AT&T Tech Support 360September 26, 2007 4:00 AM PDT
FAQ: What does the digital-TV switch actually mean?
- Related Stories
-
Politicians squabble over digital-TV funds
March 28, 2007 -
Feds unveil digital-TV subsidy details
March 12, 2007 -
Campaign to educate public on digital TV switch
February 28, 2007 -
The other guys in digital TV
January 2, 2007 - Related Blogs
-
TV rabbit ears to go digital for the elderly
September 19, 2007 -
Digital tuners mandatory as of March 1
February 26, 2007 -
House sets digital TV transition for Feb. 2009
December 19, 2005
(continued from previous page)
Q: Are there any limitations here? Can I use the coupons toward the cost of a digital TV?
The coupons may only be used for converter boxes certified for use by NTIA, and the agency placed a number of restrictions on what features they can employ. For instance, it's acceptable for the boxes to include an electronic program guide feature, equipment necessary for processing software upgrades, antenna inputs and video outputs. They also must meet certain energy efficiency and interference standards.
But the coupons can't be used toward digital TVs themselves or toward more "deluxe" devices that also contain, for instance, DVD-recording or playback capabilities.
Q: Does DTV mean HDTV?
Nope. As federal officials themselves note, digital television comes in many flavors. It can be low-resolution standard definition, or SDTV, or it can be high-resolution, or HDTV, or somewhere in between.
Q: Have any specific models been certified for use with the coupons yet?
Yes. NTIA confirmed that it gave the green light last week to two models produced by a Korea-headquartered company called Digital Stream. In a press release dated Friday, that firm estimated the price for each of those models would be about $70. (A more detailed spec sheet is posted at its Web site.) Several other companies, including LG, Samsung, RCA, Broadcom and Echostar, are reportedly in the process of seeking certification.
NTIA said it plans to include with the coupons it issues a final list of eligible devices, along with retailers near the household's ZIP code that sell some or all of them.
Q: When will the coupon-eligible boxes be available in stores?
The answer to that question remains a little murky. None is on the market yet, but NTIA has said retailers expect to have them by "early next year"--a statement that Best Buy, for one, echoes on its Web site.
Radio Shack vice president of merchandising Larry Harris told attendees at an NTIA public meeting this week that he expects all of the company's approximately 6,000 company-owned and franchise stores to carry coupon-eligible boxes as close to January 1 as they're available. He said the company hopes to begin outfitting its point-of-sale systems to work with the IBM-contracted coupon system within the next 30 days.
Q: What if the coupons run out?
Some consumer groups have argued that Congress should really be making double the number of coupons available to accommodate all of the some 70 million television sets they expect will need the converter boxes. Some Democrats have thrown support behind that idea.
Echoing statements he and other Republicans made earlier this year, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the ranking member of a House of Representatives telecommunications panel, said this week that he doubts the coupons will run out. He told NTIA public meeting attendees that about 23 million are expected to be requested, based on the number of consumers who rely on over-the-air television.
If there aren't enough, he added, "I'm sure there will be a bipartisan effort to make sure the funds are there, but I think we'll be OK."
Q: How can I tell whether my TV is currently able to receive digital signals?
Check your owner's manual or the TV set itself for indication that it contains either an integrated HDTV tuner or an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) tuner, which refers to the American digital-TV standard. If you can't track down the manual in paper form, try searching for your TV's make and model number at the manufacturer's Web site.
A TV designated "HD-ready" or "HDTV monitor," by contrast, does not have a built-in ATSC tuner, which means you must supplement it with a converter box or subscribe to cable or satellite.
The newer your TV is, the greater the chance that it's already primed for the switch. If it's older than a 1998 model, when TV manufacturers first began offering a limited quantity of TVs with integrated digital tuners, it likely needs a converter box. An uptick in the number of TVs equipped with digital tuners began in 2004.
Q: Remind me again--why are we even making this shift?
The U.S. government has actually been attempting to clear off the analog TV spectrum for many years to make the prime airwaves available for public safety responders and for mobile broadband projects. A portion of the vacant spectrum will automatically be set aside for use by emergency broadcasters. The FCC plans in January to start auctioning off the rest to companies, including the likes of Google, eager to take advantage of the spectrum's inherent physical properties, which allow signals to travel farther and penetrate walls.
All told, the auction is expected to generate between $10 billion and $15 billion to offset the government's deficit.
Q: Then who's to say this whole process won't be delayed again?
So far, all we have to go by is the word of Bush administration officials presiding over the plan, and they say they're determined for it to go off without a hitch. "It is critically important for a host of public policy reasons, and that's why it's so important that we get it done," Commerce Department Assistant Secretary John Kneuer told about a hundred people gathered for a digital-television expo (PDF) at the agency's downtown Washington headquarters this week.
Q: What's in this for me as a TV watcher?
Digital television delivers clearer pictures (meaning less-snowy versions of your favorite broadcast TV shows) and sharper sound than its analog counterpart. It also allows broadcasters to do "multicasting" of various channels at the same time--say, weather on one channel, a soap opera on another, and news on a third. According to the National Association of Broadcasters, more than 1,600 television stations already offer digital-broadcasting streams.
CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh contributed to this report.
See more CNET content tagged:
coupon,
digital television,
household,
TV,
satellite
Five years might be long enough for that to happen.
