 30 days notice to shut down before June 12.

So the president signs the bill and the stations grab ahold of the forms. They probably won't be able to get them filled out and filed before the weekend. A 30-day filing on Monday Feb 9th is 30 days before Wednesday March 11. This seems like a technical reporting requirement. Hopefully the FCC will waive the 30-day rule for stations planning to shut down on Feb 17th. Any word on this?
 
#131 ·
Walter Dnes, I am pretty sure this legislation they are trying to pass says in it that stations have the option to stick with the Feb 17th deadline if they apply to do so. Hence, that 30 day waiver would then be null for this purpose. Yet, if a station didn't apply to shutdown on Feb 17 but wanted to do so before June 12th, I would think they would then have to apply for the 30 day waiver.
 
#132 ·
The bigger issue, with stations not all shutting down on the exact same date, is in the shuffling of frequencies (channels) that must happen for the changeover to be completed.

Some stations are waiting for other stations to vacate frequencies so they can move their own transmitters to them. Those stations are pretty much stuck if the incumbent decides to delay.

-ml
 
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