# Everything Else > Arts & Entertainment >  DTV Readiness Test

## Buickcarnut

Monday, January 12th, all the local TV stations in Oklahoma City will be doing a DTV Readiness test to see if you are prepared for the Feb 17th Digital transistion. The tests will be conducted at 6:50 AM, 5:20 PM and 10:20 PM. The test will last 2 minutes so that you can check ALL of your televisions for readiness.

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## AAC2005

> Monday, January 12th, all the local TV stations in Oklahoma City will be doing a DTV Readiness test to see if you are prepared for the Feb 17th Digital transistion. The tests will be conducted at 6:50 AM, 5:20 PM and 10:20 PM. The test will last 2 minutes so that you can check ALL of your televisions for readiness.


In support of the above post: I can't remember on which channel I saw the interview, but as one young lady succinctly put it: "If you aren't ready now, you never will be."

Hear, hear!

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## TaoMaas

I've heard that Obama's people are wanting the digital conversion date pushed back.  They don't think the public, especially the elderly, have been completely informed of what's about to happen.  And also because the converter box fund is running out of cash so there may be a bunch of people who need boxes, but can't get a voucher.

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## Midtowner

> I've heard that Obama's people are wanting the digital conversion date pushed back.  They don't think the public, especially the elderly, have been completely informed of what's about to happen.  And also because the converter box fund is running out of cash so there may be a bunch of people who need boxes, but can't get a voucher.


Anytime we have a 'date certain,' there will be people who can't get off their duffs to do what they need to do.  Screw 'em.  They've been informed; and if they can't act on the information they have, that's on them.  

At some point, we have to accept the fact that some of these people won't do what they need to do until they are forced to.

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## TaoMaas

> Anytime we have a 'date certain,' there will be people who can't get off their duffs to do what they need to do.  Screw 'em.  They've been informed; and if they can't act on the information they have, that's on them.  
> 
> At some point, we have to accept the fact that some of these people won't do what they need to do until they are forced to.


You vastly overestimate the ability of many people out there to understand VCR's, much less what a digital conversion actually means to them. lol  I don't think it's a matter of people being lazy so much as it's all just Greek to a lot of folks.  You talk to them about this stuff and their eyes glaze over.

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## bluedogok

If you have no idea this is going to happen, then you are oblivious to the outside world. Most people have someone in their lives that can help them with the transition whether it be a family member, neighbor, friend or care giver. A "drop dead" date is definitely needed to push some to make any kind of change.

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## Midtowner

> You vastly overestimate the ability of many people out there to understand VCR's, much less what a digital conversion actually means to them. lol  I don't think it's a matter of people being lazy so much as it's all just Greek to a lot of folks.  You talk to them about this stuff and their eyes glaze over.


There has to be a date.  Until something happens, many of these people will just do nothing.  Will some mentally incompetent people be left behind?  Sure... maybe.  

Television is not a vital service.  It is a luxury.  Sometimes, we have to actually do stuff to continue to receive a luxurious benefit.  Here, the 'complicated task' involves buying something with a coupon, running two short wires, and putting batteries in a remote control.

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## TaoMaas

> If you have no idea this is going to happen, then you are oblivious to the outside world. Most people have someone in their lives that can help them with the transition whether it be a family member, neighbor, friend or care giver. A "drop dead" date is definitely needed to push some to make any kind of change.


Of course there's got to be a definite change date.  There's just a concern about whether everybody really understands what's going to happen.  Here's a link to a story about the request to delay the change-over:  Obama team urges delay in digital TV transition (AP) by AP: Yahoo! Tech
 I just keep thinking about a retired friend of mine who dislikes technology in general.  He doesn't have cable or the internet or even a cell phone.  We've TRIED to give him cell phones and computers, but he's not interested.  Even though he watches tv all the time and has seen the notice about the digital conversion a few hundred times, he really didn't understand that he HAD to change.  He kept saying, "I don't want a digital tv."  So we sent off for a coupon for him, helped him get a converter, and hooked it up for him.  Now, he loves it because the reception is much better than it was with his rabbit ears. lol  You know, there's even folks who WANT to stay up with things that don't totally understand all of this.  I have another friend who kept insisting that he had an HD tv, when I knew that he didn't.  What he had was a digital-ready tv...not the same as HD.  It took a while to convince him that what he was seeing was not HDTV.

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## Matt



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## TaoMaas

Maybe Obama's team is just trying to keep him from being a one-term president by heading off him being voted out by the AARP when 90% of their tv's go black in February and they don't understand why.  lol  Seriously, though...it's simple to those of us on here.  I mean, it's not really the folks who habituate internet message boards who aren't going to understand the transition, right?  I'm emailing one of my friends about this discussion.  He went over and hooked up a digital box for a 102 yr. old family friend last night.  Her sight isn't that good and she doesn't quite understand why she can no longer use the universal remote with the big numbers on it.  My friend has already resigned himself to making some return trips to her house because she'll inevitably pick up the remote control that she's used to, try to change the channel, and be absolutely clueless as to why her signal went away.

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## Midtowner

Many moons ago, I worked in a consumer electronics retail store.

Trust me... I know.

And for those 102 year old folks, they will NEVER be ready for the transition, but if their screens go black, they will be asking for help.  Expect calls to 911.  Seriously.

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## Matt

I'm really looking forward to the post-February 17 "my TV don't work" freak-out.

I'm gonna open up a bottle of wine, kick back, tune in, and just enjoy the madness.

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## TaoMaas

> I'm really looking forward to the post-February 17 "my TV don't work" freak-out.
> 
> I'm gonna open up a bottle of wine, kick back, tune in, and just enjoy the madness.



Assuming that the date stays Feb. 17th.  I'm thinking it's going to change.  This is being pushed by the cellphone companies and the government.  The tv stations are in no hurry to change.

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## duckman

If you don't watch enough television to know the transition is happening, then you probably won't be affected if you get a black screen. Everyone made it quite clear what is happening and if you ignored the warnings tough luck.

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## stick47

KFOR's engineer showed how we could be ready in case of a power outage last night. He held up a small Radio Shack digital tuner battery powered TV and made the statement that a device such as that would be good to have on hand when the power goes out. 

What he failed to mention is that the TV he mentioned uses a built in RECHARGEABLE battery and not disposable batteries. So yes, it would work when the power goes out but only for a few hours. Then what? 

Myself, I'm all for the delay in the changeover if in the meantime someone
brings out a portable TV that uses disposable batteries. There aren't any available so far and for that reason alone I think making the change could have serious consequences in some cases.

