Seniors Still Aren’t Aware of Digital TV Transition - Perhaps they'll notice when the channels turn off
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baineschile @ 8th Aug 01:30PM:
They will be aware...
When the 3-4pm MATLOCK is a blank screen!!! Hopefully, the eyesight is still good enough where they notice.
Sorry, a bit insensitive. But...how many people that eat the bob evans early bird special come to this site...lets just all remind our grandparents.
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kljflower @ 8th Aug 01:32PM:
In our area they are running banner ads nearly every evening
Last night it was on during "Millionaire", so I can't imagine that in the Dayton, Ohio area that people aren't informed.
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Austinloop @ 8th Aug 01:33PM:
Unaware
Here, at least on the stations that we watch, there are "crawls" about the change, one of the stations gave away a wide screen a day for the month of July. I hear it mentioned periodically during early morning news programs and sometimes on the evening news shows.
Exactly what more can be done? It is being announced. I do not see how a large number can be unaware, unless they just pay no attention as to what is being said on the air.
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Camelot One @ 8th Aug 01:35PM:
I am not seeing this problem
Maybe Texans just pay more attention to the news. I haven't encountered a single Senior who wasn't aware of the transition. What I HAVE encountered is almost 100% misinformation about it, people who are convinced their TVs won't be able to pick up their cable and DirecTV/Dish programming when the transition occurs.
--
Intel Q6600 @3400Mhz/GA-EP35-DS3P/2x 2048Mb G.Skill/Seagate 750.10/EVGA 8800GT's SLI/Silverstone 850W/Custom water cooler
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en102 @ 8th Aug 01:37PM:
My inlaws (almost 80 years old)
Have been thinking the sky is falling after messages came out, worried that they'd have to pay for cable, and buy an HD TV. :p
I went and got them signed up for the cable box coupons.
They never bought them (too expensive)... didn't want to pay ~$19 from Radio Shack after rebate :uhh:
I took my coupon, went to Wal-Mart, bought a box, brought it over and hooked it up. Instantly, they had 58 OTA channels, including the subs (Los Angeles area).
Then they went and bought their own OTA boxes :p
--
Canada = Hollywood North
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chucky5150 @ 8th Aug 01:39PM:
Do more?
Other than going door to door what more will they do?
I'm sure my grandma (with no formal college education) had no idea what is going on or even why. The thing is she has her son that knows all about it.
I would bet that most of this Seniors have a family member or at least maybe a friend at the coffee shop that will know what happens when their TVs don't work.
--
Member of the US Air Force since May 7th, 2002 To March 29th, 2005
"You sneak up behind yourself and remove your pants before you realize what's going on." KOL
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antwanp @ 8th Aug 01:40PM:
Seniors are afraid of new technology...
From my experience as an IT consultant, and based on a little bit of opinion, that older people tend to simply ignore impending technological changes. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but more often than not, older people are scared of new tech/innovations.
-Antwan L.
--
The Perils of Living in 3-D: »www.antwanpayne.com
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insomniac84 @ 8th Aug 01:44PM:
Impossible
Those commercials have been spamming tv. If they actually use their tv, they know about the switch. If they don't watch tv, then it doesn't really matter if they know or not.
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dadkins @ 8th Aug 01:47PM:
How can you/they miss it?
Every few hours, on nearly all channels, there are those commercials for DTV.gov and Comcast(probably other cable/sat service) commercials telling *us* that they have us covered.
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DApYeDOez4
Guess Moms is above the curve... she's asked me about it.
Moms is 83.
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera
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BillRoland @ 8th Aug 01:54PM:
Who cares?
At this point, who cares? You have to be living under a rock or completely oblivious to life at this point NOT to know its coming. If they haven't bothered to be proactive and do anything about it, I'm not going to bother to feel sorry for them, simple as that.
Besides, why does this site act like the few dinosaurs still happy with OTA analog TV are some kind of huge majority and that the world is going to end when the signal goes off the air. When the cut off comes and their TV's go blank, they can either a) get a converter, b) just get used to not watching TV anymore. Either way the sun is still going to come up in the east.
Whats the big deal?
--
"Don't steal. The government hates competition."
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hamburglar_ @ 8th Aug 02:01PM:
Re: Do more?
said by chucky5150 :
I would bet that most of this Seniors have a family member or at least maybe a friend at the coffee shop that will know what happens when their TVs don't work.
Got my grandparents set up with a converter seeing they've never had cable or digital satellite (They did have C-Band before it was all scrambled back in the 80s). Being between markets with a modest 84" outside antenna, they get over 20 channels. They couldn't be happier, "no more snow".
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IanR @ 8th Aug 02:04PM:
We should care
Who cares?
Good neighbors should care.
Of course many seniors, at least those who have not embraced the digital revolution, will be caught by surprise and no amount of ads will help.
What to do?
We should start a neighbor care project.
Those of us with elderly neighbors, whom we know rely upon OTA for TV reception, should make a point of asking them if they have both a converter box AND have got their Coupon to pay for it. If the answer to eitrher is NO the WE should step in and assist our elderly neighbor.
