Since we've been home with our newborn, we're watching a lot of daytime TV, which is when most retired folks are watching. It seems like every commercial break we're watching Bob Barker, Pat Sajak or some other daytime celebrity tell us that we won't be able to watch our favorite shows.

Actually, today we saw a new one where they're instructing them to ask a neighbor or friend to help them hook it up for them since they may not be technologically savvy or lack brute strength to get behind the tv. This, of course, is with the visual of a strapping young lad hooking up the cable behind the tv while the elderly woman looked on.

The transition to DTV has been brutally under-announced.

Are you kidding me? Geez, they have it here on every 5 o'clock newscast, and most 7 and 7:30 pm shows have a banner crawl every f'in' night.

I'm not poor or old, I just came to the conclusion I don't watch TV enough to justify paying for Cable. I bought a USB ATSC tuner and have it on my media PC. I get every Major network in HD with just rabbit ears, so no complaint here

As for the delay it seems a little silly seeing they have been excessivly playing commercials for it on every channel.

And for all the patronizing that everyone here seems to enjoy doing, are "old people", or "poor people" not allowed to watch television anymore? A HUGE number of people depends on their analog TV signal to warn them about severe weather. Oh well, sucks to be them, I guess? let tornadoes wipe out the poor and the old, that will solve a lot of problems in the US!

Something wrong with radios?

The only people who still use over-air televisions are old people.

And every single person who lives somewhere where they can't GET anything besides over-air television.

And for all the patronizing that everyone here seems to enjoy doing, are "old people", or "poor people" not allowed to watch television anymore? A HUGE number of people depends on their analog TV signal to warn them about severe weather. Oh well, sucks to be them, I guess? let tornadoes wipe out the poor and the old, that will solve a lot of problems in the US!

Jesus Christ.


The transition to DTV has been brutally under-announced. I've seen a grand total of four commercials for it on TV, and I watch a serious amount of television. It's not that hard to see how people could have missed it.

How about the glorious clusterfuck when people got their DTV converter coupons that were valid for three months only, and then when they went to the store in May, were told that "oh, no, we won't have those in stock until September or so!"

As usual when the government needs to do something that affects a certain percentage of the population, it turns into a gigantic Charlie Foxtrot.

For everyone who already has a DTV this won't make a damn difference. You're already watching digital broadcasts. For those who don't, hopefully this will grant them enough time to get switched over.

Creston

This comment was edited on Jan 27, 2009, 15:34.

I am not old, and have been using OTA for three decades. Why get cable/satellite when you can get local channels for free?

The only people who still use over-air televisions are old people.

Old people consistently have the highest voter turnout.

Therefore, it behooves the government to not disrupt old peoples' televisions.

It's important that people don't loose their TV service. Imagine how much more blame would be put on video games if parents had to rely solely on them to baby sit and didn't have the TV there to help out too!

Damn right it's important. TV is what keeps them complacent! Although, from what I see and hear, plenty of poor people already have cable. Boy do I wish welfare money had restrictions on its use. Like for example, no cable TV until you buy food for your fucking kids.

This comment was edited on Jan 27, 2009, 14:37.

All the silly uninformed political posturing aside, I have to wonder - is worrying whether poor people will be able to watch TV after February really that important to Congress in light of everything else that is wrong in this country?

"Every day I weep for the poor, oppressed American Christians. They are constantly under attack from the giant, powerful atheist lobby. Every day Christianity becomes increasingly marginalized in American society. At least, that's what I heard on The 700 Club last night."

Don't forget the Jews. Everyone is out to get them, apparently. Especially those 15-year-old Palestinian kids with their pesky bottle rockets. Good thing we're sending them billions of dollars of free money every year. It's not like we could use that to improve our own country.

(which seems to be the popular thing to do nowadays, along with bashing Christians and Jews)...

Every day I weep for the poor, oppressed American Christians. They are constantly under attack from the giant, powerful atheist lobby. Every day Christianity becomes increasingly marginalized in American society. At least, that's what I heard on The 700 Club last night.

NKD: You watch all those channels? Some don't. I like free TV.

This whole DTV thing is amusing to me. I have not viewed anything over the air since the mid 80s. Since, you know, my cable provider has always had more local stations than I could ever receive over the air.

I am OK with the delay. I already have my converter and I still prefer my analog feeds since I can't always get perfect image. With analog, I can get a somewhat fussy picture that is still watchable on my old 20 years old CRT TV and VCR.

The network channels get all kinds of funding and tax breaks all year along for the same purpose. Why are you not complaining about those?

If the government has mandated a method for officially communicating with the people, then if they decide to change that method, it is the governments responsibility to make sure those people can still be officially communicated with.


There is of course still radio.

I do not like the delay, I want to switch. I think people should be willing to switch without governmental financial help, as technology needs to advance. We get other advantages out of it. But I do not see it as a reason to get worked up over it, as this has so much more legitimate reasons for the government to spend billions on; many more reasons then most of the crap they spend money on!

I don't get how that makes it a right. How many people really use the free over the air channels to watch governmental programming? Even if it's for emergency use, I still don't understand why my tax dollars go towards paying for someone else to get basic cable. Or why the date was pushed back another 4 months.

Television is a "right" because the government has worked out deals with the free over the air network channels to use them as official governmental methods of communicating brainwashing with the people.

Fixed!

This comment was edited on Jan 27, 2009, 10:08.

flechett3: It's not free. 1) Taxes and 2) Only $40 coupons. Some boxes cost more than that like Zeinth, DTVPal, etc.

Television is a "right" because the government has worked out deals with the free over the air network channels to use them as official governmental methods of communicating with the people.