Maine viewers are very upset that they can no longer get MPBN (Maine PBS) over the air in many places. And Joe Riley, VP for Television, seems to think it's no big deal. He claims they had no idea how many viewers would be affected by a loss of their signal. He also claims they had no way of knowing how much of an impact the switch to digital would have on MPBN viewers who receive them via antenna.
Then in a newspaper article, Mr. Riley suggests that viewers (in an effort to justify MPBN's lack of digital signal) use a web site called TV Fool to get get a very detailed map of the digital TV coverage spectrum. You can zoom in on a single street, just about, to see if you should or should not be able to receive a digital signal from a particular TV station.
So which is it. Was digital TV unpredictable regarding the coverage area, or was it easy to determine who would or would not receive the signal by using TV Fool's tools to figure it out.
Riley and MPBN can't have it both ways.
As for consumers, I personally believe that in many cases it boils down to the quality of the indoor antenna they are using. Obviously if you have an outdoor antenna that receives both UHF and VHF signals, that is the best scenario. But I don't own a home. I rent and can not erect an antenna (also suggested by Mr. Riley).
On my primary TV I have a TERK UHF/VHF antenna. It is unbelievable in terms of what it can receive. I do receive all 7 different network channels available. I live in a valley in Southern Maine, in an apartment with trees and buildings around me. I am surrounded geographically by the foothills on three sides (all but facing south where there are no channels to receive).
When I purchased a converter box and tried to get my bedroom TV up and running on the cheap, I bought, and returned, probably 6 different antennas. The cheap ones at Walmart, the cheap ones at Radio Shack, the more expensive ones at Radio Shack - all with no luck. I would get one or two, and sometimes three, channels but that's it. So then I hooked up the TERK antenna I had connected to my HDTV and, well, there you go. All channels are go.
I hate to say this but to a large degree to exact type of antenna you use plays a huge part in what stations you will receive.
The last comment I will reference by Joe Riley at MPBN is that he hopes technology will improve so much regarding HDTV's and Converter Boxes that reception won't be an issue. Well, here's the truth. Neither a TV (digital or otherwise) nor a converter box can improve the strength of a digital TV signal so you either need a stronger antenna or a stronger signal. MPBN should be working on the signal strength. They are stalling because they don't want to spend the money. They have supposedly applied to the FCC to increase their signal strength. Well, right now, the conversion to digital is pretty much all the FCC has to worry about so there is no reason this should take so long.
On the other end, the antenna is the key. I don't like endorsing products but the UHF/VHF indoor TERK antenna has done me proud. I bought it at Best Buy and it cost about $73.00 when I bought it. That's a bit steep, I admit. But with all of the frustration of buying and returning antenna's I'm telling you, it's worth it.
So before anyone complains about what they can or can not receive, I am going to suggest you try the TERK antenna. You can always return it if you are not happy with it. I just believe that until consumers get that antenna, they won't know the true power of an antenna and receiving signals over the air.
Showing posts with label Digital Converter Boxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Digital Converter Boxes. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Update: Maine Television's Transition to Digital - what's really going on
Although President Obama signed a bill to extend the drop dead date for Analog broadcasting from February 17, 2009 to June 12, 2009, it is NOT a mandate. Broadcast television stations CAN extend their analog broadcasting, but they don't HAVE TO. So what's happening here in Maine? And what's happens beyond the conversion?
The future of Maine's broadcast television stations is in some ways written in stone and in other ways is very "up in the air" so to speak (pun intended).
There is a lot going on that we know about, but as always I am more interested in what we are not being told.
As of February 17, 2009 the following TV stations in Maine will still cease Analog operations and be Digital only. Some listed below have already shut off their analog signal.
WGME - CBS 13
*WPXT - CW - 51
*WPME - MyNetwork - 35
*MPBN - PBS Maine- Channel 10 in most areas except 9 in Orono and 45 in Biddeford
**WPFO - Fox 23
NHPTV - NH Public TV - Several channels
WVII - ABC 7 - Bangor
* Station has already dropped analog signal
** Station will do a flash cut-over from analog to digital on 2/17/09
CONGRATULATIONS, and job well done. I am glad that these stations have a backbone and continue forward on the conversion. The supposed extension to June is plain silliness. Why sign an extension bill if it is non-binding and all it does is cost different people money. It's crazy and unnecessary. The Converter Box Coupon program is not broke. The FCC handed out millions of coupons that were requested, but not really needed by the people who ordered them. And they sent out millions to people who simply let them expire without ever using them. The FCC is accounting for all of these unused and unneeded coupons as if it's money out the door and then claiming they are in the red. It's a bunch of crap. I don't know the percentages because the won't tell me but there must be a huge number of coupons out there that have never and will never be used. So I'd like to see the FCCs books to see if they moved those dollars back into the "cash available" column.
Now these are the TV in Maine stations who don't have a backbone and are using this fake extension as an excuse to hide their sub-standard technological abilities.
WMTW - ABC - 8 - Portland
WCSH - NBC - 6 Portland
WLBZ- NBC - 2 Bangor - owned by WCSH
WABI - CBS - 5 Bangor
The CW - used to be 56 Bangor, now just digital and only standard definition as a sub channel of WABI - The WABI/CW partnership is the most confusing and screwed up setup I have ever seen. I don't even think this CW entity has its own channel number anymore.