And BTW, those Television band radios will also be useless after the change and if you depend on your NOAA weather radio for detailed tornado tracking info, you're going to be out of luck.

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## Martin

i'll just put this right here... -M

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## Matt

> Assuming that the date stays Feb. 17th.  I'm thinking it's going to change.


Ah, but it'll still be post-February 17th, won't it?

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## westsidesooner

> KFOR's engineer showed how we could be ready in case of a power outage last night. He held up a small Radio Shack digital tuner battery powered TV and made the statement that a device such as that would be good to have on hand when the power goes out. 
> 
> What he failed to mention is that the TV he mentioned uses a built in RECHARGEABLE battery and not disposable batteries. So yes, it would work when the power goes out but only for a few hours. Then what? 
> 
> Myself, I'm all for the delay in the changeover if in the meantime someone
> brings out a portable *TV that uses disposable batteries*. There aren't any available so far and for that reason alone I think making the change could have serious consequences in some cases.
> 
> And BTW, those *Television band radios* will also be useless after the change and if you depend on your* NOAA weather radio* for detailed tornado tracking info, you're going to be out of luck.


You brought up three things I was thinking about with this conversion to digital. 

1.  Battery operated digital tvs:  We take our battery operated tv with us when we go camping, and when I go storm chasing.  Weather reports are hard to come by if you out in the woods, most small town radio stations don't really cut the mustard when it comes to warning of serious weather....they're usually pre recorded or the warnings they do give are grossly late.  

2.  Television band radios:  Again another nice thing to have if you're away from town.  Regardless of whats on the local radio station you can count on Mike, Gary, & Rick to give us non-stop (sometimes overblown) weather coverage.

3. Noaa weather radio:  I hadn't heard that these wouldn't work....if that is indeed the case........Its a serious problem.  Has anyone else heard anything on this?????

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## jbrown84

> There's just a concern about whether everybody really understands what's going to happen.


All they need to understand is that they need a converter box.  They don't need to understand the technology or how it works.  It's not hard, and as midtowner pointed out, the people that are going to need help are going to need help no matter when we make the transition.

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## TaoMaas

> All they need to understand is that they need a converter box.



I think that's part of the problem.  I'm hearing that the rebate program has run out of money, so even if folks want a converter box, they can no longer get a rebate to help them with the cost.  Folks saying that they should have done it long before now doesn't really help with the problem.  It also doesn't help that there are probably a large number of folks who DO understand the transition and sent off for a converter box rebate even though they're on cable/satellite and don't really need the box.  By the way...have you read Cox's statement on their website regarding the HD conversion?  It says that Cox is commited to protecting their customers for up to 3 years.  So even if you've got cable, you're not immune.

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## bluedogok

> By the way...have you read Cox's statement on their website regarding the HD conversion?  It says that Cox is commited to protecting their customers for up to 3 years.  So even if you've got cable, you're not immune.


What they are saying is after 3 years they are going to pull the digital-to-analog signal conversion that they perform at their distribution center from the cable, it will be a digital level signal. That means you will probably have to to get a Cox Cable converter box (already required for the Digital Cable package) if you have a non digital ready television as the Digital Cable receiver will act as the digital-to-analog converter, you just won't be able to hook the wire from your wall into the back of the TV.

HD broadcasting and the Analog-to-DTV conversion are two separate things entirely, too many think one is related to the other and it is not. Just because broadcasts are going to be in a digital spectrum doesn't mean they will be in HD as some others have noted. The SD broadcasts that are now sent out in an analog spectrum will be switched to a digital spectrum, that means they will still be in SD but just how they get to you television will be at a different radio frequency than before.

It really doesn't matter when they make the change, there are always going to be a group of people left in the dark for anything, they will just have to call someone in a month or a few months/years....a change now is just going to delay when that call is made.

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## SoonerDave

Keep in mind all that they've ALREADY pushed the DTV transition date back at least once. As I recall the original date was something like five years ago - probably more. It got pushed back then because NO ONE was ready, for both technical and financial reasons. Most of those reasons are behind. 

If its going to be done, it needs to get done according to schedule. Obama's wailings are just populist rhetoric. I think it would take an act of Congress to move the date again.

Once the dust settles, I do think that what will be missed the most will be the convenience of those small, battery-powered TV's (like those discussed here) that many of us have for storms, camping, trips, power outages, what have you, and most/many of those have no separate inputs for a converter box/external tuner, so on Feb 17th they instantly become junk. That's kind of a waste to me, but there's really nothing to be done about it, I suppose.

I can't fathom that even someone without the slightest technical knowledge won't at least be aware of the fact that *something*, and something *big*, to do with TV is happening on February 17th....but then again, I fix computers for a lot of people who think nothing of visiting every website on earth and then wonder why they get every manner of malware and virus out there, then blame it on the computer....

Amid all the acrimony among various things out there, I find it sadly and ironically humorous that some of the biggest samples of angst seems to be over this DTV converter coupon program expiring and/or running out of money...to heck with the economy in the toilet and jobs disappearing like magicians' rabbits.....

 :Smile:

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## TaoMaas

> Keep in mind all that they've ALREADY pushed the DTV transition date back at least once. As I recall the original date was something like five years ago - probably more. It got pushed back then because NO ONE was ready, for both technical and financial reasons. Most of those reasons are behind.


  If I remember right, at one point the transition was supposed to take place once a certain percentage of the population had digital tv's in their home.  But it became apparent that the transition may NEVER happen because folks weren't buying digital tv's.  It became a circular thing...folks weren't going to buy digital/HD televisions until there was a real need for it and the stations weren't going to start broadcasting HD until the public bought the tv's.




> If its going to be done, it needs to get done according to schedule. Obama's wailings are just populist rhetoric. I think it would take an act of Congress to move the date again.


  Actually, I think it DOES take an act of Congres to move it again. LOL  I don't know how much of Obama's request is just posturing considering that his team's request hasn't been that widely reported.  I get the impression that they think this is just one more thing that hasn't been handled well so they want to try and do it a little better.

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## OKCisOK4me

> i'll just put this right here... -M


My mom's not that old but if I weren't around, that would totally be her.  It's soooo her I sent her the link to watch the video!

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## jsibelius

> You brought up three things I was thinking about with this conversion to digital. 
> 
> 1.  Battery operated digital tvs:  We take our battery operated tv with us when we go camping, and when I go storm chasing.  Weather reports are hard to come by if you out in the woods, most small town radio stations don't really cut the mustard when it comes to warning of serious weather....they're usually pre recorded or the warnings they do give are grossly late.  
> 
> 2.  Television band radios:  Again another nice thing to have if you're away from town.  Regardless of whats on the local radio station you can count on Mike, Gary, & Rick to give us non-stop (sometimes overblown) weather coverage.
> 
> 3. Noaa weather radio:  I hadn't heard that these wouldn't work....if that is indeed the case........Its a serious problem.  Has anyone else heard anything on this?????