Don't expect anyone to close the gap here, unless it is a caring neighbor.
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Austinloop @ 8th Aug 02:08PM:
Re: Who cares?
Really compassionate, aren't you?
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anon @ 8th Aug 02:19PM:
Perhaps they don't watch TV...
I just spent some time setting up a converter box for my sister (DTVPal, for its programming guide--which she needs); as part of that, and for fun, I set one up for myself (Zenith DTT901)--both of which work very well. And as part of testing and playing around with them, I had to actually watch some TV... I couldn't make it through the typical half-hour without seeing at least 2 PSA's for the digital transition. I think that if anyone is unaware of the "impending doom" of DTV, then they don't actually watch OTA TV... so they aren't really losing anything (as if TV were worth keeping; well, PBS is OK).
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Jwobot @ 8th Aug 02:32PM:
Old Antenna's don't work.
People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. They hook up their box with the old rabbit airs and don't get the channels. I have heard of people having this problem.
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hamburglar_ @ 8th Aug 02:39PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Jwobot :
People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital.
Incorrect. They may need an outdoor, or better antenna, but digital channels are both VHF and UHF. Most are UHF now, but many will go back to their old VHF channel after February. I installed a common outdoor antenna for my grandparents and pick up over 20 digital channels. »www.radioshack.com/product/index···=2103085
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Pashune @ 8th Aug 02:41PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
Ignore this post
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digitalfreak @ 8th Aug 02:43PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Jwobot :
People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. They hook up their box with the old rabbit airs and don't get the channels. I have heard of people having this problem.
ROFLMAO! Speaking of those who spread incorrect information....
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Pashune @ 8th Aug 02:43PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
20?
Wow, that's amazing. Even with an outdoor antenna at a few places I've lived we only got 5-6 channels (analog). Must be different for more rural areas I guess.
I don't watch enough TV to purchase an OTA setup (I have cable anyway)...but it would be an interesting experiment.
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Jwobot @ 8th Aug 02:44PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by hamburglar_ :said by Jwobot :
People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital.
Incorrect. They may need an outdoor, or better antenna, but digital channels are both VHF and UHF. Most are UHF now, but many will go back to their old VHF channel after February. I installed a common outdoor antenna for my grandparents and pick up over 20 digital channels. »
www.radioshack.com/product/index···=2103085 Well the news did a report on it and the guy got a digital antenna and it worked all fine. Plus not everyone can have outdoor antenna in the community they live in. I know I can't as I would be taken to court by my Apartment complex for distruction of their property.
Also it is not incorrect as they need a better antenna like you said and that would mean they need to buy one like I said. Plus the guy could not get digital tv using his old rabbit ears. There is nothing incorrect about this as people are having problems picking up the VHF and UHF channels with old rabbit ears.
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dustman81 @ 8th Aug 02:55PM:
Really? Wow
Really? My grandmother who live in the middle of nowhere and doesn't have a computer or Internet access knows about the upcoming transition as she has already purchased digital converter boxes for her TVs, using those $40 government coupons.
I know it's anecdotal, but I wouldn't think seniors would be that out of touch.
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evilghost @ 8th Aug 03:02PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
There is no such thing as a 'digital antenna' aside from marketing nonsense. VHF is VHF, UHF is UHF, regardless if it's analog or digital. What he probably purchased was an amplified antenna marketed as a HDTV/Digital antenna.
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hamburglar_ @ 8th Aug 03:06PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Jwobot :
Plus not everyone can have outdoor antenna in the community they live in. I know I can't as I would be taken to court by my Apartment complex for distruction of their property.
Incorrect again. »www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html
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punker @ 8th Aug 03:06PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Pashune :
20?
Wow, that's amazing. Even with an outdoor antenna at a few places I've lived we only got 5-6 channels (analog). Must be different for more rural areas I guess.
I don't watch enough TV to purchase an OTA setup (I have cable anyway)...but it would be an interesting experiment.
i can not get any channels OTA channels
analog or digital
the only choices are
ATT- Uverse ,TWC ,satellite(dish or DIRECTV)
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hamburglar_ @ 8th Aug 03:09PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Pashune :
20?
Wow, that's amazing. Even with an outdoor antenna at a few places I've lived we only got 5-6 channels (analog).
I was surprised myself. They are on Lake Erie between Toledo and Cleveland. They get most channels from both cities and a few from Detroit.
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dadkins @ 8th Aug 03:11PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Jwobot :
People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. They hook up their box with the old rabbit airs and don't get the channels. I have heard of people having this problem.
Uhm, no.
I bought an ATI Digital Tuner.
Wanna see the Killer OTA Digital HD antenna that came with it?
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera
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Mr Matt @ 8th Aug 03:13PM:
Re: We should care
said by IanR :
We should start a neighbor care project.
Don't expect anyone to close the gap here, unless it is a caring neighbor.
