Confusion Abounds re: Mandate for DTV – A survey just released by Consumer Reports found that 58% of the 85% of the public receiving their TV programming by satellite or cable believe they will need one of the new D-to-A converter boxes to prepare for analog TV transmitters being turned off on Feb. 17, 2009. Not so – they should just sit tight and their service will take care of matters. Except for two possibilities: they may have a portable or really basic TV with only rabbit ears in the garage or another room. That one will need one of the D-to-A converter boxes for which you can get up to two coupons at www.dtv2009.gov. The other possibility is that some satellite users receive their local TV stations over a separate antenna from the satellite dish. If so, they will need either a satellite receiver with an ATSC digital tuner built in or a TV with a built in ATSC tuner.
The 15% or so of viewers who still get their TV from old-fashioned rabbit ears or outdoor yagi antennas might be seeing nothing but a blank screen a year from now. The same Consumer Reports survey found that most consumers are either totally unaware of the mandated transition or have major misconceptions about it. Some of these people are not in the OTA (Over The Air) category for its cost savings or their lack of interest in the huge variety of channels, but because of living in an area not served by TV cable and with satellite dish reception blocked by trees or mountains. They will need new equipment to receive any TV at all – either a new DTV set or an adapter box for their old analog TV. The U.S. government has so far approved applications for 3.9 million of the free coupons, worth $40 each. 34 of the boxes have now been approved for sale at major retailers. Some OTA viewers have been upset at the prospect of having to invest in a new DTV to watch the programming that has always been free. But that’s the intent of the coupons – they make it possible for those as far as you can get from being videophiles to obtain converter boxes with nearly their full retail price covered by the free coupons.
Optical Physical Media Obsolete? – Here’s something to mull over: How soon will 720p video-on-demand and iTV downloading (plus faster broadband and solid-state memory) make all optical disc media – including the two competing HD formats – obsolete?