What does radio have to do with it?  We're only dealing with digital television signal.  I think the post you're referring to may have been talking about those combo TV/radio/weather radio that may or may not run on crank/battery power.  I suspect the radio functions will still work, but the TV part will not.  But since I decided not to buy one of those after hearing about the digital switch, I can't be sure.  If you have just a weather radio, it will continue to work as usual.




> I think that's part of the problem.  I'm hearing that the rebate program has run out of money, so even if folks want a converter box, they can no longer get a rebate to help them with the cost.  Folks saying that they should have done it long before now doesn't really help with the problem.  It also doesn't help that there are probably a large number of folks who DO understand the transition and sent off for a converter box rebate even though they're on cable/satellite and don't really need the box.  By the way...have you read Cox's statement on their website regarding the HD conversion?  It says that Cox is commited to protecting their customers for up to 3 years.  So even if you've got cable, you're not immune.


The rebate program has run out of money, but since the coupons have a 90-day expiration, you can get on a waiting list for someone else's coupon.  A lot of those coupons are floating around out there, unused.  In fact, here's a really good article on this very subject:  DTV: It's the antenna, stupid - The Red Tape Chronicles - MSNBC.com

Likewise, if you get a coupon, you should not put off using it.

I am one of those who has cable and decided to get the converter box anyway.  Ever heard thunder and ran into a problem where the Weather Channel was running "Storm Stories" and even Gary wasn't running his mouth?  Two of the local broadcast channels have dedicated weather channels now.  That's one reason I got the converter.  Another is for when the cable is out, and the last reason is for when I get disgusted and turn the cable off forever, whenever that may be.  Cox does a pretty good job with customer service compared to other cable companies, but they're not perfect and I think you make my point with that 3-year "protection" statement you found on their website.  They're already moving channels from the analog side over to the digital side, one at a time.

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## stick47

To clarify, NOAA radio will continue to operate on your present device. TV Band radios will not work after the switch. 
With NOAA the problem is they don't track tornados like the 3 major television stations do and the only things available to replace the old style portable TVs are the Radio Shack / Best Buy models with rechargeable batteries. Sure you can get by for an hour or two but not when the power is off for a longer period.

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## bluedogok

> In fact, here's a really good article on this very subject:  DTV: It's the antenna, stupid - The Red Tape Chronicles - MSNBC.com


Actually, that is an opinion piece with a bunch of half truths in it. 

Yes, old fashioned "rabbit ears" are going to be worthless, but most are anyway unless you live within a few miles of the tower. I have a 12 year old cheap Radio Shack roof antenna, it picks up the DTV signals fine even though it had broken tabs and a tree has grown into it breaking all the rods off on one side, it still works. I do have a new one in the garage for when I relocate the Directv dish and antenna when the house is re-roofed. I use it for the sub-channels and until about 6 months ago the NBC affiliate here still didn't have their HD signal on Directv (they pulled it from Time-Warner Cable for a few months here) and my HD-DVR can record off the OTA.

If you do not have cable or satellite, you should have something better than a rabbit ear level antenna and they aren't that expensive. If you can pick up UHF channels with what you have, you shouldn't need to change. All but Fox and the PBS channel here in Austin are all UHF, so you needed a decent one anyway.

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## jsibelius

> Actually, that is an opinion piece with a bunch of half truths in it.


I'm sorry...thanks for helping me out.  I couldn't tell the difference between a news article and an opinion piece.  Thanks for setting me straight.

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## MadMonk

I normally use DirecTV, so I only switch to an over-the-air antenna when the sat goes out (usually for weather updates during heavy storms).  The rabbit ears work just fine on my TV with a digital converter box and I'm at least 12 miles away from the nearest tower.  I'm at the top of a hill though and the antennas are nearly line-of-sight.

BTW, I have a spare converter box if anyone needs one...for a nice profit of course.   :Tongue:

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## blangtang

i dont have cable or sat, just regular bunny rabbit old school tv.  i got the converter box about a month ago and i get most channels fine, but i can't get channel 5 (ABC station), the tuner doesn't pick it up when it does a search.  

i live in norman, not sure if that has anything to do with a broadcast range or not.  the digital works fine, sometimes it does that scramble and studder thing.  the signal seems to be affected by cloudy days.  

anyone able to get channel 5 that has one of these new boxes?

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## Midtowner

I live downtown and also can't pick up channel 5 on rabbit ears.  You shouldn't have a problem if you run an outside antenna.  You should be able to get one of those at your local Radioshack.  It's a weekend project, but well worth it.  

If your HOA doesn't allow aerials, you can just stick it up in your attic.  The nails and such do block some signal, but it's better than nothing.  Also, if you're in Norman, point the thing North.

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## blangtang

well thats interesting.  I could pick up channel 5 fine with out the converter box, with just rabbit ears.  but i was curious if anyone picked channel 5 up with the converter box.

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## bluedogok

That can happen, the digital signal (which the converter box picks up) may not travel as far as the analog signal (which the TV picks up), much of that is how much power the station is putting to the signal. The fall off is greater with the digital signal, you either get it or you don't. Although, you shouldn't have that much trouble since all the transmitters are all out in the antenna farm area east of Broadway Extension between Wilshire and the Kilpatrick Turnpike. I wonder if KOCO is running the DTV signal at full power, I know my parents have trouble getting their DTV signal with their newer TV's and they live three miles east of Lake Overholser, the rest come in fine.

You can try *Antenna Web* to figure out what antenna would be best.

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## traxx

Channel 5 broadcast it's digital signal on the same channel as Lawton's ABC station broadcasts it's analog station.  So channel 5's signal is limited to the South and West (Norman, Mustang etc).

After Feb. 17 this issue should be resolved as the Lawton station will no longer be broadcasting on that channel.

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## woodyrr

If I'm interpreting this table correctly,

List of television stations in Oklahoma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

after the transition, in the Oklahoma City viewing area, channels 9 and 13 will be abandoning the frequency that they are currently using for digital broadcasting and will begin digital broadcasting on their legacy analog channel.

If this is the case, does anyone know when that is supposed to happen?

If this happens, the people that I have helped become digital ready (like the woman in mmm's YouTube video) are going to suddenly lose channels 9 and 13 and will need help rescanning the spectrum and finding the channels again.