So there you have it, the winners and losers. Or is that the whole story?
The real truth is that NOT ONE MAINE TV STATONS is producing any programming in High Definition or even Standard Definition in 16:9 widescreen format. Not ONE. In Boston all three of the big three local affiliates produce their local news in High Definition. And they use Standard Def widescreen cameras for many of the field shots. WCVB even produces the only New England based non-news programming in High Definition. It's called Chronicle and they do an unbelievable job with production values.
Now in my area, WCSH, WMTW, and WGME all produce their news in digital, but standard definition. So all of us with HD televisions have to put up with two black bars on the side of the picture (called pillars). Many HDTV can't streth the picture to fit the screen easily because said black pillars are broadcast as part of the picture. The pillars exists only to fill up the screen. You would think that the people at these TV stations would be EMBARRASSED at this point. Hell, even Oprah and Ellen are in High Definition now, but Maine's crack TV technical directors can't quite figure out how to broadcast these programs in HD to Maine viewers. If Boston can do it why can't Maine? Is it about the money?
Of course it is. But they will blame in on the "economic downturn" or "reduced advertising revenue". The bottom line is that these stations are all owned by some corporate conglomerate. So until Maine's population demands High Definition local programming and refuses to watch the existing, ridiculous 1980's-style "news", then our TV stations will continue to offer sub-standard programming. If they aren't losing viewers, they have not reason to change anything.
Isn't it time we spoke up? Haven't we had to deal with enough with the digital conversion? WE WANT OUR HDTV!!!
Here's the big picture. A lot of people in Maine rely on over-the-air TV broadcasting. They have been forced to buy a new digital TV (and maybe a new antenna) or a converter box (and maybe a new antenna). When they have completed this, and hook it all up, they most likely receive fewer channels than they did before, because digital signals aren't as strong. The FCC promised that consumers would receive the same stations they did before. THIS IS NOT TRUE. The FCC had NO IDEA what they were talking about and did not know how many consumers would be affected by a reduction in the number of channels received. Now add on top of this all of the public service announcements and TV crawlers and news articles that have been going on for almost 2 years. The whole thing has been a major production and in my opinion, since the government started this whole thing, it was bound to be a mess, and it is.
So after all this don't we deserve to have high definition programming all the time, not just digital. Digital TV by itself isn't "better" than high quality analog broadcasting, not to the human eye anyway. So if you're not going to make a real difference and go HD all the way, then why bother. It's like in the old days if they had started selling color TVs and then no programming was in color, wouldn't you be a bit upset after you spent the money on a new set?
The Maine TV stations who are so behind the curve should be ashamed of themselves; I am ashamed and embarrassed by them. Thank goodness I can get the Boston channels from my house.
The future of Maine's broadcast television stations is in some ways written in stone and in other ways is very "up in the air" so to speak (pun intended).
There is a lot going on that we know about, but as always I am more interested in what we are not being told.
As of February 17, 2009 the following TV stations in Maine will still cease Analog operations and be Digital only. Some listed below have already shut off their analog signal.
WGME - CBS 13
*WPXT - CW - 51
*WPME - MyNetwork - 35
*MPBN - PBS Maine- Channel 10 in most areas except 9 in Orono and 45 in Biddeford
**WPFO - Fox 23
NHPTV - NH Public TV - Several channels
WVII - ABC 7 - Bangor
* Station has already dropped analog signal
** Station will do a flash cut-over from analog to digital on 2/17/09
CONGRATULATIONS, and job well done. I am glad that these stations have a backbone and continue forward on the conversion. The supposed extension to June is plain silliness. Why sign an extension bill if it is non-binding and all it does is cost different people money. It's crazy and unnecessary. The Converter Box Coupon program is not broke. The FCC handed out millions of coupons that were requested, but not really needed by the people who ordered them. And they sent out millions to people who simply let them expire without ever using them. The FCC is accounting for all of these unused and unneeded coupons as if it's money out the door and then claiming they are in the red. It's a bunch of crap. I don't know the percentages because the won't tell me but there must be a huge number of coupons out there that have never and will never be used. So I'd like to see the FCCs books to see if they moved those dollars back into the "cash available" column.
Now these are the TV in Maine stations who don't have a backbone and are using this fake extension as an excuse to hide their sub-standard technological abilities.
WMTW - ABC - 8 - Portland
WCSH - NBC - 6 Portland
WLBZ- NBC - 2 Bangor - owned by WCSH
WABI - CBS - 5 Bangor
The CW - used to be 56 Bangor, now just digital and only standard definition as a sub channel of WABI - The WABI/CW partnership is the most confusing and screwed up setup I have ever seen. I don't even think this CW entity has its own channel number anymore.
So there you have it, the winners and losers. Or is that the whole story?
The real truth is that NOT ONE MAINE TV STATONS is producing any programming in High Definition or even Standard Definition in 16:9 widescreen format. Not ONE. In Boston all three of the big three local affiliates produce their local news in High Definition. And they use Standard Def widescreen cameras for many of the field shots. WCVB even produces the only New England based non-news programming in High Definition. It's called Chronicle and they do an unbelievable job with production values.
