Confusion Reigns As Analog TV Begins Shutdown

As TV stations across the country switch off their analog signals, uncertainty reigns. Some 691 stations will have converted to digital broadcasting by midnight tonight (some interpreted the mandate as going digital by Feb. 17, not during Feb. 17, and shut down yesterday). This represents about a third of TV broadcasters nationwide. No one can say how many of the estimated 5.8 million households unready for the transition are in areas served by the stations that are switching now. The FCC added to the uncertainty by imposing extra conditions, making it unclear until last Friday exactly which stations would be switching at the beginning of the transition period. The article quotes a former analyst at Barclays Capital who said the whole process has been "botched politically."

Comments

Re:I agree.

[coaxial]

Indoor rabbit ears and UHF doesn't propagate as well as the longer wave lengths.

I grew up with rabbit ears. I used rabbit exclusively for over 20 years. It's quite a bit more than 20 miles. The biggest factor is strength of the transmitter. You don't know what you're talking about.

There isn't much good on TV these days anyway. Even the PBS stuff is getting kind of shitty - they take an hour to show and explain things that can be done in 10 minutes. Also, some of the nature shows are so depressing:

Waaa! Waaa! Mommy, learning about how the world actually works makes me feel sad. Make it all go away so I can live in ignorant bliss, and then complain when people point out that the real world much more messy than my Ayn Rand books would have me believe.

Re:Once again... BFD

[palegray.net]

They should have saved for retirement better. Even folks on a fixed income have the ability to budget their money for planned purchases. I know a lot of retired folks, btw.