Oh and um... HD content isn't the only reason to get a new TV set... fortunately for you, the converter box will downgrade all future digital signals (HD or otherwise) so you can continue to get the same inferior signal for as long as you can keep that old set running!
But you might want to upgrade that 8 track player in your car now... there has been some decent content released in the time since they quit producing those tapes.
this year alone.
Right now, Analog just works. Digital is propriatary as heck and a PITA.
The technology keeps getting cheaper so this is much ado about nothing. In fact I recently bought a 720p camcorder for only $150.
we be able to record programming off the tv with
our years old vcr's?
Thanks
Answer 2: Talk to your cable company. Sooner or later, you'll need a box from them, or an upgraded TV. When that happens depends not on this law, but on your cable provider.
It seems likely that once over-the-air broadcasts are all digital, cable companies will initially sell their service as a way to avoid having to buy a converter box. Sooner or later though, cable companies will start pulling support for analog channels (reasoning that you've already upgraded to a digital TV, and if you haven't they still have you as a captive audience). It's to their benefit to drop them, for much the same reasons -- they can offer more channels if they use that analog signal space for digital signals instead.
Most cable systems already have digital to analog converters, so when the OTA change occurs, you won't see anything different since you've probably already been converted, you just didn't realize it.
My 2 cents.
You've indicated a requirement for a digital tuner but will that work with a current antenna in the attic? Also are the frequencies handed out for digital transmission as good as the one's the government is hijacking?
have a combo Digital/HD w DVD Upscaler (look on ebay, they're
not expensive), so there is no need for Government subsidies!!!
Just another example of why government does not work.
Ron Paul for President 2008! http://ronpaul2008.com
2)How does the government HELPING people make them fail helping this situation?
3)Digital converters out today cost upwards of $300.
1. Analog TV has always worked for me.
2.HD, SDTV, and EDTV is costly.
3.Along with fact it kills VCR I'm not interested.
4.The government is involved; this makes me leary.
Now, my statement is if ain't broke why fix it, but even worse is the government is getting in the deal.
I do realize I'll have to someday give up and buy a new TV. I consider it then, but not untill then.
This isn't "big brother" in the slightest way; They aren't watching you, and the converter boxes don't record you nor your habits in any conceivable way.
1)Good. But it is slow, inefficient and like it or not, technology has to advance. When it comes to technological advancement, the greater majority of the public > small minority.
Your statement is the same as saying "writing always worked for me, why use a typewriter?"
2)And getting exponentially cheaper. Much in the same way that the computer/TV you are using was extremely costly 10, 15 years ago.
3)lol wut? How does it kill vcr's? Converter -> VCR on channel 3 or through AV -> TV on Channel 3 or AV. Problem solved.
If you have a newer VCR that schedules recordings, most digital set top boxes can be programmed to switch the channel at specific times during the day.
4)All the government is doing is oversight; the switch itself is managed by individual stations.
You missed the point. Read the book again. It not the one standout fact about the book 1984, whch is the telescreen. The point he was making is that there is controll over information. The fact then the only info you have or can have access to is what you ar allowed. It not that they will be watching, its about them being able to alter facts and info about history, science and other subjects at will. They dictate the events of the past, rather than record them. Try ACTUALLY reading the book, rather than lean on common knowledge of the book. If you have read the book, take a class on comprehension.
This IS VERY BIG BROTHER.
Channels are changed on the converter itself.
No, really - if left to my own devices, I rarely go near the thing for broadcast or cable/sat TV, instead using it as more of a monitor for DVD and computer-borne videos.
I can get local/nat'l/international news online. Sitcoms suck. Dramas (lately) suck. There's nothing really else worth watching on the thing outside of the occasional documentary.
Maybe then, the television industry might get the hint?
/P
What's this from, [i]Hitchhiker's Guide to Digital TV?[/i] :)
they gave away the digital frequencies FOR FREE to the networks,
at least they're throwing the little guys some crumbs. If anyone
is going to complain about the potential for abuse with the
vouchers, I'd want to hear him raise hell about those FREE
frequencies first. Why do the networks get a free pass while
everyone else has to bid for a spot in the spectrum?
Furthermore, exactly how does one abuse the vouchers? You
still have to buy a converter for 50-70 dollars. If you think you
end up ahead if you spend 10 dollars to get a 40 dollar discount
on something you don't, then you're an idiot and you deserve to
be parted from your money.
The only potential fraud is the converter box manufacturers
turning in coupons for fictitious converter sales. But that is
easily prevented.
dollar discount on something you don't NEED, then you're an idiot
and you deserve to be parted from your money.
But worse, this is a one-time spectrum auction that will net the government an estimated $15 billion. That sounds like a lot of money.
But Bush will have blown that amount of money in Iraq in the next two months. In other words, by the time the first converter coupons become available. What an abominable waste.
Vote for Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, or anyone else that will get us out of Iraq and restore some fiscal discipline in Washington.
- The Government.........
-
by dakotawbrown34
March 19, 2008 3:19 AM PDT
- My personal OPINION on the subject would be that WE should have the choice of what type of TV we watch. The government should just stop telling us what to do. They think they can just get by controlling our lives.
-
Reply to this comment
-
See all 47 Comments >>