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## Thunder

The switch may be delayed to June 22nd.  That is only 4 months.

http://www.koco.com/digital-tv/18552316/detail.html

Really great article.  Now, take a look at the side effects of Obama's push to delay...

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## woodyrr

KWTV just answered my question below.

There was just now an announcement that KWTV 9 plans to cease analog broadcasting at 1:00 PM on February 17. After reminding antenna viewers of the requirement of a converter box, they added that those OTA viewers with converter boxes <or> digital TVs would need to rescan to find the digital channels. I hope that KETA 13 transitions frequencies on February 17 as well.






> If I'm interpreting this table correctly,
> 
> List of television stations in Oklahoma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> after the transition, in the Oklahoma City viewing area, channels 9 and 13 will be abandoning the frequency that they are currently using for digital broadcasting and will begin digital broadcasting on their legacy analog channel.
> 
> If this is the case, does anyone know when that is supposed to happen?
> 
> If this happens, the people that I have helped become digital ready (like the woman in mmm's YouTube video) are going to suddenly lose channels 9 and 13 and will need help rescanning the spectrum and finding the channels again.

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## Thunder

Any update on Congress approving the delay or same date?

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## OKCDrummer77

> Any update on Congress approving the delay or same date?


It passed the Senate.  It's up to the House now.

I hope it doesn't change.  I'm ready.  I've been ready.  I'm sick of seeing the PSAs for it.  As someone else pointed out, if you don't know about the change, you don't watch enough TV to be affected by it, anyway.

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## Luke

Another great example of government efficiency.

"Television airwaves" is another category we could save billions of tax dollars if the government left it alone.

I'm sure we the people could figure it out.

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## woodyrr

KTOK Radio 1000 is reporting that the United States House of Representatives has defeated a bill to extend the deadline for the DTV transition.

Unless something else changes, the transition will happen as scheduled.

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## traxx

I wouldn't expect the house's defeat of the delay to be the last we've heard of it.  

The thing is, is that in June there are still going to be plenty of people not ready.  There have been reports that bunches of converter coupons that were sent to citizens have gone unused.  We're never going to have 100% readiness.  The best way to get people ready is to switch and when their TV goes blank they'll realize the transition was for real.  This thing has been postponed a handful of times in the past decade anyway.

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## TaoMaas

> We're never going to have 100% readiness.  The best way to get people ready is to switch and when their TV goes blank they'll realize the transition was for real.


That could be very dangerous to a congressman's hopes of maintaining his office.  Never underestimate the power of old folks who have all day long to phone their congressmen and to write letters to the editor.  :LolLolLolLol:

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## woodyrr

If I were a politician, Id recognize that grandpa Simpson is going to find something to be unhappy about and he might as well be pitching a fit about his TV next month instead of closer to the next election.

On the other hand, a delay is likely to increase apathy just as the boy who cried wolf!, Those who are convinced that it will never happen will become more convinced, possibly with good reason.

Of necessity, stations have been abandoning their analog signals nationwide as a result of transmitter or transmission line failures in their analog equipment, as these expensive components are not economical to repair or replace for the short time before the transition. These analog cut-offs have been accomplished without major issues. I read where television stations in the entire state of Hawaii, have made the transition and have ended analog broadcasts without a great deal of anguish amongst the populace.

The reality is that the February 17th date was set as a grace period for everyone to make final preparations. Television stations nationwide are consuming vast amounts of energy and paying the resulting astronomically high electric bills to keep two very high power transmitters running until the analog transmitter can be powered down. The analog transmitters, transmission lines and antennas in many cases, are old and have suffered from deferred maintenance while priority has been given to installing the digital counterparts. Scarce and tightly booked tower crews have been scheduled to make any necessary adjustments to the antennas and feed lines. Canceling them and then rescheduling them will be a scheduling and financial nightmare. All made worse by the problems presented as a result of Station A not being able to broadcast digital or full power digital until Station B vacates the frequency that they are using.

People have ordered coupons, gone from store to store, in some cases for weeks to find a stock of converter boxes, connected them - or purchased digital high definition televisions in preparation and have been watching digital television for months. All because the powers that be have been adamant that. "this is it folks".

I regret that there will be a few, and I believe on balance, a very few people who are so detached from Society that they have no one in their lives that can help them install a converter box and scan for the channels who will not understand what has happened. I have a couple of retired friends who are involved in meals on wheels that prepare food and deliver it to the elderly and infirm daily. There is no reason why concerned retirees cannot do the same for those truly in need of help with DTV.

I have a couple of relatives and neighbors who are DTV ready  or at least as DTV ready as one can be until the change actually occurs, but they will need  a little help rescanning their tuners after KWTV 9, KETA 13 and 46 (Daystar) complete their flash-cuts back to their old analog frequencies. Right now, according to the table I looked at today, all three plan to cease analog broadcasts and flash-cut their frequencies on February 17. Id like to be able to plan so that Im in town when it happens.

I say let's pull the plug, start working the resulting issues, and get this behind us.

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## windowphobe

I still think they should have scheduled the cutover for the 31st of January.  You _know_ people would have gotten off their duffs if they thought the Super Bowl was at risk.

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## TaoMaas

> If I were a politician, Id recognize that grandpa Simpson is going to find something to be unhappy about and he might as well be pitching a fit about his TV next month instead of closer to the next election.



That's true for some of these folks, but the reason I brought that up earlier is because I belong to an organization that has a lot of retired folks in it.  Many were business owners or executives when they were working, so they know how to organize, they know how to get things done, and they have plenty of time to devote to those purposes.
  Just out of curiosity, what do you expect will change once we do the digital changeover?  How will your life be better?  I understand the costs to the local stations regarding operating two transmitters.  That's not what I'm talking about.  Are you looking forward to having all the subchannels available?  Are you hoping for more HD content?  Or are you just tired of hearing about it and are ready to get on with it?

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## drumsncode

> I wouldn't expect the house's defeat of the delay to be the last we've heard of it.  
> 
> The thing is, is that in June there are still going to be plenty of people not ready.  There have been reports that bunches of converter coupons that were sent to citizens have gone unused.  We're never going to have 100% readiness.  The best way to get people ready is to switch and when their TV goes blank they'll realize the transition was for real.  This thing has been postponed a handful of times in the past decade anyway.


The "unused coupon" thing touches a nerve with me.  I'm quite sure lots of people tried to use their coupons, but by the time the government mailed them they often had far less than the normal amount of time to do so.  The fact that they had something like a 90-day expiration is ridiculous in the first place.  

