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2.1 million households let the DTV transition pass them by

by Ben Drawbaugh, posted Jun 25th 2009 at 10:17PM

DTV Service is unavailable
And to think we've been worrying about all those poor people who weren't ready for the DTV transition, only to find out that they don't even watch TV. We mean, what other explanation could you have for the fact that it's been solid week after the big analog shutoff and 2.1 million households still can't watch TV. Of course not all of these people just let the DTV transition pass them by, some of them are affected by the reception problems, and others probably don't even understand the question. Either way we'll find out soon enough as most broadcasters should be full power by July 1st and no doubt Nielsen will have the results of another poll out by then.

Digital TV transition: 12 hours in, how are things going?

by Richard Lawler, posted Jun 12th 2009 at 1:35PM


The day is finally here, after the pushback and staggered changeover, analog television broadcasts across the country are giving way to a future of digital TV and making room for new services to take over the airwaves soon. Still, after months of announcements, coupons sent and many dollars spent there are still millions who will be caught unawares as their television blinks off today. It's been an incredibly long time coming, so take a look back at some of our coverage of the run up to the digital TV switch, and why not drop us a line to let us know of any interesting local coverage in your area or experiences (procrastination-fueled runs on converter boxes, transition gaffes, mob violence) going on. A roundup of FCC links and national press coverage is after the break.

Engadget's lead-up coverage:

T-minus one year till the US analog shutoff: are you ready?
The original DTV transition: what could've been
President Obama signs DTV delay bill into law
Digital TV transition spoof video is both informative and hilarious
Wilmington, NC kills analog dead as broadcasters go all-digital

Continue reading Digital TV transition: 12 hours in, how are things going?

With a week to go, Obama urges the remaining few to make DTV preparations

by Richard Lawler, posted Jun 5th 2009 at 6:37PM

Just in case you were living in fear of another last minute switch on the digital TV transition date, be at ease, President Obama issued a statement urging those who aren't ready yet to prepare as there will be no further delays, and for those of us in the know to make sure that people around the way are getting the message. With a week to go (again) is there anyone still reading this that hasn't gotten their digital TV future straightened out yet?

Cable companies losing stranglehold on apartments

by Steven Kim, posted May 29th 2009 at 1:14PM

Throwing TVIt's no secret that loads of folks loathe their cable company, but for some apartment dwellers, there's exactly one choice of service providers for TV, internet, and/or phone service. See, cable companies in some areas (read - anywhere they can) have negotiated exclusive distribution rights in buildings that they wired up, keeping other services at bay. Well, those castle walls are crumbling as a the Court of Appeals in Washington has upheld the 2007 FCC ruling that banned such practices as anticompetitive. Don't expect this decision to revamp the entire landscape -- cable companies are well-versed in how to keep competition down -- but this decision should make it easier for offerings like FiOS and U-verse to make inroads to dense metro areas. If all that's standing between you and FiOS is a shady cable company arrangement, now's your time to grab some fiber!

[Image courtesy Videogum]

US Senate intros bill to keep people from falling off the "digital cliff"

by Steven Kim, posted May 10th 2009 at 9:57PM

2009 DTV switch dateWith less than 5-percent of US homes failing to make it under the analog shutoff limbo stick (and still a month to go), there's no reason that come June 12th a whole lot of stations won't be conducting their own shutoff festivities. Just to make sure that there won't be a pack of digital lemmings headed for a step function-like cliff, the US Senate has introduced the DTV Cliff Effect Assistance Act, which allocates $125 million through 2012 to help pay for digital repeaters and translators to fill in those areas that will go uncovered after the switch occurs. This is government money, so you know there's a few strings attached -- in this case, the new bits of infrastructure will also have to serve up wireless communications and broadband traffic where possible. Let's see -- more people with DTV and broadband wireless coverage? Add a tick in the "yes" column for us, please!

DTV preparedness now more than 95-percent

by Steven Kim, posted May 1st 2009 at 10:16PM

June 12 2009 DTV switchover Here we are, a little more than a month away from the February 17 June 12 analog shutoff date, and sure enough, more people have grabbed hold of a digital tuner in one device or another. According to Nielsen, the number of unprepared homes is now at 3.1-percent (3.5-million homes). To put that in perspective, recall that at the start of February, we were sitting at 5.1-percent. We're pretty impressed that the number has moved below the 5-percent mark, and certainly a lot of credit goes to stations that went ahead with the switch ahead of the June 12 deadline. Zeno and his paradox aside, we've got high hopes that the June 12th date is going to stick, folks!

RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 27th 2009 at 5:08AM


Let's face it -- quite a lot is resting on the outcome of this case. For months now, RealNetworks has been unable to legally sell its RealDVD movie ripping software after a court issued a temporary restraining order that remains valid until it's decided if the application violates the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Now, the software is finally having its day in court, and the outcome could shape the future of the DVD player (for better or worse). You see, Real has already assembled a prototype Facet device that hums along on Linux; essentially, this DVD playing machine would sell for around $300 and could store up to 70 movies internally. On the surface, this sounds entirely like a poor man's Kaleidescape, but only time will tell if The Man agrees. Cross your fingers folks, we get the feeling fair use advocates are going to need the luck.

