Digital TV delay bill to ride again next week?
By Richard Lawler 
posted Jan 29th 2009 5:32PM
posted Jan 29th 2009 5:32PM
Just when you thought it was safe to rescan your channels, the DTV delay is back, as the L.A. Times reports it could be up for another vote, and pass, as soon as next week. Chairman of the House telecommunications committee Rick Boucher expects the issue to return next week, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is apparently looking for away to hold another vote soon. While we wait for that to sort itself out, the NTIA pegged the converter coupon backlog at 2.6 million (a number expected to swell to 3.27 million in tomorrow's report) people as it waits for existing coupons to expire, and additional funds from from the economic stimulus legislation.
enough of this already,its not getting delayed...if people can't deal with the fact that there lovely tv won't work and can't get there duffs out there and get a damn converter box then they deserve what they get...tv is a want not a need
How stupid are the people of san fran for electing pelosi?
Instead of delaying till they can get more coupons out...they ought to work with retailers to allow a person to buy the box now..then return in 60 or 90 days with receipt and coupon and get money back. WOW...fixed.
Doesn't the government have more important things to worry about than a few people here and there that won't be able to watch TV for a short period of time? It's not like we haven't been warned up to this point.
This delay is not happening! i don't feel sorry for the 6 mil not ready, you can go to radio shack, target,best buy, etc to buy your coupons. also instead of waiting, get up and buy a coupon and stop bickering for a delay.
Why would you buy a coupon? Or are they being sold on the blackmarket now that there's a shortage? If so, how far below $40 are they?
The delay is probably happening. A majority of the House (almost all the Democrats) voted for it; it needed two-thirds because it wasn't a regularly scheduled bill, so they moved to suspend the rules and pass it, which requires two-thirds.
If they schedule it for next week, it will only need a majority, and it already has that. It also passed the Senate, and President Obama's office is the one who called for it.
It will most likely happen.
How about issuing a rebate? We all wait obscenely long for retail stores to give us rebates anyway. Whats a few months for $40 and keeping your basic tv channels working.
We're fighting 2 wars, have a self-destructing economy, need to figure out where all the Gitmo prisoners are going, and the Democrats are all stuck up about the DTV transition date?
Give me a break.
As if trying it once wasn't bad enough, AND the ridiculousness of it all wasn't enough either, now we have the constant see-sawing of yes-it-is-no-it-isn't-delayed stories on the news, FURTHER CONFUSING THE PEOPLE THEY CLAIM TO WANT TO HELP. And they're going to get us down to 10 days or so before there's a final decision.
People do not NEED TV, and furthermore, if they're so out of touch they don't realize they need a converter box, then obviously they haven't used their TV in a year anyway, seeing as how rarely do they go more than 15 minutes without a PSA, crawl, or some other reminder...
It is not just about a converter box - poor digital reception is a learning curve people have to go thru; and not enough is being disseminated about needing better antenna for digital TV (even when less than 40 miles of transmit tower) for inside a house of metal lathed plaster and/or brick - not to mention location with signal interference, like power lines and/or military installation hindrance.
Such conditions was a minor problem with analog (varying with weather) - BUT with digital TV reception, some rooms are intolerable - picture pixilates and sound totally skips too much to follow what's watched.
And stores only stock more junky rabbit-ears and/or voodoo set-top gadgets of unknown guts - any decent technical antenna has to be researched on your own and hunted and/or ordered.