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Published : August 12, 2006 |
Author : TvGuy
Category : Analog Broadcast Cut Off | Total Views
: 2726 | Unrated
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Doom is Coming, Doom is Coming! |
TV as we Know it is Coming to an End, Soooooon!
In 2004, US Federal Communications Commission Chairman, Michael Powell,endorsed a January 2009 date for the country's analogue to Digital TV broadcast switchover. And what a commitment it was! Although he requested an unspecified date for the switchover during his testimony in front of the Senate Commerce Committee, when questioned by reporters about the FCC-proposed 2009 date he was heard to say "Yes, I'm saying it really strongly."
The Senate Bill
In 2005, the U.S. Senate passed a budget bill that calls for over-the-air television stations to cease their analog broadcasts by 02-17-2009 ( this cut-off date has been moved forward several times previously). Following that date, TVs and other equipment with legacy NTSC tuners would be unable to receive over-the-air broadcasts. This switch-off would cause tens of thousands of TVs to go dark and would cut off many lower-income viewers of their only source of television. Lawmakers have proposed subsidizing converter boxes that would allow people to receive the new digital broadcasts on their old TVs. Further details on the transition to digital and the converter-box subsidy are murky, and are a work-in-progress subject to the political process.
Congress has set a trigger point requiring broadcasters to switch to digital television signals once 85% of homes can be reached.The key motivator behind the switch-over is freeing up the analogue spectrum for the emergency services and public-safety broadcasts, as evidenced in Mr. Powells statement. Since the project is being tackled as a defence against terrorism, their is no doubt a lot of resources will be thrown at it.
What Next? 
You are probably asking yourself a ton of Questions, Huh!?
Can I get a couple of Baseball bats and barricade myself in my basement and give the little "Punks" a Surprise?
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 Visitor's Comments ! |
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 Posted by Joe on October 02, 2006 |
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Very interesting read
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Random Pick |
With the federal mandate to phase out analog television broadcasts approaching in early 2009, many consumers remain uncertain of what the change means for them. However, Verizon FiOS TV customers are ahead of the game. Verizon FiOS TV is already all-digital, so for most customers there will be no change. At the same time, Verizon is making other changes, and it is taking steps to ensure that customers are not confused by the phaseout of analog broadcasts. |
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