Public Citizen sue to postpone analog shutoff
With only a few years and a few weeks to go till the analog shutoff the non-profit group Public Citizen is trying to strike down the law that set the date. While their motives are not known, they claim the law is unconstitutional because the same exact law didn't pass both the House and the Senate, but instead it was modified between the two. The sooner they shut off the analog the sooner the FCC can divy up all those frequencies, the government can get paid and hopefully we can see some new cool technologies as a result.
Filed under: Industry, Regulatory, OTA
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
icerabbit @ Feb 3rd 2007 7:59PM
Given the sad state of the number of HD channels and their overcompressed signal (Apart from a few like HDnet) and the actual TRUE HD programs, maybe they should delay this mandatory switch.
Right now you still pay a premium to get an HD Cable Box, only to be disappointed about # of programs, bitrates, overcompression, ... and the fact that you can only watch it on the TV with the Cable box, either the bedroom or the living room, unless you pay even more to get the signal in two locations.
It just adds up for not enough return, imo, and we actually returned our HD Cable box earlier this week and went back to analog for the foreseeable future. They can sort it out before we pay another big cable bill month after month.
siva @ Feb 17th 2007 2:02PM
The analog shutoff does not affect cable. Only OTA. I am not sure I understand the overcompressed signal argument. I get all my HD through OTA and they are not overcompressed. If you are getting your analog channels through cable, you will not have to do anything. You can continue to get it through analog cable. Most OTA channels are not overcompressed.
Maxx @ Feb 4th 2007 2:58AM
I am sure that Uncle Sam will take all the money from selling off the public spectrum to lower our taxes. When the cell phone carriers get the spectrum I am sure that they will give us all great 4G services for a fair price.
Or perhaps not.
Overseer @ Feb 4th 2007 6:00AM
icerabbit,
The date is to switch from an analog signal to a digital signal, not analog to high-def. Digital does not necessarily mean high-def.
GhostDoggy @ Feb 4th 2007 7:56AM
Let me guess. These people exist for the benefit of as!n!ne local stations not willing to spend the money to upgrade and broadcast in ATSC, something adopted more than a decade ago. If you cannot afford the luxury of watching television in an era that isn't the stone age then maybe you are poor. And being poor means doing without such nice things like television.
Considering that you can get set-top boxes that handle the shitdown just fine, that you can buy boob-tube televisions with atsc tuners for under $400, and that the federal government is even going to subsidize poor people butts, the excuses are just not there.
If you are an analog broadcaster that cannot afford to operate in the digital world, then you cannot afford to run your business. Period.
icerabbit @ Feb 4th 2007 10:52AM
GhostDoggy ...
TV watching can become too much of a habit, while I am super interested in HD quality and I just find the number of programs & quality in HD to be lacking. Let's call it perceived value and the need to get of the couch a little.
It is not cost per se. We have 4 flat panel TVs (42, 32, 20) & DVD players, 2 DVRs etc and enough computers to put one in every house on this street.