Now in my area, WCSH, WMTW, and WGME all produce their news in digital, but standard definition. So all of us with HD televisions have to put up with two black bars on the side of the picture (called pillars). Many HDTV can't streth the picture to fit the screen easily because said black pillars are broadcast as part of the picture. The pillars exists only to fill up the screen. You would think that the people at these TV stations would be EMBARRASSED at this point. Hell, even Oprah and Ellen are in High Definition now, but Maine's crack TV technical directors can't quite figure out how to broadcast these programs in HD to Maine viewers. If Boston can do it why can't Maine? Is it about the money?
Of course it is. But they will blame in on the "economic downturn" or "reduced advertising revenue". The bottom line is that these stations are all owned by some corporate conglomerate. So until Maine's population demands High Definition local programming and refuses to watch the existing, ridiculous 1980's-style "news", then our TV stations will continue to offer sub-standard programming. If they aren't losing viewers, they have not reason to change anything.
Isn't it time we spoke up? Haven't we had to deal with enough with the digital conversion? WE WANT OUR HDTV!!!
Here's the big picture. A lot of people in Maine rely on over-the-air TV broadcasting. They have been forced to buy a new digital TV (and maybe a new antenna) or a converter box (and maybe a new antenna). When they have completed this, and hook it all up, they most likely receive fewer channels than they did before, because digital signals aren't as strong. The FCC promised that consumers would receive the same stations they did before. THIS IS NOT TRUE. The FCC had NO IDEA what they were talking about and did not know how many consumers would be affected by a reduction in the number of channels received. Now add on top of this all of the public service announcements and TV crawlers and news articles that have been going on for almost 2 years. The whole thing has been a major production and in my opinion, since the government started this whole thing, it was bound to be a mess, and it is.
So after all this don't we deserve to have high definition programming all the time, not just digital. Digital TV by itself isn't "better" than high quality analog broadcasting, not to the human eye anyway. So if you're not going to make a real difference and go HD all the way, then why bother. It's like in the old days if they had started selling color TVs and then no programming was in color, wouldn't you be a bit upset after you spent the money on a new set?
The Maine TV stations who are so behind the curve should be ashamed of themselves; I am ashamed and embarrassed by them. Thank goodness I can get the Boston channels from my house.
Friday, February 6, 2009
How will I know if I'm getting HDTV?
I received a call from my mother yesterday. She has a friend who was talking to her about the DTV and HDTV conversion. The friend thought that she wouldn't know if she had set things up right and wouldn't know if she was really receiving HDTV. My mother said that she relayed to the friend something I had said: "I told her you said people weren't getting the High Definition TV even though the paid for it".
OK, first, I corrected here. Mother, I never said that somebody paid for HDTV or digital TV and was not getting what they paid for". The scenario she mentions indicates that some type of money transaction occurred for a service which means either cable or satellite. People in this category don't have to worry about whether or not they are receiving DTV or HDTV. If they paid for it, the provider will hook it up for you and make sure you are receiving it.
The real question, I soon found out, was that the friend would have either an antenna with a converter box and an analog TV, or an antenna with a digital TV. Either of these are ways to continue to receive FREE broadcast TV. As to whether or not anybody would know if the picture was High Definition or not, trust me, you'll know.
If you have an analog TV and the converted box and antenna are working properly, the pictures you receive will be very clear and crisp.
If you have a digital TV and are using a good quality antenna, the HD picture will blow your socks off, you'll know. The picutre will make you believe the people are standing in the room and the sound is comoparable to movie theater quality.
Keep in mind that most broadcast TV stations only broadcast High Definition during prime time. There are a few exceptions like Good Morning America, The Today Show, The View, and The Young and the Restless. Other than that, you won't see much in HD unless it's from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Then, Letterman and Leno are in HD. That's the entire HD lineup for broadcast TV.
My mom also asked if it was OK to give out my blog address and did she need a special pass word. I explained to my mother that blogs, like web sites, are free and available to the public. She can give out my blog address to anyone and everyone if she wants.
I'm glad we straightened that out.
OK, first, I corrected here. Mother, I never said that somebody paid for HDTV or digital TV and was not getting what they paid for". The scenario she mentions indicates that some type of money transaction occurred for a service which means either cable or satellite. People in this category don't have to worry about whether or not they are receiving DTV or HDTV. If they paid for it, the provider will hook it up for you and make sure you are receiving it.
The real question, I soon found out, was that the friend would have either an antenna with a converter box and an analog TV, or an antenna with a digital TV. Either of these are ways to continue to receive FREE broadcast TV. As to whether or not anybody would know if the picture was High Definition or not, trust me, you'll know.
If you have an analog TV and the converted box and antenna are working properly, the pictures you receive will be very clear and crisp.
If you have a digital TV and are using a good quality antenna, the HD picture will blow your socks off, you'll know. The picutre will make you believe the people are standing in the room and the sound is comoparable to movie theater quality.
Keep in mind that most broadcast TV stations only broadcast High Definition during prime time. There are a few exceptions like Good Morning America, The Today Show, The View, and The Young and the Restless. Other than that, you won't see much in HD unless it's from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Then, Letterman and Leno are in HD. That's the entire HD lineup for broadcast TV.