The problem was really compounded by the fact that the stores could not keep the converter boxes stocked.  WalMart told me they were selling easily a hundred a day from one store, so they'd only be on the shelf about a day or two, then they were gone.  

My mother ran into this problem.  Her coupons expired and I had to get a friend to order some for her.  

And how many people think that the manufacturers of these converters hiked the prices up knowing that we'd be getting a forty dollar discount?  The RCA box was the only one that was remotely affordable at 50 dollars.

Anyway, this is just your typical government stupidity in action.

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## traxx

> The "unused coupon" thing touches a nerve with me.  I'm quite sure lots of people tried to use their coupons, but by the time the government mailed them they often had far less than the normal amount of time to do so.  The fact that they had something like a 90-day expiration is ridiculous in the first place.  
> 
> The problem was really compounded by the fact that the stores could not keep the converter boxes stocked.  WalMart told me they were selling easily a hundred a day from one store, so they'd only be on the shelf about a day or two, then they were gone.  
> 
> My mother ran into this problem.  Her coupons expired and I had to get a friend to order some for her.  
> 
> And how many people think that the manufacturers of these converters hiked the prices up knowing that we'd be getting a forty dollar discount?  The RCA box was the only one that was remotely affordable at 50 dollars.
> 
> Anyway, this is just your typical government stupidity in action.


You're laying blame at the feet of the wrong people.

1.  Most all coupons have an expiration date.

2.  I just looked up BB and found two for $50 and one for $60.

3.  Not being able to keep them in stock is a fault of the manufacturers and the retailers.  Not government.

----------


## drumsncode

> You're laying blame at the feet of the wrong people.
> 
> 1.  Most all coupons have an expiration date.
> 
> 2.  I just looked up BB and found two for $50 and one for $60.
> 
> 3.  Not being able to keep them in stock is a fault of the manufacturers and the retailers.  Not government.


True on #3, there's plenty of blame to go around.  

The whole thing stinks though.  The expiration was too short.  Now they have to spend thousands more to add computer programming to their system to keep track of and re-issue expired, unused coupons and all that stuff.

It's just typical government, just like everything else we hear about lately.  They try and put together a "stimulus package" for our economy; we've got people starving to death and losing their houses and their life savings, and some idiot in Congress is putting pork into the bill pertaining to condoms.  News flash: We've already been screwed, I think it's a little late for condoms.

Gee, maybe they'll issue coupons for those too, with an expiration date and only two allowed per household.  I can hardly wait!

----------


## bluedogok

I went to the Going out of business sale" at Circuit City a couple of weekends ago and they had a stack of about 50 converter boxes. That was just at one store, this "transition" has been going on for a few years, if people were really that interested they could have done it well before the deadline got close.

I do think the short time the coupons are valid is a bit stupid, they should have expired until the middle of this year. If there were two allocated per household, then someone got mine. I never tried to get them but I have satellite so I didn't "need" them but if they did I can buy one on my own.

----------


## woodyrr

The poor little blue-haired old lady is at it again!

Spike Feresten Takes on the DTV Delay | BC Beat | Blog on Broadcasting & Cable - 10809

----------


## traxx

> True on #3, there's plenty of blame to go around.  
> 
> The whole thing stinks though.  The expiration was too short.  Now they have to spend thousands more to add computer programming to their system to keep track of and re-issue expired, unused coupons and all that stuff.
> 
> It's just typical government, just like everything else we hear about lately.  They try and put together a "stimulus package" for our economy; we've got people starving to death and losing their houses and their life savings, and some idiot in Congress is putting pork into the bill pertaining to condoms.  News flash: We've already been screwed, I think it's a little late for condoms.
> 
> Gee, maybe they'll issue coupons for those too, with an expiration date and only two allowed per household.  I can hardly wait!


You're not gonna make me feel sorry for people that overextended themselves on a house or owned 2  houses because they thought it be fun to flip and who thought credit was the answer to everything.

I live in a house I can afford and don't use credit.  I am not feeling the effects of the economic downturn.  

Maybe instead of an economic stimulus package we should get people an economic education package -- "Gov't. was never meant to be our daddy and bail us out when we make stupid decisions.  Credit isn't magic...at some point you have to pay the piper."

----------


## drumsncode

> You're not gonna make me feel sorry for people that overextended themselves on a house or owned 2  houses because they thought it be fun to flip and who thought credit was the answer to everything.
> 
> I live in a house I can afford and don't use credit.  I am not feeling the effects of the economic downturn.  
> 
> Maybe instead of an economic stimulus package we should get people an economic education package -- "Gov't. was never meant to be our daddy and bail us out when we make stupid decisions.  Credit isn't magic...at some point you have to pay the piper."


I agree with everything you're saying!  The thing that is killing so many people is stock market fraud; that's what wiped out the savings of so many people, people who "did everything right" according to the rules of investing and diversification, but still lost huge sums over the past twelve months.  It's hard to play the stock market "game" when it's rigged with lying, cheating, stealing CEO's and brokerage firms.

I too, have no sympathy for people that bought 500k houses on a 200k budget.  My main complaint (among many) is putting pork on all these bills lately.  It's insane.

Anyway, about those converter boxes.  As of 11am at WalMart on Santa Fe and Danforth, they had about 14 Magnavox ones left on the shelves.  If you need one, hurry.

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## TaoMaas

It looks like Congress just voted to push the transition date back to June 12th.

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## CuatrodeMayo

Assinine.  Completely.

----------


## danielf1935

I agree this delay is assinine, all we have heard for the past 1--1 1/2 years is that "change is coming". On June 12th, there will still be several not ready and asking for more time.

But then again, when has, the Federal Goverment ever met or kept a deadline.

----------


## TaoMaas

Here's what I'm wondering....Cox's website says they're committed to feeding standard def signals for at least the next 3 years.  Okay...then what?  Is that going to be the end of standard def or is there a good chance they'll extend it beyond that?  Will everyone who is currently on cable and have been told over and over that they don't have to do anything for the transition suddenly need digital tuners or have to upgrade to digital cable?

----------


## Marko

> Assinine.  Completely.




Completely.......Part of the problem is "people" are buying the boxes with the coupons then.....are you ready for this?

Taking the boxes back to the store so that they can get the full refund for the $40 plus whatever they may have paid for the box? Please tell me this is untrue? Anyone?