CEA rails on California's proposed TV energy standards, rings doomsday bell

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 10th 2009 at 10:54PM

Oh, brother -- you had to see this coming, didn't you? Soon after details of the California Energy Commission's proposed TV efficiency standards leaked out, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has fired back a shocking press release in order to sound the alarm and get people in opposition. According to its "research," setting arbitrary limits on television electricity usage will end up costing California $50 million annually in state tax revenue and will destroy some 4,600 jobs in the TV sales, distribution and installation business. In the CEA's eyes, this proposal "eliminates consumer choice and will remove 25 percent of televisions from the market." Naturally, all of these assertions pay no attention whatsoever to the environment, and while we won't bother with inserting any politics here, we'd advise hitting the read link just to see what blatant bias looks like in its purest form.

California TV energy efficiency proposal details revealed

by Richard Lawler, posted Mar 30th 2009 at 11:36PM


Whether one sides with the California Energy Commision's idea of restricting sales of the most power hungry displays on the market or with the CEA and think this is as silly as shunning black auto paint, there's plenty more to learn about the two tiered system that could go into effect January 1, 2011. A vote isn't slated until the summer so you've got plenty of time to review the formulas and do the math. Hopefully plasma manufacturers have been working on those super thin eco designs, they may be needed on store shelves sooner than previously expected.

[Via Wired]

Number of folks unready for DTV transition falls to 4 million

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 27th 2009 at 12:53PM


Just days ago, we heard that the DTV voucher waitlist was completely gone, and now that those have started to flow again, the amount of Americans still unready for the switchover sits at 4.1 million. Compared to right around two months ago, that's definitely a marked improvement from 6.5 million still in the dark, and we fully anticipate that number to continually shrink as we inch closer to June 12th. Of course, there's going to come a time when the figure simply won't fall any lower, as a sliver of those still not ready will, frankly, remain that way. More power to 'em we say -- just keep the booze and bullets locked up and everything will be okay.

California considers ban on energy devouring TVs

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 25th 2009 at 3:02PM


It's a bandwagon that's easy to hop on, and it's got HDTV owners and technologists alike in The Golden State buzzing. Reportedly, the California Energy Commission is "considering a proposal that would ban California retailers from selling all but the most energy-efficient televisions," a move that could knock up to 25 percent of current TVs from store shelves. Needless to say, the CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) and its supporters are up in arms over the whole idea; after all, most manufacturers have already voluntarily complied with the newfangled Energy Star 3.0 standard. The commission calculates that buying a set meeting its proposed standards would save between $18 and $30 per year (per set) in energy costs, which would definitely add up state-wide. Honestly, we envision this fizzling out within the next few weeks, but we've definitely seen crazier things passed.

[Thanks, Garrett]

DTV coupons begin flowing once more, waitlist should vanish in 3 weeks

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 6th 2009 at 10:12AM


For all of you still waiting for a little governmental assistance in buying that DTV converter box that you should've purchased months ago (we kid... a little), we've excellent news. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is overseeing the program, has announced that it has finally begun to ship $40 vouchers towards the purchase of these very boxes once more. The waitlist has grown some 4.1 million deep since the subsidy program ran dry back in January, but the agency is hoping to have that cleared within three weeks. Of course, you better not procrastinate on your second chance -- who knows how quickly the $650 million it has left will last.

[Image courtesy of BreakItDownBlog]

Obama taps Julius Genachowski to head the FCC

by Donald Melanson, posted Mar 4th 2009 at 1:18PM

As widely expected by most folks who speculate on such things, President Obama has now formally nominated lawyer and former venture capitalist Julius Genachowski to head up the Federal Communications Commission and fill the slot vacated by Bush appointee Kevin Martin. Among other things, Genachowski's nomination is particularly notable given his support for net neutrality, which he made quite well known during the Obama campaign in his role as a top technology advisor. Of course, if and when he gets confirmed, he'll also have his hands full with a few other tricky issues, including the widespread rollout of broadband services as a result of the recent stimulus package, and that small matter of the digital TV transition.

[Via Wired Epicenter]

DTV call center successfully handles influx of confused callers

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 19th 2009 at 2:25PM

Given that the expectation was for hordes of confused TV viewers to phone in over the past two days in order to ask why their local OTA station was suddenly unavailable, it's no shock to see a big deal made of successfully managing through it. For those unaware, 421 stations decided to go ahead with their originally planned DTV transition date of February 17th, and we're told that over 28,000 perplexed Americans dialed 1-888-CALL-FCC on Tuesday for assistance in getting their sets working. The call center was setup to handle around 100,000 calls on the day that US broadcasters were previously scheduled to go from analog to digital, but obviously, far fewer people either a) cared or b) needed help. See, that wasn't so bad, was it?

ION scared off by the DTV transition, postpones debut another month

by Steven Kim, posted Feb 19th 2009 at 8:20AM

ION logoSeriously, ION, this is getting ridiculous. With a healthy dose of spin, ION TV is delaying its planned February 16 HD launch by a month so it will not coincide with the confusion around the DTV transition. We'll admit that the state of the analog shutoff is a real mess, but somehow we think that any money-making enterprise would want to sweep in with advertiser-loved HD content to put before viewers' eyes. Anyhow, the service is now planning to pull the HD trigger in 20 markets on March 16, and then 25 more markets on what we assume will be perfectly normal, nonconfusing days later in the year.

EDIT: reworked a murky sentence for clarity.




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