Sunday, July 20, 2008

Humboldt TV Going Digital

Just noticed this new web site on Humguide. It's all about the upcoming conversion of nearly all television broadcaster's signal to digital format. The requirement to switch to digital being some sort of gift from the FCC, or some such outfit.

So, effective February of 2009, if you're one of those few that are still using the old style televisions, you'll need to get a converter. Doesn't seem like there's too many of those TVs around anymore, are there? As much as it pisses me off having the federal government dictate to the television stations how they send out their signals, I don't think this will affect too many people.

4 Comments:

At 3:38 AM, Blogger Van said...

Thanks much for taking notice of my DTV website. For the majority of those who subscribe to cable or satellite TV, little will change in February. This issue tends to mainly affect those in rural areas, seniors and those with low incomes, who can not always afford the newest TV sets or cable television service.

Unfortunately, the government has spent a ton of taxpayer's money on a program that is incredibly misleading in many respects. My goal has been to correct some of the misconceptions that consumers are being left with, and give them practical advice on how to make the transition to DTV as painless and as inexpensive as possible. Hopefully, people will walk-away from the website feeling better informed about their choices.

William Van Hefner

 
At 6:01 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You have to be kidding to say that this shouldn't effect many people. None of my friends (and some of them are quite gainfully employed) have digital TVs--NONE.

This is going to effect many, many people, but as was said, mostly low-income folk who "don't count," apparently.

 
At 6:16 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

"None of my friends (and some of them are quite gainfully employed) have digital TVs--NONE.".

But the vast majority of people subscribe to cable TV. Cable customers will have the signal converted to digital for them.

 
At 11:12 AM, Blogger Van said...

The last I checked, SuddenLink had about a 70% penetration rate in Humboldt County. Between DirecTV and DISH Network you can add another 10%. None of those customers will be affected by the switch to digital, since the cable companies and satellite providers already provide the equipment for them.

If we assume that NO ONE in Humboldt County owns a digital-ready television set (quite an assumption) 80% of consumers here will still be unaffected. Getting the networks via satellite is a bit tricky, but that's a whole story in itself.

 

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