 :Ohno:

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## bluedogok

> Here's what I'm wondering....Cox's website says they're committed to feeding standard def signals for at least the next 3 years.  Okay...then what?  Is that going to be the end of standard def or is there a good chance they'll extend it beyond that?  *Will everyone who is currently on cable and have been told over and over that they don't have to do anything for the transition suddenly need digital tuners or have to upgrade to digital cable?*


More than likely that will be what is required. Cable companies have always pushed their own converter boxes.

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## BB37

Reportedly, KFOR has announced that they're killing their analog signal on 2/17 as originally scheduled.  Hopefully the other local stations will follow suit.

----------


## Thunder

All of the stations need to go ahead as planned.  Ignore what Obama begged for.  No need to burden the stations with more costs.

----------


## oneforone

> Here's what I'm wondering....Cox's website says they're committed to feeding standard def signals for at least the next 3 years.  Okay...then what?  Is that going to be the end of standard def or is there a good chance they'll extend it beyond that?  Will everyone who is currently on cable and have been told over and over that they don't have to do anything for the transition suddenly need digital tuners or have to upgrade to digital cable?


I would like to think by that time cox will have a basic digital box for the basic cable subscribers that will rent out for minimal fee. (IE:$3-$5)

I would hate to think that Cox will slam the door on people who just want basic TV service. Cox's low cost service at one time catered to the people with rabbit ears who had fight analog reception problems on 4 and 5.

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## woodyrr

> Reportedly, KFOR has announced that they're killing their analog signal on 2/17 as originally scheduled.  Hopefully the other local stations will follow suit.


Please refer to:

RabbitEars.Info

Four lines from the top:

For stations ignoring the potential Congressional delay of the transition date, please click here.

The link is to a nationwide list, that is updated daily, of stations and the dates that they are scheduled to cease analog broadcasts.

According to the list, and a MS Excel spreadsheet that is available on the linked page above, as it stands now irrespective of the June 12 DTV delay, in Oklahoma, the following stations have notified the Federal Communications Commission that they will terminate their analog signal as originally planned:

On February 5, 2009: KXII 12 in Ardmore.

On February 17, 2009

KFOR 4 Oklahoma City
KWTV 9 Oklahoma City	
KWET 12 Cheyenne
KETA 13 Oklahoma City
KOKH 25 Oklahoma City	
KOCB 34 Oklahoma City
KAUT 43 Oklahoma City
KOCM 46 Norman
KOET 3 Eufaula
KOTV 6 Tulsa
KOED 11 Tulsa
KQCW 19 Tulsa
KSWO 7 Lawton

To date, KOCO TV 5 is not on the list. KSWO 7 in Lawton supposed to kill their analog signal so, assuming that KSWO shuts analog transmissions down, and provided that KOCO has approval to do so, channel 5 can boost the power of their digital signal to post analog cut off power. Their digital antenna is not at the top of the tower, unfortunately, and it is not scheduled to be relocated until 2010 so there are still likely to be channel 5 coverage issues, but those issues would be the same after a June 12 analog cut off regardless.

We just need to watch and see how many of those follow through, which are considerate enough to announce it in advance, and how many just quietly throw the switch on February 17. It looks like the prudent course for anybody in Oklahoma who receives television over the air from a full power analog television station and for whom television is important is to have  something  with a digital tuner before February 17. Those that are DTV ready will need to rescan the television spectrum on February 17 to find those stations that flash-cut from one frequency to another.

----------


## SoonerDave

> More than likely that will be what is required. Cable companies have always pushed their own converter boxes.


Methinks I read somewhere that the cable companies and the FCC came to a quiet agreement that they will provide a cheap, basic analog cable service for something like three years after the DTV transition time.

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## traxx

> Please refer to:
> 
> RabbitEars.Info
> 
> Four lines from the top:
> 
> For stations ignoring the potential Congressional delay of the transition date, please click here.
> 
> The link is to a nationwide list, that is updated daily, of stations and the dates that they are scheduled to cease analog broadcasts.
> ...


I hope this is true but I wonder if it'll change after Obama signs the bill.  I would love for the Lawton station to go ahead and vacate the analog frequency and for KOCO to boost their digital signal.  Channel 5 is the only one I can't get OTA.

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## woodyrr

> I hope this is true but I wonder if it'll change after Obama signs the bill.  I would love for the Lawton station to go ahead and vacate the analog frequency and for KOCO to boost their digital signal.  Channel 5 is the only one I can't get OTA.


Thats why I included the link. I look at it every morning to see who has been added. We might find that over the next few days Oklahoma City stations might be deleted, at least while they take care of the paperwork needed to reinforce to the FCC their intention to discontinue analog on the 17th.

Both KFOR 4 and KWTV 9 ran stories this evening (Thursday) reiterating their intention to shut down analog broadcasts on the February 17th regardless of the delay.

----------


## BB37

It'll be interesting to see which stations _don't_ switch on 2/17.  And even though the bill just passed by Congress gives stations the option to switch on 2/17, I wonder if BO and his FCC try to pressure stations to honor the delay?

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## woodyrr

Below is an AP story posted this afternoon.

The good news is that in Oklahoma City, among others, KWTV 9 and KETA 13 (the two stations in the market that will need to flash-cut to a different frequency after analog shut down) have now said that they plan to shut down analog on February 17. In the case of KWTV and KFOR at 1 pm. Those of us with OTA digital tuners can rescan the band at some point on February 17 or 18, and move on with our lives (yippee!) leaving the digital transition behind and leaving those other stations that are already broadcasting on their final digital channel assignments to run analog until they are bankrupt if they so desire. The other good news is that KSWO 7 in Lawton plans to discontinue analog as well clearing the path for KOCO 5 to increase their power.

The bad news is that KOCO is not mentioned in the article and I read in another thread that Hearst / Argyle (which owns KOCO) has agreed to keep the vast majority of their stations broadcasting analog until June 15. Whether or not KOCO is one of those stations remains to be seen and if they are the question becomes, will they be able to increase their digital signal without interfering with their analog signal. If KOCO holds back, those in fringe KOCO digital reception areas with early model converter boxes than don't have analog pass through are going to find themselves in a bind (that is if they want to watch channel 5).

Anything can happen, of course, but I infer from those interviewed (both in the AP article and the engineer at KFOR in their story today), that they seemed pretty adamant that it would require extraordinary circumstances to prevent analog shutdown at their stations on February 17 - and I can't say that I blame them. 

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-tv-statio...ad_story_title

----------


## Buickcarnut

All I can say...hats off to all the stations that go ahead and make the transition on the 17th. It appears that 4, 5, 9, 13, 25, 34 and 43 are going to make the jump. Congress and especially Senator Waxman should have their head examined by pulling the rug out at the last minute and creating viewer confusion. Let OKC show'em how it's done!!!