My mom also asked if it was OK to give out my blog address and did she need a special pass word. I explained to my mother that blogs, like web sites, are free and available to the public. She can give out my blog address to anyone and everyone if she wants.
I'm glad we straightened that out.
Converter Boxes - it's NOT just about the box.
A recent visitor expressed an understanding of my frustration of the DTV conversion and posted a link to the following WGME report.
While the couple in the piece is right, the DTV conversion is fraught with misinformation, I noticed something in the video that stuck out like a sore thumb.
The Lewis family, near Oxford, Maine, bought a converted box at Walmart - no problem so far. They rely on antenna TV because of where they live. No cable coverage, no satellite TV coverage. But I noticed on the top of their TV was an antenna (rabbit ears, so to speak) which are supposed to work. Well now we have a problem.
When I first got my HDTV and attempted to receive free over the air digital/HD, I tried about 10 different indoor antenna's and only one worked. I tried the one shown in the WGME clip which I got from Walmart. I tried 3 other brands from Walmart and 2 other brands from Radio Shack. Remember I'm talking about antennas, not converter boxes.
And through this blog I have had contact with people who own outdoor, rooftop antenna of various sizes and shapes; all with various degrees of luck and none all too happy.
But it wasn't until I went to Best Buy and bought a strange looking antenna from a company called TERK. It cost be about $70.00. But I can receive every Portland station and several in New Hampshire as well. All are in picture perfect HD quality. If I need to watch the NH channels I just adjust the position of the antenna where it sits on a table right next to my HDTV.
Here is a picture of the antenna I use:
So let me reiterate. Any converter box will do, they all do the same thing. But not all antennas are alike. And you need a good antenna to receive over the air digital TV.
With mine, I can receive WCSH, WMTW, WGME, Maine PBS, WPME (MyNetwork), WPXT(CW), and WPFO (Fox). Keep in mind that WPFO recently ran a test to make sure everything will work when they cut over to WPFO on midnight, February 17. Search this blog for more info on why WPFO is different than the rest.
I hope this information helps. I am not "endorsing" this product and get no kick backs from the company, or anything like that. It was all about trial and error.
To the Lewis family in Oxford. I wish you luck and would suggest your return the rabbit ears you have, if you can, and then buy the TERK model. If you can't get any stations with the TERK, then you're in trouble because nobody cares about the signal strength of their TV station. (Again read other articles on this site).
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The analog extension is back on
As many of you already know the extension of analog TV is back on. After initially being turned down by the U.S. House of Representatives, somehow it was revisited and then voted on again; this time with enough votes to pass.
Known as the DTV Delay Act of 2009 (Bill HR 681) here is how clarification provisions of the bill read:
Declares that this Act does not prevent: (1) a station from ending analog broadcasting (and continuing to broadcast exclusively digitally) before June 13, 2009; or (2) a public safety service from beginning operations on spectrum recovered as a result of such voluntary cessation of analog or digital broadcasting.
So what does this "law" do? It allows the converter box coupon program to get additional funding and to continue beyond February 17, 2009 to June 13, 2009.
What does this law NOT do? It doesn't force any television station to continue broadcasting in analog if they don't choose to. And most WILL NOT CHOOSE TO because it is costing them a lot of money to broadcast in Analog AND digital.
So let's break it down. If you still want or need a $40 coupon to buy a digital converter box (and most people still don't know if they need one or not), then you can still apply for one and get one. The coupon will give you $40.00 off the purchase of a converter box, which averages between $50 and $60 dollars each. For those that do not have them yet, THEY ARE STILL OUT OF LUCK.
Digital is here, there is no way to stop it. The law that was passed is about funding for a program. The program in question was supposedly broke. But if they stop and count all of the coupons they issued that were never used the question becomes, were they really broke?????
Digital TV reception is bad. The FCC wanted consumer to continue to receive free over-the-air TV ever though broadcast TV stations were forced to convert digital. The FCC figured that if a consumer received X number of channels in analog, they would receive the same number of channels in digital. They figured wrong. Digital TV signals are much, much weaker than analog signals. So if you receive a digital channel, you'll get a great picture, but if you don't receive a channel very well, there won't be a fuzzy or snowy picture, there won't be any picture at all.
This law/bill does not address reception issues. However, reception issues are what everyone who is relying on a converter box for over-the-air TV is worried about. Many, or most, have realized that their antenna TVs used to get a lot more channels than they do with a digital converter box. It's not the box's fault. It's the signal from the TV station.
Some TV stations have increased their signal power, some plan to soon, and some don't plan to. So good luck. You're on your own. Nobody is addressing this issue. Not the FCC, not your State, not your local government, not the TV stations themselves, no Congressman, no Senators, NOBODY.
And therein lies the problem. This whole digital conversion thing is not about converter boxes and extensions of official dates. It is about TV reception. All the extensions and all the funding for digital converter boxes and all of the public service announcements aren't going to amount to a hill of beans because digital TV reception sucks.
