# Digital television by 2009



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Digital television by 2009, Stevens says 
Jonathan Singer

President Bush could receive a digital-television transition bill by October, according to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

Stevens, addressing the Federal Communications Bar Association on Monday, reported that his committee is working on legislation that would parallel the bill drafted by House Commerce Committee staff last month. Stevens said he hopes for a bill to pass the Senate in July so that it could move out of conference by the early fall.

In 1996, Congress created a "soft date" of Dec. 31, 2006, for transition to digital television broadcasts and the return of the analog spectrum to the federal government. The date would be extended for markets in which more than 15 percent of households could not receive digital signals, effectively exempting most locales.

Stevens suggested Jan. 1, 2009, as the new "hard date" for the transition, one day later than the Barton proposal. Kevin Schweers, a spokesman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, explained that "it shouldn't take more than a minute to figure out what a day is worth."

*Full Article*


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## alebowgm (Jun 12, 2004)

This is bad... they should leave it at 2006 only so that prices are forced to considerably drop and additionally so stations that are broadcasting at low or half power would then go to full power, which for many (but not all), will mean reciving more that one DMA set of locals (being that you can receive signals up to 100 miles away depending on your antenna)


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## JonBlack (Feb 24, 2005)

alebowgm said:


> This is bad... they should leave it at 2006 only so that prices are forced to considerably drop and additionally so stations that are broadcasting at low or half power would then go to full power, which for many (but not all), will mean reciving more that one DMA set of locals (being that you can receive signals up to 100 miles away depending on your antenna)


Good grief 

Better yet, why don't they drop the "dates" period and just let the local broadcasters transition to DTV whenever they feel like it. On top of it they could just drop the ATSC standards and make them optional.


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## socceteer (Apr 22, 2005)

I agree they should just ignore the dates and let competition dictate who is on board. My Friends and I talk allot about HDTV and we have a common agreement that we watch many dumb or odd shows, only because they are on HD. We hope that if many of the stations hear this message from most of the HD viewers, they they will be missing a marketting opportunity if they are not on the HDTV broadcasting. This may push them to move on that direction faster.


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

alebowgm said:


> This is bad... they should leave it at 2006 only so that prices are forced to considerably drop


And what makes you think that it is going to happen fast enough to make the general public want to purchase a (still very expensive) new digital set? I think that the marketplace should decide and right now the marketplace is saying 2006 is too soon. 2009 is more reasonable but still may be too early for most of the general public (and I'm not talking about this board's posters).


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## MarkA (Mar 23, 2002)

JonBlack, it would be dumb to not have a standard and the government wants their extra 6MHz back... remember broadcasters get to BORROW an extra 6MHz free for the transition..


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## normang (Nov 14, 2002)

Without a deadline, broadcasters will sit on their hands, and so will the public..


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## Dave (Jan 29, 2003)

Its my understanding that the FCC changed the rules today June 9, 2005. This rule change is one for the consumer. Check it out at www.fcc.gov.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Chris Blount said:


> Stevens suggested Jan. 1, 2009, as the new "hard date" for the transition, one day later than the Barton proposal.


This is even more confusing the light of the recent move by the FCC to push the manufacturers by moving up the requirement for 100% mid-sized digital sets to March 1, 2006:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8747861

In the grand scheme of things, I suppose that the problem is a little different than many think. I've got one small television connected to cable, two to small dish and cable and two that are OTA. The cabled televisions will likely never see a cable box. It is all of the bedroom and kitchen televisions that are going to suffer as opposed to some rural family's big set.

Perhaps the real answer is to get going on cheap DVRs with digital tuners and composite/RF outputs and forget about putting tuners in the monitors. Given that the vast majority of us use some sort of content provider supplied STB anyway, it seems like the best way to go.

Of course the cost of doing digital tuners shouldn't be all that great except for the expense of creating tuners that are "better" than other tuners. I think the real issue is that the manufacturers need to get rid of all of the analog stock that they have committed to.

Since the guy who is putting this forward is from a market that is substantially divorced from the rest of the free world (Alaska), maybe we can just ship all of the analog equipment up there that the manufacturers can't get rid of and give them and the Hawaiians an extension.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Bill R said:


> And what makes you think that it is going to happen fast enough to make the general public want to purchase a (still very expensive) new digital set? I think that the marketplace should decide and right now the marketplace is saying 2006 is too soon. 2009 is more reasonable but still may be too early for most of the general public (and I'm not talking about this board's posters).


Millions of people probably don't know/care or afford HD. The government has done a very bad job of informing the general public. And they should have made a "firm" cut-off date on making analog TVS!


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

The Evening Bridge - June 09, 2005
---------------------------------------------------------------------
TOP STORY -- The Federal Communications Commission today decided
to expedite the deadline for all 24- to 36-inch televisions to be installed
with digital tuners to March 1, 2006. The Consumer Electronics
Association (CEA) said the action will "help speed the consumer
migration to DTV and reduce marketplace problems with the 50 percent
requirement for sets in that range."


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Nick said:


> The Evening Bridge - June 09, 2005
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> TOP STORY -- The Federal Communications Commission today decided
> to expedite the deadline for all 24- to 36-inch televisions to be installed
> ...


I was shocked to hear this on ABC Radio News last night. I was glad this is getting national attention at last. :balloons: :balloons:


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Heres an overview of the last meeting concerning DTV:

http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/News/05272005_1541.htm.


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