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Many Analog TV Watchers Aren't Aware of Upcoming Switchover

Posted by Zonk on from the it's-coming dept.

A recent poll of TV watchers shows that many Americans aren't aware the end times are coming for analog broadcast signals. "The survey found that the group most affected by the analog cutoff -- those with no cable or satellite service -- are most in the dark about what will happen to their sets: Only one-third of them had heard that their TVs are set to stop receiving programs. Of course, there are solutions. Congress is subsidizing the purchase of digital television receivers. And the cable TV industry is hoping that this will spur the last holdouts to buy pay TV."

9 of 440 comments (clear)

  1. Re:There is always stupid people by tedrlord · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There are people that can't afford cable TV still. Are they the type of person to keep up on tech news? I think it's unlikely. And it is a problem because there are still a significant amount of people that watch broadcast TV. It's probably the only way the local channels are staying in business at this point. I have a feeling this forced switchover is going to be the death of a lot of broadcast stations.

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    [insert witty quote here]
  2. The Oddest thing by edwardpickman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I haven't checked lately but I believe they are still selling analog TVs at a lot of places. I know I saw some over the summer. I'm sure the salesmen aren't exactly pointing out the fact the TV will go dark unless you get an expensive converter box in 18 months. They should have been phased out less than 24 months before the switch over and 36 months would have been better. I can see a sudden influx of TVs into the local landfill with a disturbing number fairly new. It may have been well intended but it's hardly eco friendly making a large number of electronics into very large paperweights overnight.

    1. Re:The Oddest thing by whoop · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Perhaps you are not aware, but televisions can be used to view things besides OTA signals. Many households (even ones that cannot afford/want cable) have DVD players, VCRs, video game systems, etc. If people buy a new television, the old ones are far more likely to get relegated to such duties well before being tossed into the landfill.

      Hell, the last few times I tried to put some electronic devices (broken dvd player, monitor that would not power on, etc) on the street for garbage pickup, it was snatched by someone driving past. So, not even that junk makes it to a landfill.

  3. Excuse to sell HDTVs? by mikeboone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I spoke to a couple of my older relatives who were under the impression that everyone had to buy an HDTV because of this switch to digital. I think they were fed this idea by TV salespeople. If that's true, it's dishonest way to sell TVs to people who don't understand the technology.

  4. Re:Good time.. by ghakko · · Score: 5, Interesting
    There's compelling data suggesting otherwise (at least in children):
    • Children tend to snack on nutritionally-unbalanced food when watching television, eat unconsciously and eat enough to skewtheir daily caloric intake.
    • For some reason, children watching television burn fewer calories than they would at just about any other physical activity, including just idly sitting or lying down.
    • Children who were forced to watch less television lost weight.
  5. Re:Good time.. by KDR_11k · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't know about you but I avoid eating anything fatty when I'm on the PC because I have to touch the mouse and keyboard and when my fingers are covered in fat I'm not willing to do that. Besides that, I'm not able to eat or drink while playing any videogame because I can't afford taking my hands off the controls for that long (even ignoring the dirty finger issue, just moving stuff to my mouth takes time and might make me vulnerable to attacks in the game).

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  6. Re:Good time.. by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 3, Interesting

    IF TV is a major cause of obesity, then the Internet, computing and videogaming must be contributors too. Perhaps "sedentary lifestyle" would be a better description? Actually, not necessarily, as someone points out there are studies indicating that during tv watching behaviors which increase the chances of obesity go up and calories burned go down, even compared to just sitting there doing nothing. My guess as to the cause of the last is that unlike videogames, surfing the internet, or other computer activity, watching tv encourages one to suspend all mental activity.
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    The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
  7. Re:Good time.. by Planesdragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A diet consisting of the poisons you've listed would make somebody fat even if they only ate 1400 calories of it a day. No.

    1400 calories of fried food will not make someone fat. For most Americans, only 1400 calories of anything will cause them to lose more than a pound a day.

    What those "poisons" will do, if eaten exclusively, is to mess up someone's blood chemistry. On a long enough time scale, they'll get their weight way down -- and then have a heart attack from the cholesterol that's choking their heart.

    The "multi-billion dollar" diet industry exists because it sells gimicks, that help someone eat few enough calories that they lose weight.
  8. They should leave an emergency analog channel by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Many people have small, battery-powered analog TVs as part of their emergency gear. I bet a lot of people will forget about those. Maybe one station in each area should be subsidized to keep analog broadcast equipment functional, for use in emergencies.