The FCC overlooked it and doesn't care about it. All of the rules and regulations took placed for the most part under the Bush Administration who appointed Republican cronies to the jobs at the FCC. These were cushy jobs that had no accountability, as usual. And only now is the U.S. government realizing what has happened.
Known as the DTV Delay Act of 2009 (Bill HR 681) here is how clarification provisions of the bill read:
Declares that this Act does not prevent: (1) a station from ending analog broadcasting (and continuing to broadcast exclusively digitally) before June 13, 2009; or (2) a public safety service from beginning operations on spectrum recovered as a result of such voluntary cessation of analog or digital broadcasting.
So what does this "law" do? It allows the converter box coupon program to get additional funding and to continue beyond February 17, 2009 to June 13, 2009.
What does this law NOT do? It doesn't force any television station to continue broadcasting in analog if they don't choose to. And most WILL NOT CHOOSE TO because it is costing them a lot of money to broadcast in Analog AND digital.
So let's break it down. If you still want or need a $40 coupon to buy a digital converter box (and most people still don't know if they need one or not), then you can still apply for one and get one. The coupon will give you $40.00 off the purchase of a converter box, which averages between $50 and $60 dollars each. For those that do not have them yet, THEY ARE STILL OUT OF LUCK.
Digital is here, there is no way to stop it. The law that was passed is about funding for a program. The program in question was supposedly broke. But if they stop and count all of the coupons they issued that were never used the question becomes, were they really broke?????
Digital TV reception is bad. The FCC wanted consumer to continue to receive free over-the-air TV ever though broadcast TV stations were forced to convert digital. The FCC figured that if a consumer received X number of channels in analog, they would receive the same number of channels in digital. They figured wrong. Digital TV signals are much, much weaker than analog signals. So if you receive a digital channel, you'll get a great picture, but if you don't receive a channel very well, there won't be a fuzzy or snowy picture, there won't be any picture at all.
This law/bill does not address reception issues. However, reception issues are what everyone who is relying on a converter box for over-the-air TV is worried about. Many, or most, have realized that their antenna TVs used to get a lot more channels than they do with a digital converter box. It's not the box's fault. It's the signal from the TV station.
Some TV stations have increased their signal power, some plan to soon, and some don't plan to. So good luck. You're on your own. Nobody is addressing this issue. Not the FCC, not your State, not your local government, not the TV stations themselves, no Congressman, no Senators, NOBODY.
And therein lies the problem. This whole digital conversion thing is not about converter boxes and extensions of official dates. It is about TV reception. All the extensions and all the funding for digital converter boxes and all of the public service announcements aren't going to amount to a hill of beans because digital TV reception sucks.
The FCC overlooked it and doesn't care about it. All of the rules and regulations took placed for the most part under the Bush Administration who appointed Republican cronies to the jobs at the FCC. These were cushy jobs that had no accountability, as usual. And only now is the U.S. government realizing what has happened.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
House defeats Analog Extension Bill - Digital is back on track
I just got word that the House of Representative defeated the Analog Transition Extension Bill.
After calling Chellie Pingree's office yesterday, I didn't have a good feeling about this but low and behold, the House came to their senses and defeated the bill.
So the digital transition is back on schedule. Only 19 days to go.
After calling Chellie Pingree's office yesterday, I didn't have a good feeling about this but low and behold, the House came to their senses and defeated the bill.
So the digital transition is back on schedule. Only 19 days to go.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Beware the FCC Digital Converter Box Coupon Program
"We're talking about the U.S. Government, here"
It's been a nightmare trying to get converter box coupons. But what did I expect. This was a government-run program after all. Should I have really thought it would go smoothly. And now Congress is close to extending the Analog cut off to June 12 (whatever that means).
While I don't agree with Barack Obama that the conversion itself should be pushed back a few months so that the FCC can regroup, I do understand why he asked for it, the FCC Converter Box Coupon Program is a mess. It ran out of funding and many people who need a converter box may not get the government assistance (in the form of a $40 coupon card) they expected.
I started last May. I went to the web site, applied for my cards (you can ask for up to 2 per household) and waited. And waited. And waited. They finally showed up at my house and I noticed at the time that the issue date was about 30 days prior to the day I received it. While I didn't give much thought to it at the time, I only had 90 days to use them and 30 of those days were gone. I kept saying to myself, in a quiet voice in the back of my mind,k "I need to stop by Radio Shack and pick up that converter box". Well that time passed and I never did it.
So those expired. Then I applied again using a friends name who didn't need them. I told her they were coming and to let me know when they arrived. After a few months I asked her about them and she said she "thinks" she got them. More weeks passed. She finally gave them to me and they had already expired. So there's another set of coupons gone.
So my last resort was talking to a friend of mine at work. She was telling me that she applied for them even though she didn't need them but wanted to give them to some underprivileged folks she works with outside of work. Her intent was in knowing that these folks didn't now much about the conversion so she wanted to be able to explain it and hand them the coupons. When I told her what happened to me she immediately offered to give me one of hers.
So there, I finally got one. I went to Radio Shack and talked to them about a converter box. It was all a big rush and I thought the gentleman said that "this box would be covered by the coupon" meaning I would just pay any taxes.
When he rang it up he said "That will be $24.50" or something like that. I said "WHAT?". He then explained that he meant the coupon was "applicable" to this converter box, not that it would cover the entire cost except tax.
