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.

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Matt]

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Martin]

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

[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?

[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?????

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.....

[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.

[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!

[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.