I do not want to sound like an ogre but I attempted to help a neighbor with a computer problem and was identified as the computer expert. Every time they had a problem with their computer they called me even though I am not a computer expert. They were disappointed when I could not solve a very complex problem and had to pay someone to fix their computer.
Anyone one helps with the conversion to DTV must understand that the helper is not the Local Television Engineer or they will be married to that seniors Television.
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older dog @ 8th Aug 03:16PM:
Re: Really? Wow
Most are not that out of touch. Many only pay attention to the news and maybe one or two other shows. the TV is on primarily as background fill noise.
After 50 or more years of practice at ignoring commercials I am sure many never notice the PSAs
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XPAMD @ 8th Aug 03:16PM:
You can't get any clearer than this:
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM-ypZh1wYs
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fireflier @ 8th Aug 03:18PM:
They'll just complain
Those who aren't aware of the digital transition by this point will probably take note of the static where a channel once was and complain how much more reliable things were "when they were growing up". . .
--
Tradition: Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid. --despair.com
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Jwobot @ 8th Aug 03:42PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
If that was allowed, then every apartment complex and condo would allow the tenets to have them. Not inncorrect again.
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hamburglar_ @ 8th Aug 03:46PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Jwobot :
If that was allowed, then every apartment complex and condo would allow the tenets to have them. Not inncorrect again.
Therein lies the problem. Most people are misinformed, like yourself.
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amigo_boy @ 8th Aug 03:48PM:
Re: My inlaws (almost 80 years old)
said by en102 :
Instantly, they had 58 OTA channels, including the subs (Los Angeles area).
I helped a 76-year-old woman a couple weeks ago. Someone else she knows ordered the coupon for her. I went and bought the Radio Shack converter and installed it for her. Oh my God. "I never had channel 7. I don't *want* channel 7 because I didn't have it before. ... I never had two channel 15's... I never had to push two buttons to turn the TV off."
No she sits all day and watches the new .2 channels that constantly display temperature, weather radar, traffic conditions.
Mark
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Jwobot @ 8th Aug 03:49PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
Oh yeah the whole state of Michigan (8 million+) is misinformed. Try again.
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hamburglar_ @ 8th Aug 03:53PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
If you actually _read_ the FCC fact sheet, it states that a balcony, patio, or other non-common area that is under your control cannot be put under restriction by your landlord or association. They may prevent you from drilling the wall to run the wire in, but there are other ways to get the cable into the dwelling. For example, »www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Coa···002KR74A
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keyboard5684 @ 8th Aug 03:56PM:
Re: They will be aware...
My Grandma has had Satellite for 2 years now.
It took 3 years to convince her it was far better for her than the KA band big satellite dishes (the ones you had to move to the satellite to watch whatever channel you needed). Before that she had an antenna.
Yes, take care of your Grandparents/parents and get them a dish (Directv preferably, it is better!) Really folks, it is up to us to do these things for them, they do not know about a lot of changes or care.
My Grandma would download one thing a week, "prayer requests" and stuff for church she needed. Took forever (on dial-up of course) but she could not see paying the difference. I payed for verizon DSL for her, the lower package, dry loop. She does not know what it is or care but she knows she does not have to wait 30 minutes and deal with dropped calls, etc.
So, again, get out there and do a senior a favor.
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keyboard5684 @ 8th Aug 04:01PM:
Re: Unaware
It is everywhere, on prime time TV and shows I watch.
I do not think it is the fact it is scrolling, posted everywhere, and notice is given. I think the problem is they do not understand. What do they do now? You expect seniors to run out, buy a box, and hook it up when there TV probably has not been touched in 10-20 years? NO!
And there are coupons, the only people that took advantage of those where mid-lower age people because they understood.
So annoy the hell out of me by scrolling that crap on EVERY show I watch is not going to help 70 year olds.
What would help is people actually taking action and doing it for them. This requires people to help including there grandchildren, children, neighbors, somebody to actually talk to them and try to help.
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Jwobot @ 8th Aug 04:02PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
Whether its called a Amplified or Digital antenna, it still pulls in the digital channels while people are having problems using plain old rabbit ears to pull them in and they have to upgrade to the Amplified "Digital" Antenna.
The fact that it is happening to other people, the public should be informed about this or else they will be left without TV and not knowing what is going on.
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baineschile @ 8th Aug 04:05PM:
Re: They will be aware...
Or a local cable company...where they dont have to learn a new remote, which might as well be quantam mechanics to them. WHATS A GUIDE BUTTON?!!?!?
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keyboard5684 @ 8th Aug 04:05PM:
Re: We should care
It is a TV. I think after hooking up the box for them it will be over. Not much goes wrong with TVs.
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keyboard5684 @ 8th Aug 04:10PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
There is nothing they can do. The digital signals are at the same power, I think. The difference is that you can put up with a little snow, digital does not. Digital needs a minimum signal strength to decode, analog is just what it is, you see what you are getting.
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IanR @ 8th Aug 04:11PM:
Re: Who cares?
