Is it official?

[cd637299]

Hi

Sorry if I am not up on the news as I oughta be, but I've yet to hear if it's definite, about a true delay on the analog shut-off.

Is it true that the delay is on? And, if it is, what is the new date for final shut-off?

I can somewhat deal with June, but if it goes through July, I'll still have to travel, and like I said b4, I'm not exactly a-twitter about it.

Any info would be appreciated.

cd

[w9wi]

Hi

Sorry if I am not up on the news as I oughta be, but I've yet to hear if it's definite, about a true delay on the analog shut-off.

Is it true that the delay is on? And, if it is, what is the new date for final shut-off?

I can somewhat deal with June, but if it goes through July, I'll still have to travel, and like I said b4, I'm not exactly a-twitter about it.

Any info would be appreciated.

cd

It's not final yet, the House hasn't voted on it and it hasn't been signed by the President.

From what I'm hearing, it's essentially certain the House will approve it, and since the President is one of the most vocal proponents of the bill I think we can assume he'll sign it.

The date specified is June 12th.

[mrhoover]

Well MSNBC is reporting this

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28863961/wid/11915829/?GT1=43001

Hugh

[cd637299]

I had read somewhere that PBS stations would be taking the most of a hit, and any TV stations to drop analog would not be penalized.

As ch 2 Miami is PBS......well you know what *I* want!

MrHoover, you can enjoy it a little longer! Just don't 4get to report!

cd

[mrhoover]

What I don't quite understand....

Will all stations delay or will some just change around Feb 17th as
intended?

Will there be this 30 day "Nightlight" transition after June 12th on all the
analog stations remaining or will it be some yes,some no?

As an "outsider" I'm a bit confused about all this,probably not the only
one:confused:
´
Hugh

[Danny]

As an "outsider" I'm a bit confused about all this,probably not the only
one:confused:



Well, Hugh, I live here, and I would be a lier if I claimed to understand all of this...

[cd637299]

To Hugh:

I think Danny sums it up pretty well!

I will say, that as far as which stations will shut off, and which will not, could depend on how much money a station has in its pockets. As I'd like WPBT to shut off its analog (after all, it has 3 DTV channels anyway), it could be likely, as PBS stations depend on viewer contributions/support.

Any "big 4" channel (CBS, NBC, ABC or Fox) likely will remain on, as they need all the viewers they can get: Ratings = $$$.

I feel that if the government did not run out of coupon funding, this whole mess would have been avoided. But for you, Hugh, keep looking out until June 12 (and hopefully this will be THE final date).

cd

[w9wi]

What I don't quite understand....

Will all stations delay or will some just change around Feb 17th as
intended?


Presuming this passes (and it almost certainly will) all stations are allowed to delay but none are forced to do so.

As of this morning, 76 stations had filed notice of intent to change on Feb. 17th. I expect quite a few more to do so. I will not be surprised if half of all stations (or more) go off on the 17th.

They include quite a few larger stations. Among them are three of the five largest stations here in Nashville (and a fourth smaller station).



Will there be this 30 day "Nightlight" transition after June 12th on all the
analog stations remaining or will it be some yes,some no?


Nothing has been said about Analog Nightlight.

Regarding the MSNBC report, indeed it is essentially certain this delay will happen. However, the fine details haven't been worked out yet -- at least as of this morning the legislation in the Senate and in the House were different. Both houses will have to pass identical bills before the legislation can be sent to President Obama for his signature.

I don't think there will be any *trouble* getting the two houses to agree, it just takes a bit of time to complete the formalities. I think the only real difference was the House version required the Commerce Department to send Congress reports on the usage of converter box coupons and on coverage gaps in rural areas.

[cd637299]

To Doug:

I think it would be a good idea to place a "sticky" or a link to the TV stations that have filed for intent to shut off their analog on Feb 17, or those who will plan to close prior to June 12, despite the delay.

I'd sure like to know myself which local stations are planning this. There ought to be a link on FCC.gov or somewhere about these stations.

Sure I could contact each and every station here, but I could imagine the CE of ch 2 WPBT: "Why, don't you like us anymore?" :)

cd

[indysteve]

DTV-Delay Bill Fails To Pass In House
House falls short of 2/3 majority required to approve moving date of DTV transition

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162898-DTV_Delay_Bill_Fails_To_Pass_In_House.php

[cd637299]

<Regis Philbin> Is this the final answer? </RP>

cd

[mrhoover]

Any chance of it coming back or as Chris says is the delay plan
"finished"?

The vote was 258 to 168 in favor of delaying the transition, but it needed a two-thirds majority to pass

Hugh

[Danny]

From what I understand, there *could* be another vote in the House, which would require only a simple majority to be passed.

[cd637299]

Well I am between a rock & a hard place here.....

Y'all here know that if it will go back to Feb 17 for good, I'll be smiling from ear to ear....but for those of you who are not able to catch a lotta foreign TV DX, I feel for you.

God willing, I'll do my best to report any "nuances" in my foreign analog TV DX from my home----stuff I could never have seen before, for obvious reasons.....

However....sometimes that is like "rubbing it in." Hmmmm.

(True, Puerto Rican TV will be off the list as well, so.....)

cd

[ES5NHC]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/29/digital_tv_delay_fails/ - Big Killoff will still be on Feb 17... Congress killed the delay.

I have pretty much given up analog TV DXing... although digital switch is more than a year away here(however, it has been completed in Sweden & Finland).

[Danny]

Well I am between a rock & a hard place here.....

However....sometimes that is like "rubbing it in." Hmmmm.


I know how you feel, but we should continue to report our DX. I always look forward to reading about your Latin America DX, even though there is little possibility of my ever receiving those stations. Ed Phelps, Roy Barstow, Jeff Kadet, and Greg Barker outdo most of us with their TV DX, but many DXers enjoy reading their reports.

[w9wi]

Any chance of it coming back or as Chris says is the delay plan
"finished"?

The vote was 258 to 168 in favor of delaying the transition, but it needed a two-thirds majority to pass

Hugh

See Danny's post above.

As I understand it, they were trying to short-circuit the normal committee process (due to the tight time constraints involved) but needed a 2/3 majority to do so. They came only two votes short of that two-thirds.

If they can rush it through the appropriate committees, they can bring it back to the House and only require a simple 50%+1 majority. There should be no trouble passing it that way.

So I still think this is pretty likely to pass.

WRT Chris's request, for a list of stations, it's on http://www.rabbitears.info and also on my site on http://www.w9wi.com/newweb/articles/ontimesignoff.html. My list however also includes stations that have already signed off analog, not just those that plan to do so on 2/17.

WRT ES5NHC's post, note that we will continue to have analog signals in Canada for two more years, in Mexico theoretically until 2020. (although I wonder if their transition will accelerate once there ceases to be a market for analog receivers in the US and Canada) Cuban stations are also often received here, and I know of no plans whatsoever for digital conversion in that country.

[mrhoover]

Just heard them mentioning this new vote possibility on NPR radio news.

In Europe Italy will be gone in analog by the end of next year.

Former Yugoslavian countries will be left + most of the former Soviet block countries using the "R" channels (49.75 MHz video etc).plus Portugal at the moment.

Then into the double or more Hops for me Iran,Jordan,Syria Dubai
who I don't think have any plans at the moment

This is a useful site about changeover plans in different countries

http://www.dvb.org/about_dvb/dvb_worldwide/index.xml

Hugh

[JeffK-PA]

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162998-DTV_Delay_Bill_Provides_No_Additional_Funding_For_ Coupon_Program.php