So I said that I wanted to cancel the transaction and see if I could find a converter box for cheaper. He said he couldn't void the sale because in ringing it up he had to put the coupon number in the computer and there was no way to void it. So now I was stuck paying an extra $24.00 for a converter box. And I couldn't return it either. Well, I could but I would lose out on my coupon discount. I'm not sure I understand it all but again, it's the government we're talking about.
So this ridiculous coupon program is being extended because it ran out of money. Well if you consider how many coupons they "accounted" for that were never used, I'll bet they never ran out of money. It's all on paper. I called my U.S. Representative, Chellie Pingree. I got an aide of some sort name Antoine. I asked how Ms. Pingree was going to vote on the extension bill. The Senate already approved it. He wouldn't tell me how she would vote. He did ask me how I wanted her to vote and said he would relay that to her but he refused to tell me how she intended to vote. Why can't I, as a constituent, ask how my representative, or congress-person, is going to vote on an issue? Isn't that a simple question? But then again, we're talking about he government here.
It's been a nightmare trying to get converter box coupons. But what did I expect. This was a government-run program after all. Should I have really thought it would go smoothly. And now Congress is close to extending the Analog cut off to June 12 (whatever that means).
While I don't agree with Barack Obama that the conversion itself should be pushed back a few months so that the FCC can regroup, I do understand why he asked for it, the FCC Converter Box Coupon Program is a mess. It ran out of funding and many people who need a converter box may not get the government assistance (in the form of a $40 coupon card) they expected.
I started last May. I went to the web site, applied for my cards (you can ask for up to 2 per household) and waited. And waited. And waited. They finally showed up at my house and I noticed at the time that the issue date was about 30 days prior to the day I received it. While I didn't give much thought to it at the time, I only had 90 days to use them and 30 of those days were gone. I kept saying to myself, in a quiet voice in the back of my mind,k "I need to stop by Radio Shack and pick up that converter box". Well that time passed and I never did it.
So those expired. Then I applied again using a friends name who didn't need them. I told her they were coming and to let me know when they arrived. After a few months I asked her about them and she said she "thinks" she got them. More weeks passed. She finally gave them to me and they had already expired. So there's another set of coupons gone.
So my last resort was talking to a friend of mine at work. She was telling me that she applied for them even though she didn't need them but wanted to give them to some underprivileged folks she works with outside of work. Her intent was in knowing that these folks didn't now much about the conversion so she wanted to be able to explain it and hand them the coupons. When I told her what happened to me she immediately offered to give me one of hers.
So there, I finally got one. I went to Radio Shack and talked to them about a converter box. It was all a big rush and I thought the gentleman said that "this box would be covered by the coupon" meaning I would just pay any taxes.
When he rang it up he said "That will be $24.50" or something like that. I said "WHAT?". He then explained that he meant the coupon was "applicable" to this converter box, not that it would cover the entire cost except tax.
So I said that I wanted to cancel the transaction and see if I could find a converter box for cheaper. He said he couldn't void the sale because in ringing it up he had to put the coupon number in the computer and there was no way to void it. So now I was stuck paying an extra $24.00 for a converter box. And I couldn't return it either. Well, I could but I would lose out on my coupon discount. I'm not sure I understand it all but again, it's the government we're talking about.
So this ridiculous coupon program is being extended because it ran out of money. Well if you consider how many coupons they "accounted" for that were never used, I'll bet they never ran out of money. It's all on paper. I called my U.S. Representative, Chellie Pingree. I got an aide of some sort name Antoine. I asked how Ms. Pingree was going to vote on the extension bill. The Senate already approved it. He wouldn't tell me how she would vote. He did ask me how I wanted her to vote and said he would relay that to her but he refused to tell me how she intended to vote. Why can't I, as a constituent, ask how my representative, or congress-person, is going to vote on an issue? Isn't that a simple question? But then again, we're talking about he government here.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Obama asks Congress to delay the digital conversion?
"Is the FCC Conversion Extension worth it; and is the FCC program for converter boxes really out of money?"
I'm not sure it will do any good but Barack Obama asked Congress to delay the conversion to digital for a few months. This came on the heals of the revelation that the FCC has run out of money and coupons for the digital converter boxes leaving untold numbers of consumers in the lurch.
However, will it matter? The current time frame is that all regular broadcast television stations must cease transmitting their analog signal on February 17, 2009. However, this does not prevent television stations from ending their analog transmission EARLIER than that. In Southern Maine, Channels 35 and 51 (MyNetwork and the CW) have already ceased analog operations last September. MPBN (Maine PBS) and NHPTV (New Hampshire Public Television) ended their analog transmission on January 11, 2009. You see, many TV stations don't want to wait to the very last day to end analog and the FCC has encouraged stations not to wait until the very end.