Mature (age) people in neighborhoods are often "leaned on" by less able (older) neighbors. Like it, or not, you do become some kind of "go to guy" for a few needy neighbors. I do think it's a community responsibility issue to help out older neighbors when a mini situation develops. Even if the advice is to go to a proper expert.
Re the topic of this thread, I think most of us would consider it no big deal to approach a couple of choice neighbors.
Another idea would be such a campaign spearheaded by a chain such as RatShack. If RS had a National campaign, thru town's Adult community workgroups, they might well get quite a bit of business as well as get more exposure and attention in their communities around their stores.
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Austinloop @ 8th Aug 04:16PM:
Re: Who cares?
I am not sure what happened with the post, but my comment was aimed at BillRoland, not you. I agree with every thing that you said, IanR.
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IanR @ 8th Aug 04:20PM:
Re: Who cares?
Austinloop,
My apologises. My error I have PM'ed you.
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CylonRed @ 8th Aug 04:27PM:
How many of the 25%....
actually watch TV? I would bet a good chunk rarely or if ever watch tv...
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anon @ 8th Aug 04:32PM:
The over-the-air broadcasters need to tell users
The cable, sat, FIOS and HD-TV people don't need to know.
Just require the analog over-the-air broadcasters to tell their viewers "Your screen will go blank soon!". Maybe give a demo and require all analog TV to go off-line for 1 day each month until the end.
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BF69 @ 8th Aug 04:34PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Jwobot :
People are also not aware that you need a new antenna to watch digital. They hook up their box with the old rabbit airs and don't get the channels. I have heard of people having this problem.
Boy talk about uninformed. You don't need new a new atenna.
Once Feb 2009 gets here everything will be fine. The reason some channels don't come in as good because station are still broadcasting the analog signal too. Once that goes away the digital channels will come in fine. In fact it's the LAW that if you can get an analog channel in then you MUST be able to get the digital version in.
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Qixotl @ 8th Aug 04:36PM:
Seen the opposite as well
My grandmother (she is 96) was worrying about the switchover to digital about a year ago because of all of the initial media education attempts. It took a few times for my parents to convince her that she is not affected she has cable TV, but we got the message across. My parents are just barely senior citizens and they fully understand the situation. That is mostly because I have been keeping them informed about it for about five years now, but they certainly are not oblivious to the marketing. Sadly though, my 20 year old nephew asked for a 480i only CRT TV for Christmas last year, but it at least has a digital tuner and it is widescreen. He is ready to go, though he won't get the full benefit of HD broadcasts.
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N O Y B @ 8th Aug 04:37PM:
Engineered Statistics for Sensationalism
The article focuses on the wrong statistics. Percentage of people that are unaware of the change is irrelevant.
The important statistic is both percentage and absolute number of people who are unaware of the change that are using over the air reception and therefore will actually be impacted by the lose of signal.
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russotto @ 8th Aug 04:41PM:
Nothing more need be done.
At a certain point, you have to decide that there's been enough warning. Some people couldn't get a clue if they were given the keys to the clue factory, and there's just no point in spending ever-increasing amounts of effort to get through to them. They don't _want_ to be gotten through to.
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koolkid1563 @ 8th Aug 04:44PM:
Re: The over-the-air broadcasters need to tell users
I thought a station somewhere did that for a couple of hours one day, just shut their analog station off and left their digital station active.
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AstroBoy @ 8th Aug 04:45PM:
Re: The over-the-air broadcasters need to tell users
said by Hehe :
The cable, sat, FIOS and HD-TV people don't need to know.
Just require the analog over-the-air broadcasters to tell their viewers "Your screen will go blank soon!". Maybe give a demo and require all analog TV to go off-line for 1 day each month until the end.
That's what I was thinking!
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older dog @ 8th Aug 05:04PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
Some area like mine are broadcasting at a much lower power. To make maters worse the FCC has limited the new digital transmitters to a lower power lvl then what the analog had once the change over is complete.
End of over the air for me.
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WhyADuck @ 8th Aug 05:04PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
And you believe everything you see on the news? Boy, do I have a great deal on a bridge for you!
There are antennas for UHF only, antennas for VHF only, antennas for both bands, and even single-channel antennas. There are antennas that have greater gain that other antennas (those are usually larger and have more elements). Those antennas are very different from each other.
But then there is marketing hype, to try and convince people that they need a new antenna when they really don't. In the days when people were changing over from black and white to color, suddenly there appeared "color" TV antennas. Even back then, if you had a strong enough signal, there was no need for a "color" antenna.
Today the new hype word is "digital". But from an engineering standpoint, there is no difference at all in an antenna constructed for analog reception, and one where the manufacturer has slapped "digital" on the box. Sure, some antennas may have "digital ready" on the box, but that's just in an attempt to fool you into thinking that your old antenna isn't good enough to receive digital television - which, for many people, is a lot of hokum.