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## TaoMaas

Remember when the Nielsen ratings were revised because the viewers from KFOR's digital signal weren't being counted?  I wonder if that is playing into KOCO's hesitation to commit to  a Feb. 17th changeover.  If all the other channels switch, that would leave KOCO as the only channel who would have both analog and digital viewers to be counted.  Could they be thinking that their analog numbers might jump once the other stations quit providing that service and could possibly account for enough rating points to move them ahead in some newscasts?  Nielsen has suspended their ratings period for Feb., so the next one would be May.  Since the July book isn't taken that seriously, if KOCO made a significant gain in the May book, they could enjoy that gain until the Nov. ratings.  Eh...it's a thought.

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## drumsncode

> Remember when the Nielsen ratings were revised because the viewers from KFOR's digital signal weren't being counted?  I wonder if that is playing into KOCO's hesitation to commit to  a Feb. 17th changeover.  If all the other channels switch, that would leave KOCO as the only channel who would have both analog and digital viewers to be counted.  Could they be thinking that their analog numbers might jump once the other stations quit providing that service and could possibly account for enough rating points to move them ahead in some newscasts?  Nielsen has suspended their ratings period for Feb., so the next one would be May.  Since the July book isn't taken that seriously, if KOCO made a significant gain in the May book, they could enjoy that gain until the Nov. ratings.  Eh...it's a thought.


Interesting points.  KOCO definitely needs all the help it can get.  

Are you sure the next ratings period isn't March?  Here's my source:
Nielsen Ratings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They moved it from February to March so that certain special TV events would not skew the ratings.  (I assume that 's the Grammys and such)

----------


## TaoMaas

> Are you sure the next ratings period isn't March?  Here's my source:
> Nielsen Ratings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> They moved it from February to March so that certain special TV events would not skew the ratings.  (I assume that 's the Grammys and such)


You could be right.  I thought they'd suspended it all together.  However, I think the reason they changed it is because of the digital transition (not tv special events).  The CBS stations are screwed up all during March because of the NCAA basketball tournament and have been for quite some time.

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## woodyrr

It is my understanding that it was the sweeps rating period that was delayed so that it didn't occur during the analog cutoff.

I believe that Nielsen is metering households as usual.

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## BB37

> You could be right.  I thought they'd suspended it all together.  However, I think the reason they changed it is because of the digital transition (not tv special events).


That explains why the February programming has been so blah to date.  My favorite network show (_NCIS_) opened February with a rerun, which normally _never_ happens.  Normally during a sweeps month, the local news programs run all these shocking 'exposes' of various subjects (especially KFOR), but so far, just the normal guns and car crashes.

----------


## bsmall

> Remember when the Nielsen ratings were revised because the viewers from KFOR's digital signal weren't being counted?  I wonder if that is playing into KOCO's hesitation to commit to  a Feb. 17th changeover.  If all the other channels switch, that would leave KOCO as the only channel who would have both analog and digital viewers to be counted.  Could they be thinking that their analog numbers might jump once the other stations quit providing that service and could possibly account for enough rating points to move them ahead in some newscasts?  Nielsen has suspended their ratings period for Feb., so the next one would be May.  Since the July book isn't taken that seriously, if KOCO made a significant gain in the May book, they could enjoy that gain until the Nov. ratings.  Eh...it's a thought.


I just noticed that KOCO has updated the message they scroll across the screen to the June date. There are now 127 days remaining of KOCO's analog broadcast.

----------


## BB37

> I just noticed that KOCO has updated the message they scroll across the screen to the June date. There are now 127 days remaining of KOCO's analog broadcast.


KOCO supposedly has some technical issues to resolve with their DTV transmitter and antenna; that may be behind their decision to delay the switchover, but ratings could have a hand in it as well.

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## traxx

The real issue with KOCO is the channel out of Lawton.  If the Lawton channel changes over on Feb. 17 then that clears the way for KOCO.  KOCO has been running DTV for some time now, they've just been limiting their power so as  not to interfere with the Lawton channel's analog signal.  If the Lawton channel switches solely to DTV, it remains to be seen if KOCO boosts their digital signal power.  If all that happens that should really help out viewers in the metro area, including myself.  **Fingers Crossed**

I noticed over the weekend several of the local stations running scrolls that said they intend to switch on Feb. 17 as was originally planned by the government.

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## drumsncode

> KOCO supposedly has some technical issues to resolve with their DTV transmitter and antenna; that may be behind their decision to delay the switchover, but ratings could have a hand in it as well.


The way KOCO is "spinning it", they are making it sound like a patriotic decision to support Obama and our Congress, almost as if the other stations deciding to go ahead as originally planned is an unpatriotic snub.

Imagine that --- a station spinning the news to fit its own agenda! 

They actually mentioned their parent company, which may have the most to do with the decision.  Hearst-Argyle may have strong ties to the Obama administration, you just never know anymore why people do the things they do.

Anyway, to heck with converter boxes, go out and buy that giant Hi-Def TV  you always wanted, stimulate the economy!  Debt is a beautiful thing! (I promise!) ;-)

----------


## traxx

> Anyway, to heck with converter boxes, go out and buy that giant Hi-Def TV  you always wanted, stimulate the economy!  *Debt is a beautiful thing! (I promise!)* ;-)


Funny!  Isn't that the whole reason we need to stimulate the economy, bad debt.

----------


## woodyrr

Since the newscast this morning, KFOR 4 has decided to be "patriotic". That probably means KAUT as well. KWTV had stopped running the continuous crawl on the analog signal.

I think that the whole thing has just come undone.

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## drumsncode

> Funny!  Isn't that the whole reason we need to stimulate the economy, bad debt.


You bet!  It was intended as a joke, that's why I put the wink at the end.

Yeah, we've got tens of thousands of fools who went into excessive debt and brought down our economy, combined with the criminals on Wall Street, and now the hard-working frugal people are sitting on a nest-egg half the size it was a couple years ago.

We need some good old-fashioned rioting in the streets.  It would do this country a world of good! :-)

In troubled times like these, I'm thankful that I have Krispy Kreme to turn to for comfort.

----------


## TaoMaas

> In troubled times like these, I'm thankful that I have Krispy Kreme to turn to for comfort.



Uh oh...enjoy 'em while you can.  I was reading an article earlier today that listed Krispy Kreme as one of the companies that may go under this year.  They expanded too far, too fast and now they can't generate enough revenue to cover the loans they took out for that expansion.

