http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/ Engadget HD Comments for The DTV transition delay could end up costing over $500 million http://hd.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://hd.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
JP]]>Feb 7th 2009 7:02PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
They're $40... I dont think it's unfair to ask people to spend $40 to keep getting free tv... including over the air HD. It basically works out to $2 a month since those horribly annoying commercials started.]]>Feb 6th 2009 4:12PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 6th 2009 4:16PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 6th 2009 4:40PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
As far as the "electricity" thing goes, you're kind of assuming that

1. Every single NTSC channel is going to stay on the air. They're not, large numbers of channels are going to switch off their NTSC channels anyway.

2. That there are no NTSC channels on air right now that are being transmitted without a sister ATSC channel. I know four local stations in my area are sharing a single ATSC multiplex, and will switch to at least two independent ATSC stations (WTCN, WTVX) once the transition is over. They're not saving any electricity by switching over.

I'm not saying that the delay isn't causing some money to be spent that otherwise wouldn't be, but, hey, if the aim is to save money, why bother with a digital transition in the first place? It'd be cheaper to cancel the whole thing and stick with NTSC. People who want the country to go digital should, perhaps, be a little quiet on the "This is costing us money!" front.

]]>Feb 6th 2009 4:18PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
So moving everything to ATSC would save $ over staying NTSC.]]>Feb 6th 2009 4:39PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 6th 2009 4:22PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 6th 2009 4:33PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 6th 2009 4:55PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
a) 5.8 million people who have had a minimum of three years of awareness, and eighteen months to get ready...but haven't...can wait another four months before getting off their ass to get a converter box.

b) so congress can serve their own self interest by, avoiding difficult decision making and taking the easy way out (delaying the inevitable), and by shifting the blame to broadcasters when billy jo bubba's screen goes snowy and he can't watch the latest adventures in inbreeding on Jerry Springer. Television is, afterall, a god given constituional right. Isn't it?

c) create even more confusion around the whole conversion process with some stations turning their analog off next week, and others doing so at any point between March and June.

Pathetic!]]>Feb 6th 2009 6:49PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
Yeah, thanks a bunch, you pricks.


Signed,

The *OTHER* U.S. Taxpayers]]>Feb 6th 2009 7:21PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 6th 2009 8:51PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 6th 2009 10:07PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
Regardless of what's happening, be it homework for school, analog cut off, project at work, etc. There will always be a percentage of people who procrastinate and continually put offf doing anything until they absolutely HAVE to.

Yeah, people should have been prepared. They've had plenty of time to take the steps necessary to continue getting OTA broadcasts, or switch to some other avenue for programming. Even in the case of those on the waiting list, they can just as easily go to Wally World, or virtually any other consumer electronics dealer locally, or even online to get a box. The cost is minimal...even for poor people. There really is no excuse.

The very most congress should have done is replenish the coupon program to take care of the backlog, then let the cutoff move forward as it was scheduled.

Oh well. It is what it is...]]>Feb 6th 2009 10:48PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 7th 2009 2:08AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/I don't think they were expecting 80 degree weather in cold winter climes.]]>Feb 7th 2009 12:50PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Still, if it was $500 million, it would have been cheaper for the stations to bail out the coupon program!]]>Feb 7th 2009 3:58AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
Since the coupon program ran out of funds, that throws a wrench in the plan to convert.
The public airwaves belong to the public. If the federal government wants to take that away & sell it for other uses, it makes sense to compensate the public for the cost of conversion.]]>Feb 7th 2009 3:38AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/Feb 7th 2009 9:32AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
But this is the government we the people asked for, this is the government we the people voted for. If you don't like it, remember this in 2010, and 2012, I know I will. Yes We Can Hope for Change We Can Believe In, it just doesn't look like 2008 is the year it's going to happen...]]>Feb 7th 2009 2:40PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/http://hd.engadget.com/2009/02/06/the-dtv-transition-delay-could-end-up-costing-over-500-million/
Any station that wants to can "go digital" on the original cutover date, save all that money / electricity / carbon footprint.]]>Feb 7th 2009 1:38PM