Now, if someone was using "rabbit ears" and they switch to an outdoor antenna, OF COURSE the signal will be better. If they have an antenna that's 20 years old and has been beaten to death by the weather, OF COURSE a new antenna will give a better signal, assuming it's an equivalent model. If you're trying to pick up UHF stations and your antenna is a VHF-only model, then replacing it with a UHF (or combination VHF-UHF) antenna will give you better results. And if you replace an old, low gain antenna with few elements with a new, high gain antenna that's physically larger and has more elements (cut for the proper frequency range) they of course you will get better reception. But none of that better reception is in any way, shape or form related to whether the word "digital" appears on the box, despite what some talking head news anchor (who is probably reading a press release) may be telling you.
As for the assertion that "not everyone can have outdoor antenna in the community they live in", if that is ever true it's true in far fewer cases than you might think. Believing a homeowner's association or a municipality when they tell you what kind of antenna you are allowed to erect (or not erect) is like believing your spouse's attorney when they tell you what your soon-to-be ex is entitled to in a divorce. They are obviously operating in their own interest, not yours, and (unlike the attorney) they don't even risk being sanctioned if they know the law is on your side and blatantly lie about it. FCC rules pre-empt regulations by homeowner's associations and municipalities.
That doesn't mean you can put up any old antenna anywhere, but it does mean that if you need an outdoor antenna to get adequate reception of your local signals and they try to stop you from erecting one in an area that you have legal access to (for example, an apartment balcony), you could doubtless sue them and they would lose, unless you have the world's most incompetent attorney. But you might not even have to do that, since a complaint to the FCC might result in them getting a stern letter telling them what they can and cannot do under federal law.
The point is, they cannot effectively restrict you from getting over-the-air television - that would be considered as not being in the public interest. They may be able to tell you that your antenna can't be in the front yard when a rear yard location will work, and they can definitely tell you that your installation must meet applicable electrical codes with regard to proper grounding, etc. But cities and homeowner associations that have decided that they want to unreasonably restrict the method by which their residents receive over-the-air or satellite television signals have found themselves on the losing end of legal action. Note that homeowner associations may have more rights than municipalities, because you in effect voluntarily agree to their restrictions by buying the property, but even then they are not allowed to keep you from getting over-the-air TV from your local stations, or satellite TV using a small dish for that matter. Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice - check the FCC web site and/or a lawyer if you need to know exactly what your rights are.
All that said, I am not disputing that people who were satisfied with weak analog signals from "rabbit ears" are going to find that they need a better antenna to get digital television. But that's often because they were willing to put up with a marginal analog signal to begin with (especially true for those with failing eyesight) and there's no way those "rabbit ears" are going to pick up an adequate signal strength for digital.
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WiseOldNerd @ 8th Aug 05:32PM:
Mouthy Young Whippersnappers
:D Don't like 'em and don't need 'em :D
Got me 4 widescreen 32 to 40" Plasmas feed 'em videos from my quad core 64bit media center with my ripped dvds stored on my Server 2008 Enterprise NAS--SO THERE ;)
--
My perception is REALITY
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MrMoody @ 8th Aug 05:38PM:
Re: The over-the-air broadcasters need to tell users
Wilmington NC is going to shut off all their analog stations permanently in about a month. I believe the idea is to see how much outcry there is. I bet there's not much, unless some cable company gets caught with their pants down still relying on the analog feed.
--
Electile Dysfunction: the inability to become aroused over the choice for President put forth by either party.
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Jwobot @ 8th Aug 06:24PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
The FCC may put that out there, but really not enforced. Just like those crazy silly laws in states and cities that are not enforced. Example: A Ohio law
Women are prohibited from wearing patent leather shoes in public.
»www.dumblaws.com/laws/united-states/ohio
Got directed to that site from this CNN news article »www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflif···dex.html
Also apartment complexes give you warnings if your balcony is too clutter. You have to follow their rules or your gone and its not just for apartment complexes, it goes for condos and Trailer parks for following their rules or your gone. From the sound of it, I guess it's not like this outside of Michigan.
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dadkins @ 8th Aug 06:36PM:
Re: Mouthy Young Whippersnappers
said by WiseOldNerd :
:D Don't like 'em and don't need 'em :D
Got me 4 widescreen 32 to 40" Plasmas feed 'em videos from my quad core 64bit media center with my ripped dvds stored on my Server 2008 Enterprise NAS--SO THERE ;)
DVDs? Get some Blu-ray for those displays! ;)
Yes, you can rip Blu-ray Discs... :o
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera
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TK Junk Mail @ 8th Aug 07:04PM:
Anyone hasn't heard of it must be working hard to be in dark
Any senior, or anyone else for that matter, must be working hard to remain in the dark about the conversion. The networks have been running ads about it for months now.
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keyboard5684 @ 8th Aug 07:29PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
I am on the edge now and need a huge antenna on my roof to get it. I just changed my zip code to Buffalo (I had to call and explain they must have gotten it wrong) so I can watch Buffalo stations, about 2 hours away. Erie is my market but DirecTV does not have the local stations from Erie.