----------


## oneforone

I just wonder if the June date will actually take place. I predict this date will probably be set back a couple of more times so that granny and Ed the Cheapskate can have a box given to them from a family member or pick one up at a garage sale. We all know by the time the government sets a date in stone the boxes will have been upgraded with new features.

----------


## traxx

Since when did TV become a right?  What about those without TVs?  Shouldn't we start a coupon program to buy them TVs so they can watch "America's Got Crap."

----------


## TaoMaas

> Since when did TV become a right?  What about those without TVs?  Shouldn't we start a coupon program to buy them TVs so they can watch "America's Got Crap."



True, it's not a right to own a tv.  But since the airwaves are generally thought of as belonging to the public (and the government is planning to make money off of this inconvenience to everyone), perhaps they feel obligated to make this whole thing as painless as possible.

----------


## drumsncode

KOCO reiterated its position tonight on the 5pm show to go with the new delay, and they had their boss in an interview telling us that 20,000 people in this area are not ready!  Amazing.  I get the feeling that KOCO is hoping to snag 20,000 new viewers if KWTV, KFOR, and FOX25 change over early.  

Even though Paul Folger intro'ed the story and spouted the "patriotic" spin, it looks like its all about ratings.  Gee, why am I not surprised? ;-)

----------


## woodyrr

Using *just* the population of Oklahoma County in 2000 (701,807) 

Oklahoma County, Oklahoma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and not factoring in the population of the entire viewing area, that is 97.2% of the population being DTV ready. On another board it has been mentioned that the original goal for pre cut off readiness was 85%. I think that I'd work real hard to come up with a better rationalization than that. If he meant households instead of people that's still 92.5%, not as impressive, but still pretty good  - and that's still confined to Oklahoma County.

On the other hand, although KFOR has, indeed, decided to move analog cut off to June 12, KWTV ran their crawl during the 6 pm. newscast this evening and all four OETA stations are on the updated termination list with a February 17 date.

RabbitEars.Info

----------


## oneforone

> KOCO reiterated its position tonight on the 5pm show to go with the new delay, and they had their boss in an interview telling us that 20,000 people in this area are not ready!  Amazing.  I get the feeling that KOCO is hoping to snag 20,000 new viewers if KWTV, KFOR, and FOX25 change over early.  
> 
> Even though Paul Folger intro'ed the story and spouted the "patriotic" spin, it looks like its all about ratings.  Gee, why am I not surprised? ;-)


I delivered televisions for 5 years. I can only think of a handful that had rabbit ears.  Most had cable or satellite hooked up to at least one TV in the house. 6 out of every 10 of my customers had service through Cox.

It is very possible that many of those 20,000 are cable or satellite subscribers that only have service hooked up to one or two TV's in the house. The rest are on rabbit ears.

Not to mention KFOR and KOCO come in crappy over rabbit ears as it is. That reason alone is why I find it hard to believe that 20,000 people do not have converter boxes.

----------


## traxx

KSWO out of Lawton is still appearing to make the switch on Feb. 17.  I went to their site and it had a Feb. 17 digital countdown at the top of the page.  They have a section called Digital Wizard but it mainly just links to outside websites.  It doesn't give any info on the KSWO station itself.

----------


## BB37

KFOR has apparently flip-flopped.  In this morning (Tuesday)'s DOK, KFOR stated they're now delaying channel 4's cutoff until June.  They ARE going to switch over sister station KAUT-43 next week, however.

----------


## traxx

According to this document:  http://kswo.images.worldnow.com/imag...KSWOFCC388.pdf

KSWO out of Lawton plans to shut off analog broadcast on February 17.  Go to page 6 and the second comment box explains this.  Hopefully that means I can get KOCO over the air after that.

----------


## SoonerDave

> I just wonder if the June date will actually take place. I predict this date will probably be set back a couple of more times so that granny and Ed the Cheapskate can have a box given to them from a family member or pick one up at a garage sale. We all know by the time the government sets a date in stone the boxes will have been upgraded with new features.


At this point, I think it will *never* happen. The transition will become entirely optional.

Pathetically ridiculous.

----------


## traxx

> At this point, I think it will *never* happen. The transition will become entirely optional.
> 
> Pathetically ridiculous.


If President Obama had been our President back in the '50s we'd still be watching black and white television today.

----------


## SoonerDave

> If President Obama had been our President back in the '50s we'd still be watching black and white television today.


HAH. We'd still be listening to _AM radio_ because there'd be six people under some rock that couldn't spell "TV" without a dictionary and eight weeks notice.

----------


## Thunder

I believe it is unpatriotic to delay the switch.  Another failure on Obama's part and another failure on Congress' part for doing what their Messiah want.

----------


## bluedogok

> At this point, I think it will *never* happen. The transition will become entirely optional.
> 
> Pathetically ridiculous.


It will happen...sometime. The lure of the $19 Billion they expect to get from auctioning off the spectrum will win over the enough of the ones who want to prolong the transition.

----------


## blangtang

i was at home during the storms yesterday, flipping around.  sometime around 3 or 4 pm, the signal completely died for both channel 4 and 9 on my converter box.  poof!  not sure why.  fox 25 came thru just fine.  about 10 minutes after the dead signal 4 came back and a little later 9 returned.  I live in norman, dont get channel 5 (yet).

any ideas what that was about?

----------


## Matt

No ideas, but the same thing happened to me, OTA.

Glad I'm not the only one--thought it may have been my equipment.

----------


## blangtang

> No ideas, but the same thing happened to me, OTA.
> 
> Glad I'm not the only one--thought it may have been my equipment.


well

----------


## blangtang

> No ideas, but the same thing happened to me, OTA.
> 
> Glad I'm not the only one--thought it may have been my equipment.


well i'm thinkin its gettin to be worse now than when over the air analog existed w/o restriction.  

my main point is that i hope the signal does not cut out when some severe weather is headed my way.  and thats what happened...yesterday.....

i'm pissed this whole exercise is about shifting electromagnetic spectrum waves from tv to cell phone companies.

signed,

mr. no cable/no satellite

----------


## oneforone

Anybody see the Simpsons's last night? Last night's (Sunday 2-15) was in HD. The Simpson's even had a HDTV in place of the old console. It was pretty funny how it fell off the wall after the couch gag. It was almost like a jab to those who are still not ready for the change to digital. Slack ass half-wit Homer Simpson who spends the bulk his money on doughnuts and duff beer still managed to upgrade his family. So why can't the rest of America? During the episode they showed an outside shot of Moe's with a banner "Now in Hi-Def."





Good stuff.

----------


## metro

FYI, digital is not HD, but HD is digital.

----------

