More Mixed DTV News from GAO
Government Accountability Office Reports Good News, Bad News on Digital-TV Transition at House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Hearing
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/10/2008 1:03:00 PM
According to new Government Accountability Office findings, there is good news and bad news about the progress of the digital-TV-transition consumer-awareness campaign.
The good news is that 84% of the people surveyed know that the transition is happening, House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass) said. The troubling news, he added -- and data suggested that consumers do not yet fully understand the ramifications -- is that almost one-half of those who need to do something to still watch TV on some or all of their sets had inadequate plans or no plans to address that problem.
That came at a hearing in the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Tuesday on "The Status of the DTV Transition: 252 Days & Counting." The hearing was prompted by a GAO study finding significant progress toward the Feb. 17, 2009, cutoff of full-power analog-TV signals, but also significant challenges remaining.
During his testimony on the GAO findings, Mark Goldstein, GAO's director of physical-infrastructure issues, who helped to assemble that information, also said that while more than one-half of those polled knew about the government's converter-box-subsidy program, only one-third of those knew how to get the boxes.
Goldstein pointed out that one-third of those who didn't need the converter boxes or coupons were going to apply for them anyway, which could wind up being a drain on the funds for the program.
That funding was a hot topic at the hearing.
A number of legislators have pushed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to allow consumers to reapply for the $40 DTV converter-box coupons -- which expire in 90 days -- pointing to reports of the lack of boxes on store shelves.
The NTIA's Bernadette McGuire-Rivera, who testified at the hearing, said the agency’s lawyers might disagree over whether it has the authority to reissue the coupons, adding that the cost of doing so was also a problem. The 90-day expiration is in the law directing the NTIA to institute the program, so it may take a change to that law to allow for the change.
According to McGuire-Rivera, some 464,000 coupons expired without being used, or about 58% of the 800,000 that already reached their expiration dates.
The expiration date was mandated in part to avoid fraud, but McGuire-Rivera conceded that the NTIA already had to step in. It decertified about one-dozen retailers -- she called them "bad apples" -- that were putting consumers on waiting lists for boxes, getting them to "swipe" their cards so that they could collect the $40 subsidy and then keeping them waiting for boxes that never arrived.
She said the NTIA was asking stores that did not have the boxes not to "swipe" the cards until boxes were in stock.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) complained about the lack of boxes, saying that the stores in his district were all out of stock, with no clear idea of when they would arrive. He pointed out that RadioShack agreed to take the coupon and mail the box free-of-charge when it came in, and he wondered why all stores weren't doing that.
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Mr. Sherman is right. If the broadcast industry is serious about reasserting its primacy in the TV universe, it would promote "FREE HDTV" and offer incentives to viewers who install rooftop antennas. How about a merchandising tie-in with Radio Shack and other antenna sellers? How about subleasing DTV channels in major markets to a powerhouse like the NFL -- driving viewers into the antenna stores so they can get their FREE HDTV sports network? Who's going to be the first entrepreneur to create a chain of "FREE HDTV Antenna Co.'s"? Remember the old Honeymooners logo, with the TV antennas gleaming in the moonlight? Why isn't the NAB touting "FREE HDTV -- OTA TV"? OTA is the acronym that is cable's biggest fear... but broadcasters are promoting digital to analog converters instead of FREE HDTV -- OVER THE AIR. "The airwaves are free... and so is HDTV -- Over the Air HDTV." There's your tagline... now who's going to be the first broadcaster to put BROADCASTING FIRST?
Adam Smith - 6/12/2008 12:14:00 AM EDT -
There are many converter boxes on the market, with more coming. As with any new technology, their quality, efficiency and price vary considerably. So the selection of a converter box will be an important variable to desired digital reception.
But an even larger variable is the choice of the right digital antenna.
While cable and satellite program providers will continue to serve the great majority of homes as the primary signal source, missing HD local reception, compression issues, higher costs, billing add-ons, service outages, contact difficulties, in-home service waits and no shows have left many of these subscribers looking to OTA antennas as a good alternatives.
Most TV consumers think of antennas as low-tech devices, but there is more behind some of the newer antenna designs than just bent metal and plastic. Many of the TV antenna designs on the market today such as the Yagi and rabbit ears have technology roots going back 30 to 50 years or more.
The switch to digital broadcasts however is bringing consumers back to Off-Air reception and the increasing sales are providing the motivation and investments necessary to develop new models and new technology. The fact that most designs on the market now were developed prior to the advent of much of the computer technology, software and algorithms in common use today has left open numerous avenues to improve upon tried and true designs and develop new ones. Additionally, recent regulations and standards are opening new doors for antenna engineers to develop smaller antennas with improved performance and aesthetics.
The correct antenna, installed and aimed properly, unimpeded by obstacles such as building, hills, trees, etc. will receive desired local stations in range it’s aimed at. And the new antennas, working with the newer generation ATSC chips will mitigate multi-path (bounced signals, including multi-cast programming adding several additional local off-air programs and several in HD almost completely uncompressed, not available from cable or satellite. Some viewers may even be able to receive out-of-town channels, carrying blacked out sports programs or network broadcasts not available in their home town. As an added benefit, an OTA antenna provides reception for second sets in homes not wired for whole-house signal distribution.
Depending on the level of desire to receive an excellent picture and multiple broadcast signals, considering the investment in HDTV entertainment already made by many viewers, shouldn’t they consider up-grading to a new digital OTA antenna or adding one to their reception options?
To check out free OTA options, viewers can go to antennapoint.com to easily locate the broadcast stations within range, aiming directions and other OTA helpful information.
Michael Sherman - 6/11/2008 11:46:00 AM EDT -
Perhaps some people don't feel it's worth investing in anything new because of the lousy programs they are now viewing. No amount of gee-whiz technology is going to make them any better.
Arthur Muroff - 6/10/2008 9:54:00 PM EDT
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