So OTA was out of the question anyway, or at least it sucked. I am really screwed after the "upgrade".
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b10010011 @ 8th Aug 08:10PM:
Re: How can you/they miss it?
Yes, but they don't understand it at all and think it's not going to effect them.
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anon @ 8th Aug 08:25PM:
Plenty has been done, they are just retards
Hell, my 70 yr old foreign grandfather that barely speaks any English has been ready for at least 6 months now. When I gave him a warning he already had his box hooked up. If he has no college education, has poor English, and yet is ready then anyone else who is not is just plain retarded. These ads come on constantly on TV. How can you not comprehend this? Seriously, you can only do so much for a person. Once you have done it over and over then they are just plain retarded. It is like trying to teach a retard how to calculate the path of a projectile with physics. The person will just not get it any time soon. Not much you can do to cure their mental handicap. These are the facts many need to face instead of saying not enough has been done. MORE THAN ENOUGH HAS BEEN DONE.
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hamburglar_ @ 8th Aug 08:33PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
said by Jwobot :
Also apartment complexes give you warnings if your balcony is too clutter. You have to follow their rules or your gone
They may threaten to evict, so at that point you take a copy of the FCC ruling and a picture of your antenna/satellite installation to the judge and I guarantee it will be thrown out. The Federal rules will trump the lease or association rules as long as you stay within the guidelines. In my case, I own my house, so I can install anything reasonable without issue.
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a333 @ 8th Aug 08:46PM:
Re: Plenty has been done, they are just retards
I agree, most TV shows have literally been spammed, up to the point that I've been reluctant to even turn on the damn thing......
If you still don't get the message:
a) You'll just be warped back into the present come February, when your screen goes blank.
-OR-
b) You don't watch TV/ don't have one, in which case you shouldn't care.
End of story, the enddd........
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anon @ 9th Aug 06:56AM:
Re: In our area they are running banner ads nearly every evening
I'm sure if they run a crawler ad on jeopardy and wheel of fortune for a couple of nights they will get the message across to our senior citizens.
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Jmartz @ 8th Aug 09:50PM:
If the government was smart...
They would require TV stations to go off the air 24 hours before the transmitter shut down and during that time, they would have to place a slate on the air that says "if you can see this, you will be without TV tomorrow".
That will ensure people know whats going on. Instead of just throwing the switch without any notice ON AIR... might be a wise idea.
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raybrett @ 8th Aug 11:39PM:
Re: We should care
No, but if the digital stations in the area are using UHF frequencies, an outside antenna with some height may be required depending on their location. Before I moved I was less than 6 miles from the local transmitting antennas and couldn't receive a decent digital signal. Now I am farther away and still can't get a good OTA signal. To be fair, the VHF analog signals weren't anything to write home about either -- which is why I got cable about 25 years ago.
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raybrett @ 8th Aug 11:45PM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
Actually your statement should read "You may not need a new antenna." It depends on your location and the frequencies that will be transmitted.
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fiberguy @ 9th Aug 12:12AM:
Re: Unaware
What they need to do, the last, say, 2 weeks or so, they should letterbox the screen and state that the signal will go away in two weeks. When the signals stop, they should continue for about 30 days and show just barker screens that state analog TV is gone, and flash a help line to tell them how/where to get boxes or maybe a service where they can pay X amount of a tech to install a box. Also, scroll information on what happened and why the signals are gone.
By now, if people aren't aware, they have to be overly medicated to which NOTHING will work to inform them in time.
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EGeezer @ 9th Aug 12:19AM:
Re: Old Antenna's don't work.
I live about 30 miles form the nearest TV station and my cheapo bedroom TV with a digital converter box picks up eleven digital channnels with rabbit ears, so a test with inexpensive antennas is worth a try.
All the seniors I know (I am one, BTW) not only know about it, they're griping about the continual crawls and ads for DTV2009.
--
The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis
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murdok610 @ 9th Aug 12:39AM:
Re: They will be aware...
I barely watch TV anymore. Nothing but crap, reruns, clutter, and commercials.
DTV, is just another excuse for the cable companies to find another reason to charge more, or add another fee, or find another way to pump commercials into your brain.
Oh yeah and, Digital either works, or it does not work. At least with analog there might be enough data (audio) to inform you that the infrastructure of the United States has been damaged and will give you clear info on what to do in a real emergency.
Sure the picture is terrific! When it works. At least with analog, you can pick up the football game half-assed with static and garbled audio. With DTV, it's going to be a black screen.
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djrobx @ 9th Aug 01:33AM:
Re: Who cares?
said by Austinloop :
Really compassionate, aren't you?
I get what you're saying, I'm just not sure how much "compassion" is warranted. We're talking about someone's TV turning to fuzz temporarily until they can get a converter installed. A TV temporarily going blank is not like electricity, gas, or water getting shut down. Worst case, they'll call a TV repairman thinking their TV is broken, who should be able to resolve the issue. Hopefully they have family or friends who will help them when the switchover gets close.
