On February 17, 2009 your standard TV will go blank. That is if
you have not prepared for the conversion to digital TV and are still using an
antenna to receive over the air broadcasts.
Congress has ruled that radio frequencies used by broadcast TV
since it’s inception will be taken away from private broadcasters and some will
be reassigned for use by emergency responders and other public safety agencies.
The remaining available frequencies will be auctioned off to the highest bidder
by the FCC. Auctioned off?
This brings to mind the question of how can the government sell
something that it does not own? Public airwaves have always belonged to the
people. The FCC has the responsibility of regulating those airwaves but it does
not own them. Now Congress thinks it does. Another assumed power of ownership by
our government?
If a private company buys radio frequencies from the FCC, does
that mean that they now own those frequencies and they are no longer the public
airwaves, and no longer regulated by the FCC? What if that company chooses to
sell their purchase of airwaves back to TV stations for analogue TV broadcasts?
Would Congress be upset?
It seems the airwaves have become as crowded and congested as
airline routes today and more space is needed to keep up with growing demands.
Standard (analogue) TV broadcasts require a great deal more bandwidth than do
digital broadcasts. The TV broadcast spectrum can be greatly reduced by the
conversion to digital TV, which can provide several channels using the same
frequency instead of using an entire frequency band for one channel as is the
case with analogue TV broadcasts.
Current ‘over the air’ broadcasts require separate frequencies
for left and right audio channels, video luminance, red, green, blue colors,
sync pulses, etc. To provide the color picture and sound, broadcasters must
transmit various signals on different frequencies simultaneously to provide you
with the video composite and stereo sound. Surround sound requires even more.
The result is that just one TV channel uses as much bandwidth as the entire FM
radio band.
All TVs being manufactured today are required to be equipped
with digital tuners along with their standard analogue tuner. Some pre digital
TVs are still available in stores but are required to display a warning that
they will not receive the standard broadcast signals after February 17, 2009.
After that date, TVs will no longer include analogue tuners at all.
This change will effect only one in 5 American households still
‘using over the air’ antennas for their TV reception. It will not effect those
using cable or satellite TV, at least not yet. Eventually, all cable and
satellite signals will become digital, requiring that set top converters be
updated. You won’t have to purchase a new TV.
Electronics manufacturers, such as LG Electronics, are
currently developing converters for use with older TV sets without digital
tuners. The target price for these converters will be about $60.00. This is fine
for home TV sets but what about portable TVs with built in antennas and mobile
TVs in cars and SUVs? My battery operated emergency TV I keep in the closet will
no longer function after February 17, 2007 - and neither will yours if you have
one.
Democrats in Congress who passed this ruling are afraid that it’s
going to upset their low income constituents. "I have a great apprehension
that a great mess lies before us," House Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., said.
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) put it even better: "If we don't get
this transition right, then (we will be) dealing with constituents. The
government has broken their TV sets."
So they have come up with a plan. They decided to allocate 1.5
billion of our tax dollars to subsidize the purchase of digital converters for
consumers. Every American household will be eligible for two government coupons
worth $40.00 each toward the purchase of digital converters. These coupons will
be available to everyone between Jan. 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009 whether they
need them or not, not just to low income households.
That’s funny. I don’t remember being offered coupons by the
government when cassettes replaced the 8-track player or when CDs replaced the
phonograph record. This would seem to be just another liberal handout by
Congress to appease Democrat voters and provide another excuse for Congress to
tax and spend.
They justify this taxpayer expense by claiming that people need
these converters for emergency broadcasts. If that’s the case then why didn’t
the government buy them their TV in the first place? Did they forget that
emergency broadcasts are also available on the radio? If people can afford to
spend several hundred dollars for their TV entertainment, wouldn’t you think
they could spend $60 for their safety?
If you have cable or satellite service you won’t be effected by
this change but in time you’re going to want to upgrade your cable or satellite
receiver to digital. The total conversion to digital can’t be far off.
This is simply another step in the technical progress of our
nation. Out with the old and in with the new. This is just the first time that
government has subsidized consumers to pay for it. What will be next?
Subsidizing consumers to buy hybrid automobiles to prevent “man made” global
warming?
Sources
Lawmakers Uneasy About Digital TV
Switch
Digital
Dilemma
The Transition to Digital
TV
