Well dear reader, it is starting to look like we have been had.
I used the government web site to obtain a card for a $40 credit towards getting an analog to digital converter box for my TV last August. So, I am not one of those procrastinators that the recent discussions about not being prepared for the switch are about. Indeed, the procrastinators may be the wise ones.
In all the information that is out, there is very little mention of the fact that the digital signals are very much weaker than the current analog signals. That means that the government subsidized box you bought, as is the case for me, is pretty much useless. That is, you order the coupon, go to a store (where there is blessed little information available except that you can only return the digital box if it is defective), pay your share, take it home, install it, and do a scan where you find NOTHING. Then the meaning of all or nothing sinks in…
I know, caveat emptor, but it would have really been helpful if there had been a link on the web sites where you could put in your zip code and see plotted out the reach of digital signals in your market area. For people who didn’t have internet access, the businesses selling the converter boxes could have printed such maps for consumers to consult. This isn’t exactly rocket science, but maybe engineers had as little say as scientists in the Bush administration while this was going on.
So, it seems that extending the deadline for the conversion will be of little value to many of the people that it is intended to help. It will be just prolonging the realization that they are out of luck if they can’t afford cable or satellite subscriptions. That has turned out to be more of an issue now many families are feeling the pinch of the economy.
So, maybe people will need to develop some hobbies to fill the time formerly spent watching TV for entertainment. Might even be some good come of that if they start to exercise more or spend more time with friends and families. But, the analog stations had as part of their charter that because the “air waves” they were using were a public resource, they needed to devote a certain percentage of their air time to public interest programming and also things like emergency alerts for example to inform viewers of severe weather conditions.
It may not be too late to recover from this. My friends in Europe are continually amazed that our public broadcasting has to find commercial sponsors and solicit donations from viewers to remain in business. Perhaps a solution might be to designate one “Public” TV station per viewing market to continue broadcasting an analog signal for emergency broadcasts. The remainder of the time could be devoted to a subset of what is now considered “public TV” programming plus local news fed from the commercial digital stations. And, I think it would be very fair if the people who are profiting from the digital conversion pay the majority of the costs of broadcasting this analog signal.