I'm guessing those seniors that AREN'T aware of it, don't even watch that much TV in the first place, which is how they're missing the PSAs.
Our elderly neighbors definitely noticed the commercials and were certainly aware. They asked me about it. They use cable though, so I told them they didn't need to worry about it.
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elray @ 9th Aug 02:59AM:
Solution in search of a problem
The mythical uninformed masses will do what they always do when the TV is on the blink:
Call the 4-year-old grandson / neighbor kid to press the TV/Video button, or reprogram the channels and set the time, or set up channel 3 to work on the DVD player.
The 4-year-old will inform them "You need to get cable, satellite, or a new TV."
The oldsters will be a bit startled, but will soon accept their fate, and go down to Radio Shack to buy a new TV.
Much much later, when they can't get the new set to receive the OTA channel that hosts Jeopardy, they'll find out they need a $400 powered antenna installed on the roof. But neither the 4-year-old, nor the the industry "education" campaign mentions that.
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DJMASACRE @ 9th Aug 03:53AM:
ah
if they are that unaware of everything
they shouldnt even have a TV ...
if your that clueless... and dont make an effort to get the hint ..
then dont complain ...
we shouldnt slow ourselves down for the elderly or the idiots.......
force people to learn . :)
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RangerTX @ 9th Aug 04:08AM:
Who do we sue?
I am totally unaware that this will happen. Who do we sue to stop this switch from happening next year? ;)
--
i am not a lawyer but I do play one on the internet
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ebubman @ 9th Aug 08:59AM:
???
what'd you say?
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MrMoody @ 9th Aug 09:22AM:
Re: Solution in search of a problem
said by elray :
Much much later, when they can't get the new set to receive the OTA channel that hosts Jeopardy, they'll find out they need a $400 powered antenna installed on the roof.
After 3 tries, I still have yet to find an amplifier that works with DTV when some of the signals are strong.
--
Electile Dysfunction: the inability to become aroused over the choice for President put forth by either party.
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likitysplit @ 9th Aug 11:15AM:
It's you responders that worry me!
Wow, they polled 800 people out of how many 100 million. Now that pins it down, don't you think? The usual bogus "study" for convoluted reasons by a company involved in the industry.
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joako @ 9th Aug 11:22AM:
Re: Who do we sue?
said by RangerTX :
I am totally unaware that this will happen. Who do we sue to stop this switch from happening next year? ;)
Call your local attorney. I'm sure they'll be glad to sue to recover all the money you've paid for your OTA tv service over the past few years.
--
09:F9:11:02:9D:74:E3:5B:D8:41:56:C5:63:56:88:C0
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rebus9 @ 9th Aug 12:36PM:
Re: They will be aware...
said by murdok610 :
I barely watch TV anymore. Nothing but crap, reruns, clutter, and commercials.
Man, I'm glad I am not the only one saying this. Except for some PBS programming for my daughter (and the occasional watching of This Old House by my wife and I on PBS) we have been 100% television-free for ~5 years. I couldn't name 2 prime time shows if my life depended on it. It is quite liberating. We get all our news online, and our entertainment from DVDs (movies, old TV shows, etc). TV totally blows, and there's no way I'm spending 50 bucks a month to have "100 channels of nothing to watch" piped into a TV that's never on anyway.
said by murdok610 :
Oh yeah and, Digital either works, or it does not work. At least with analog there might be enough data (audio) to inform you that the infrastructure of the United States has been damaged and will give you clear info on what to do in a real emergency.
Again, thank you for showing me I'm not alone. I used the two $40 coupons to buy converter boxes (after reading all the reviews that gushed over how wonderful TV is in digital). Plugged them in.... and went from 7 available channels down to 2. The missing 5 were spotty reception (a bit snowy on occasion) but were certainly watchable enough. Now they show up with frozen pixelated screens, if they come in at all, and no audio.
Digital TV is progress? NOT in our case. I'd take our current analog situation over digital any day.
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PDXPLT @ 9th Aug 01:07PM:
What do you expect?
Remember, we're talking about the folks that cruise the left lane of the freeway at 50 mph, all the while with their turn-sgnal blinkers on. ;)
The scary thing is, thanks to ARRP lobbyists, they're still allowed to drive, in most states without any additional testing. Like the 80 year-old senile relic that ran a red light and hit me.
Even scarier is that they're still allowed to vote.
Those sleazy local TV neporters that do the evening human interest stories (you know, the ones about the sad family with the kitten that got eaten by the neighbor's pit bull) must be salivating. I'm sure they're all set to do a bunch of stories in February about all the depressed Depends wearers who can't watch Lawrence Welk on PBS anymore, and can't figure out why.
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systems2000 @ 9th Aug 01:21PM:
Re: I am not seeing this problem
It's from all the stupid information being put out, by those that should know better, that the TV will stop working come Feb of 2009. :uhh:
The TV still works, there just won't be any high power transmissions to recieve. They still can get there local Low-Power, Class-A, and Translator stations (I'll have at least two (CW & PA PBS).