So even if Barack Obama convinces Congress to "extend" the conversion, it will take a miracle for Congress to understand exactly out what they are voting on and what effect it will really have. Can TV broadcasters still convert early? Is there some edict that says TV stations CAN'T cut off their analog signal? Do stations that already cut off their analog signal have to turn it back on? And what about stations who have been waiting for the conversion date so that they can do a "flash cut over". This is for TV stations who came into existence after this digital road map was plotted out back in 1996. This extension, from what I can tell, is only going to result in it costing lots of people, lots of money. Huge expenses are involved in either keeping analog AND digital going at the same time. And for cell phone providers and others who need the bandwidth freed up by shutting down analog signals now have to wait 4 more months to take advantage of it. The expenses involved in this are endless.
So if you look at the real dollars involved, this extension was not looked at carefully. And when you consider who many digital converter box coupons were issues (and on the books) but never used, was the FCC really out of money for this program?
I guess we'll see.
I'm not sure it will do any good but Barack Obama asked Congress to delay the conversion to digital for a few months. This came on the heals of the revelation that the FCC has run out of money and coupons for the digital converter boxes leaving untold numbers of consumers in the lurch.
However, will it matter? The current time frame is that all regular broadcast television stations must cease transmitting their analog signal on February 17, 2009. However, this does not prevent television stations from ending their analog transmission EARLIER than that. In Southern Maine, Channels 35 and 51 (MyNetwork and the CW) have already ceased analog operations last September. MPBN (Maine PBS) and NHPTV (New Hampshire Public Television) ended their analog transmission on January 11, 2009. You see, many TV stations don't want to wait to the very last day to end analog and the FCC has encouraged stations not to wait until the very end.
So even if Barack Obama convinces Congress to "extend" the conversion, it will take a miracle for Congress to understand exactly out what they are voting on and what effect it will really have. Can TV broadcasters still convert early? Is there some edict that says TV stations CAN'T cut off their analog signal? Do stations that already cut off their analog signal have to turn it back on? And what about stations who have been waiting for the conversion date so that they can do a "flash cut over". This is for TV stations who came into existence after this digital road map was plotted out back in 1996. This extension, from what I can tell, is only going to result in it costing lots of people, lots of money. Huge expenses are involved in either keeping analog AND digital going at the same time. And for cell phone providers and others who need the bandwidth freed up by shutting down analog signals now have to wait 4 more months to take advantage of it. The expenses involved in this are endless.
So if you look at the real dollars involved, this extension was not looked at carefully. And when you consider who many digital converter box coupons were issues (and on the books) but never used, was the FCC really out of money for this program?
I guess we'll see.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Maine HDTV Forum featured in Port City Life Magazine
Peter Smith, a assistant editor at Port City Life magazine based out of Portland, Maine, contacted me here and was interested in finding out more, and in writing an article about this blog and the issues that confront us as we move to digital and high definition television. Click on the image below for a full sized page. Don't forget to click "Back" when you're done to get back to this page.
Thanks to all our visitors and contributors for their support.
Thanks to all our visitors and contributors for their support.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Frustrations abound with the conversion to digital TV
One of the most avid participants of the Maine HDTV community is a guy named Dave from north/central Maine. I was recently going through my email and discovered that since August of this year, Dave and I have emailed back and forth 63 times. I have tried to assist him in any way possible and have given him lots of advice and suggestions for avenues he could try.
Dave has been struggling with the loss of reception when he started using a digital converter box. Since all of the channels he should be receiving are broadcasting in digital, he should not have a problem. However, as we have found out, when it comes to digital TV and HDTV nothing is as simple as it might sound.
This all started quite some time ago. I don't even remember when. I do remember Dave contacting me through the forum with lots of questions and he was frustrated at how much wasn't working.
Maine television stations, the Maine Association of Broadcasters, and the FCC all say that there are not any reception issues to speak of. Their party line is that if you were able to receive the analog signals, you should be able to receive the digital signals.
As Dave and many others have found out this is simply not true. And I take it personally that I have not been able to help more. I have some decent contacts in the business but sometimes you just reach a dead end.
Dave contacted WVII - Channel 7 in Bangor, Maine when he realized he could not receive their digital signal. They said they couldn't help him except to say he was on the "fringe" of their coverage area and there was nothing they could do to help. Dave then tried to get ABC out of New York from his satellite provider. He had to apply for a waiver and was eventually turned down so now he will be left with no ABC channel after the February 17, 2009 conversion.
There is a small chance that Dave might be able to receive WMTW-Channel 8 out of Portland depending on WMTW's signal strength at the time of conversion.
So after many email and phone calls to television stations, the Maine Associate of Broadcasters, and a reporter doing a story on this forum as it related to the digital conversion, Dave is still frustrated that nobody in the TV industry seems to care how many viewers will actually lose signals after the conversion. Dave is not the only person with these problems. We have received emails for all over Maine, New Hampshire, and from around the country - even from other countries.
Unfortunately, and as usual, it is the less fortunate, the elderly, or anyone on a fixed income that will lose out on the deal. These are the people who can't afford expensive rooftop antennas, a new digital TV, and a monthly cable bill. And some don't have Internet access to even reach a site like this to get resource information.
I'm sure Dave and I will still communicate as we all go through this together. This site has received a lot of traffic lately. And I suspect it will only increase as we get closer to conversion time and as the economy weakens. In economic downturns, one thing that gets cut from family budgets is cable TV. Those that haven't been paying attention, because they didn't have to, will suddenly find themselves in a position where their older TV set won't receive a signal without cable and without a converter box. They will need information and resources to understand everything they have not been paying attention to. We at the Maine HDTV Forum are here to help. We have tons of articles about how things work and even a 6 part online tutorial for beginners.
