Bad move to delay the analogue shutdown.

As for the antenna issue. Part of the problem is the FCC allowing re-mapping. People don't really know what channels some of these DTV channels are really on.

All channels should be forced to I.D. their current digital channel along with their analog Channel. And to provide a PSA indicating what channel they will really be on post-analogue shutdown.

This re-mapping business is a mess.
This entire thing must stop. Get those lazy marketing people to do their jobs and market the new channel numbers that these stations will be on.

It's not so much marketing, but some stations have identified themselves using the same number for 50 years, so they don't want to abandon their "reputation" simply because the FCC wanted to sell some spectrum, forcing them to take a new channel number.

U.S. Senate OKs Digital TV Delay
The House is expected to act this week.
By Swann
Washington, D.C. (January 27, 2009) -- The U.S. Senate last night voted to delay the nation's switch to Digital TV from Feb. 17 to June 12 and the House could do the same as early as today.

On February 17, 2009, all full-powered local stations are scheduled to switch their analog signals to digital which means viewers will need a Digital TV, a digital converter box or a pay TV subscription to continuing watching television.

But the Obama administration has urged Congress to delay the transition from analog to digital, saying that millions of people are not ready for the switch and therefore could lose their TV signals.

The president and others have noted that the federal government has run out of funds for $40 coupons that consumers can use to defray the cost of the converters. Obama's proposed economic stimulus legislation includes $650 million to refund the converter coupon program.

The Senate passed the delay bill last night on a voice vote, but key senators have said for weeks that the nation is not ready for the transition.

"I firmly believe that our nation is not yet ready to make this transition at this time," said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Rockefeller who proposed the delay bill.

To generate Republican support, Rockefeller has promised not to seek more delays past the June 12 deadline. Additionally, local stations are permitted to switch to digital before June if they get approval from the FCC.

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.

i know some one of our local stations in the utica ny area wants to shut off their analog signal to save money and it if breaks before that they dont want to have to fix it.....

Does anyone forsee their local stations exercising their option to obtain FCC approval to switch over on the original Feb 17th date ?

I was just reading an article on how it is expected a lot of the PBS stations will still make the Feb 17th transition date because of the expense for having to operate both signals... so its possible that there will be Feb 17 switches...

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!

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.

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

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

Why can't the American stations do the same? Using channel numbers seems so primitive.

I have seen many in the last few months switching to their city and network.

For example WGCL in Atlanta just changed. It was '43 WGCL' and now they are 'CBS Atlanta'. No more channel number.

The only Buffalo channel that makes sense is MYTV Buffalo - no numbers.

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.

Round and round we go... :rolleyes: There is still the possibility of a presidential exective order pushing it back to June 12, AFAIK.

reidw or anyone, am I correct about that?

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. (http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003019891)

So next week, they could go through the Rules Committee, schedule it for regular debate and pass it by 50% +1.

I think because the Congress passed it as a bill, then the president cant use executive order but I could be wrong on that...

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.

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

How exactly does one punch "TVA" into one's remote? :D
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.

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.