ravinmaniac52 Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...9012904496.html For the second time, the Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday night to delay the transition to digital television by four months in order to give consumers more time to get ready. The Senate first passed a bill Monday to postpone the switch from Feb. 17 to June 12. But on Wednesday, House Republicans blocked the bill from getting the two-thirds majority needed to pass under the rules applied to the legislation, even though the majority of lawmakers voted in favor of the delay. By passing the bill that failed in the House, the Senate is giving the House another chance to vote on the measure under regular rules that would allow it to pass with a simple majority vote. The House could vote on the bill as early as Tuesday. Quote
Keveeno Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 Just do it already. My family back home already bought theirs, and I have a CONNcast. What does delaying it do but make Hawaii look stupid for already doing it. Quote
cravnravn Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 LOL, Its not going to happen..Rabbit Ears Rule!!! Quote
dc. Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 Wasting money more than time. Costs more for TV companies to dual broadcast. Most probably want to go to just digital anyway. WBAL has already gone all digital. I also heard the Dem's new stimulus package includes another 650m for the project to transition... WHY? First, I don't know why the government is paying for converter boxes for people who need them. They'd be cheap anyway. Second, I know they ran out of converter boxes, but not 650m worth. Quote
ForceEight Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 I also heard the Dem's new stimulus package includes another 650m for the project to transition... WHY? First, I don't know why the government is paying for converter boxes for people who need them. They'd be cheap anyway. Second, I know they ran out of converter boxes, but not 650m worth. A lot of that money is supposedly going to the manufacturers, etc. It's not all just for the coupons. Nevertheless, there is absolutely NO need to slow down the transition, and I hope it doesn't happen. My 90 year old great-grandmother has had her converter box set up for months now, so I don't buy all this need to wait. :lol: Quote
dc. Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 A lot of that money is supposedly going to the manufacturers, etc. It's not all just for the coupons. Well, right. The gov't is paying the manufacturers to provide free converters. And I don't get it. The converter would cost all of $10 or something, right? And the gov't believes that the right to a television is so crucial to Americans that we must be provided with free service? Did the government pay for the conversion of all the old VHS tapes I bought to DVD? Or to get my VCR to become a DVD player? Quote
ForceEight Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 No, converters are between $50-100, though some garbage ones are cheaper. The coupons they're providing are worth $40, and they will only provide a maximum of two to any given address, if accepted. Over-the-air television is and has always been viewed as an entirely free service. It's pretty important that it is, even in the government's eyes, for communication purposes. That's not at all the case for movies, as per your example. Quote
Spen Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 Well they only gave us 7 years notice...... Quote
ForceEight Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 I was looking for when it was announced last night, because I was arguing with someone else, but I couldn't find anything earlier than 2004, officially. Maybe it's because I'm young, but it seems like it was longer ago than that, too. By the way Spen, love the avatar. Quote
dc. Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 Yeah, but the service of TV is free... but you have to buy the TV in the first place, right? So if you have to buy the TV, then why not have to buy the converter? And if a converter is 100 bucks... and the coupon is worth 40... so you still have to pay 60... well, damn. You can get a digital TV for 60 bucks! Quote
Spen Posted January 31, 2009 Posted January 31, 2009 By the way Spen, love the avatar. Thank you, I almost changed it a while back but figured I would wait until the movie opened. I loved the book, even though the Comedian died in the first pages. Quote
cokedupwerewolf Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 If DC is right, and WBAL is all digital than you won't need a converter and this whole thing is a scam, because i have rabbit ears on a TV in my house and WBAL works perfect. Quote
ForceEight Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 If DC is right, and WBAL is all digital than you won't need a converter and this whole thing is a scam, because i have rabbit ears on a TV in my house and WBAL works perfect. Uh, wrong. Analog signals are still being broadcast, and there's no way in hell that a television without a digital tuner or converter box can receive a digital signal. WBAL is still transmitting analog signals. Quote
ravinmaniac52 Posted February 4, 2009 Author Posted February 4, 2009 If DC is right, and WBAL is all digital than you won't need a converter and this whole thing is a scam, because i have rabbit ears on a TV in my house and WBAL works perfect. As a ear owner myself, go get the box. So much better and a few more things to watch, like THIS. http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/11/viewers...ing_this_tv.php Quote
ForceEight Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 I watched a Denzel movie over the weekend. Most of what's on there hasn't interested me, but it's a decent alternative. I really like the 24 hour weather subchannels. I never bothered to watch them on my dish TVs, but they're nice to have on my bunny ears TV when there's not much else to watch or I just want to check on the weather. Pretty cool. Quote
Spen Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 If DC is right, and WBAL is all digital than you won't need a converter and this whole thing is a scam, because i have rabbit ears on a TV in my house and WBAL works perfect. How old is your TV? If it has a digital tuner you can pull in digital signals with rabbit ears. Its not great, but it will work. Either way I think WBAL is still broadcasting analog. Quote
ForceEight Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 They are. And they have to, until the 17th. Quote
dc. Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 WBAL announced via ads that they were switching early. I remember it. They were warning people about it. And Spen is right - if your TV is digital, you can still get the signal via the airwaves... a digital, not HD, signal. But I don't know if WBAL went through with it or not. Quote
ForceEight Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 Dude, there's still an analog signal. They never announced anything like that. The only thing they did was shut off the analog for 30 seconds a few weekends ago for folks to test their sets. Quote
Spen Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 And Spen is right - if your TV is digital, you can still get the signal via the airwaves... a digital, not HD, signal. You can get an HD signal too. We had a thread on here a while back about it, Revo (I think) and I both tried it. They advertise that you need an HD antenna to get over the air HD, but you dont. I am sure its a lot better to have a mounted HD antenna but I could pull in a few of the stations. I was messing around when I got a new TV about a year ago. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2007...abbitears_N.htm Quote
cokedupwerewolf Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 You can get an HD signal too. We had a thread on here a while back about it, Revo (I think) and I both tried it. They advertise that you need an HD antenna to get over the air HD, but you dont. I am sure its a lot better to have a mounted HD antenna but I could pull in a few of the stations. I was messing around when I got a new TV about a year ago. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2007...abbitears_N.htm Yeah I've been able to get CBS HD for prob 2 years now, with reg rabbit ears. Quote
ForceEight Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 Yeah I've been able to get CBS HD for prob 2 years now, with reg rabbit ears. Then, as Spen said before, your TV is probably new, and thus has a tuner already. That means it doesn't need the converter box (it basically has one inside it), and that you can continue using the antenna with no change. Quote
cokedupwerewolf Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 Then, as Spen said before, your TV is probably new, and thus has a tuner already. That means it doesn't need the converter box (it basically has one inside it), and that you can continue using the antenna with no change. I thought as much, but when they did those "tests" it did not work. Quote
dc. Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 I didn't mean you can't get HD via the airwaves... I get that too. I just run into a lot of people who think "digital tv" is the same as "hdtv" Quote
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