As we near February 17, 2009, we need to keep in mind that this is not the end. In some cases it will only be the beginning as the fallout appears.
My recent conversation with Dave reminded me how precarious TV still is we aren't even aware of some of the problems people will encounter during the transition.
Take care and thanks for stopping by.
Dave has been struggling with the loss of reception when he started using a digital converter box. Since all of the channels he should be receiving are broadcasting in digital, he should not have a problem. However, as we have found out, when it comes to digital TV and HDTV nothing is as simple as it might sound.
This all started quite some time ago. I don't even remember when. I do remember Dave contacting me through the forum with lots of questions and he was frustrated at how much wasn't working.
Maine television stations, the Maine Association of Broadcasters, and the FCC all say that there are not any reception issues to speak of. Their party line is that if you were able to receive the analog signals, you should be able to receive the digital signals.
As Dave and many others have found out this is simply not true. And I take it personally that I have not been able to help more. I have some decent contacts in the business but sometimes you just reach a dead end.
Dave contacted WVII - Channel 7 in Bangor, Maine when he realized he could not receive their digital signal. They said they couldn't help him except to say he was on the "fringe" of their coverage area and there was nothing they could do to help. Dave then tried to get ABC out of New York from his satellite provider. He had to apply for a waiver and was eventually turned down so now he will be left with no ABC channel after the February 17, 2009 conversion.
There is a small chance that Dave might be able to receive WMTW-Channel 8 out of Portland depending on WMTW's signal strength at the time of conversion.
So after many email and phone calls to television stations, the Maine Associate of Broadcasters, and a reporter doing a story on this forum as it related to the digital conversion, Dave is still frustrated that nobody in the TV industry seems to care how many viewers will actually lose signals after the conversion. Dave is not the only person with these problems. We have received emails for all over Maine, New Hampshire, and from around the country - even from other countries.
Unfortunately, and as usual, it is the less fortunate, the elderly, or anyone on a fixed income that will lose out on the deal. These are the people who can't afford expensive rooftop antennas, a new digital TV, and a monthly cable bill. And some don't have Internet access to even reach a site like this to get resource information.
I'm sure Dave and I will still communicate as we all go through this together. This site has received a lot of traffic lately. And I suspect it will only increase as we get closer to conversion time and as the economy weakens. In economic downturns, one thing that gets cut from family budgets is cable TV. Those that haven't been paying attention, because they didn't have to, will suddenly find themselves in a position where their older TV set won't receive a signal without cable and without a converter box. They will need information and resources to understand everything they have not been paying attention to. We at the Maine HDTV Forum are here to help. We have tons of articles about how things work and even a 6 part online tutorial for beginners.
As we near February 17, 2009, we need to keep in mind that this is not the end. In some cases it will only be the beginning as the fallout appears.
My recent conversation with Dave reminded me how precarious TV still is we aren't even aware of some of the problems people will encounter during the transition.
Take care and thanks for stopping by.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Converter Box Coupons from DTVAnwers.com
If you plan on getting coupons from the government (FCC) through the DTVAnswers.com web site or the accompanying 1-888-DTV-2009 phone number, make sure you plan on using them as soon as you get them. The same is true if you already have applied fir or already have received your coupons.
The FCC, who runs this program, is very strict. I did not use mine when I got them and they expired. When I tried to use somebody else's name and address I found the most people had already gotten them and figured out they didn't need them so those expired as well.
I called a few local shops and nobody selling the digital converter boxes would accept an expired coupon -- so I was running out of options.
Luckily I found one person who had just applied for her coupons and had not received them yet. Since she ordered two (the max) but would probably only use one, she agreed to give me one when she received them.
If I do get one I plan to go out immediately and buy a converter box. I have one 10 year old television that works just fine but won't after February 17th, 2009. I don't use it much but if I ever want to use it as a backup, give it to somebody, or let somebody borrow it, I want to make sure that it will work with a converter box.
The moral of this story is - Don't hesitate. If you have coupons go buy your converter box now. They are not fooling around with the expiration dates (you get 90 days) and replacing them using somebody else's name and address could prove impossible.
The FCC, who runs this program, is very strict. I did not use mine when I got them and they expired. When I tried to use somebody else's name and address I found the most people had already gotten them and figured out they didn't need them so those expired as well.
I called a few local shops and nobody selling the digital converter boxes would accept an expired coupon -- so I was running out of options.
Luckily I found one person who had just applied for her coupons and had not received them yet. Since she ordered two (the max) but would probably only use one, she agreed to give me one when she received them.
If I do get one I plan to go out immediately and buy a converter box. I have one 10 year old television that works just fine but won't after February 17th, 2009. I don't use it much but if I ever want to use it as a backup, give it to somebody, or let somebody borrow it, I want to make sure that it will work with a converter box.
The moral of this story is - Don't hesitate. If you have coupons go buy your converter box now. They are not fooling around with the expiration dates (you get 90 days) and replacing them using somebody else's name and address could prove impossible.
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