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georgec @ 9th Aug 06:41PM:
Re: We should care
Couple of things here. An antenna is an antenna, it knows not if the signal is DTV or NTSC (analog). There are good ones and bad ones. SOme VHF analog stations migrated to UHF. Some took the bull by the horns and maximised power levels to replicate their old analog coverage , and then some. Some took the cheap way out. Some of those are big four network outlets. They will have a problem, and there has been a whole lot of head in sand on the part of some marginal broadcasters. Some poured millions into each station. Those signals will be ok.
Now in analog coverage, some people were accustomed to watching a snowy picture. Here's where the problem will have one origin. Marginal signal. No snowy picture in DTV. Those who had marginal reception before may very well have none, unless an outside antenna is installed.
Another factor. Hundreds of VHF Highband (ch 7-13) analog stations who currently may have marginal DTV UHF stations will be switching to their analog channel on Feb 17 for digital. This should be locally announced, and will require all receivers to re-scan. It will still show the same channel number, this is controlled by PSIP information transmit by the station. The user, remember, has no real link to the actual channel, but really sees a "virtual" channel number. In these cases current marginal coverage will improve greatly. But many of these cheap bookshelf antennas (and even the not so cheap ones) are UHF ONLY.
Now to grandma. What you youngsters (I'm 55, I can say that)don't see is that many seniors just don't believe that TV is something you should pay for. In the 50's and 60's, when I grew up, for example, we had an antenna on the roof of the house to watch TV. worked fine, and most homes did the same. This is what grandma remembers. Next, many seniors cannot pay $100/month for TV. But some missed points in this thread are that a good number of the over the air viewers are not grandma, but folks who cannot afford cable at all, making choices between foor and cable, guess what wins. Its the person paying rent and food with an income of $800/month. They still need a lifeline for information. And I'm not talking Brian and Katie every evening, I'm talking about getting local information in times of emergency. You know, from the local version of "Ted Knight", with info on the impending hurricane, flood, etc.
How do I know these things? 33 years in TV Station and corporate level technical management dealing with about 30 tv stations, and for ten years this DTV thing has been what I have worked on.
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RR Conductor @ 10th Aug 05:44AM:
Re: What do you expect?
said by PDXPLT :
The scary thing is, thanks to ARRP lobbyists, they're still allowed to drive, in most states without any additional testing. Like the 80 year-old senile relic that ran a red light and hit me.
Even scarier is that they're still allowed to vote.
Those sleazy local TV neporters that do the evening human interest stories (you know, the ones about the sad family with the kitten that got eaten by the neighbor's pit bull) must be salivating. I'm sure they're all set to do a bunch of stories in February about all the depressed Depends wearers who can't watch Lawrence Welk on PBS anymore, and can't figure out why.
I hope you never get old, you have some nasty come-uppins coming your way.
--
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reply
RR Conductor @ 10th Aug 05:49AM:
Not all areas will go digital in Feb 2009!
In areas like mine (Mendocino County, NW CA) that are served by low power translators (due to mountains, and the fact the Bay Area TV towers are all over 100 miles south of here. I live 115 miles north of SF in Redwood Valley, 8 miles north of Ukiah), tv will continue to be broadcast in analog after the Febuary date.
»www.lptvanswers.com/
"For the vast majority of viewers who watch TV using antennas, television goes all digital on February 17, 2009 – the date set by Congress for all full-power television stations to broadcast exclusively in a digital format.
But the law does not require "low power" television (LPTV) stations to go digital. These smaller LPTV stations, and low power "translator" stations that boost a signal's strength at distances far from the station's main transmitter, may continue broadcasting in analog after February 17, 2009."
From our local Ukiah TIA (Television Improvement Association, 100% volunteer by the way), who runs the Translator serving Ukiah, Talmage, Calpella and Redwood Valley-
"Important - About Digital TV!
DO NOT WORRY! You will not be affected by digital TV changes right away. We will still transmit in analog.
However, you should still purchase a DTV conterter box using the DTV coupons ($40) from the government because eventually we will transmit DTV signals. If you wait until next year, the coupons may no longer be available. And note: you must buy a DTV converter that has analog pass-through in order to receive all TIA stations! It's not as hard as it sounds... read DTV on TV Translators to find out more.
It has yet to be determined how many stations we will be able to receive once the switch has been made to DTV."
»www.tiaukiah.org/index.html
Some more info on these LPTV Translators-
»www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/DT···PTV.html
»https://www.dtv2009.gov/lowpower/
»www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/LPTVmap.html
--
»www.amtrak.com
»www.amtrakcalifornia.com
»www.narprail.org
»www.freighrailworks.org
»www.up.com
»www.bnsf.com
»www.northcoastrailroad.org
reply
wentlanc @ 10th Aug 06:52AM:
Re: What do you expect?
Still allowed to vote?! They are still allowed to run for Congress, and even worse, the Presidency!!
:D
cw
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Kiwi @ 10th Aug 11:13PM:
Re: Engineered Statistics for Sensationalism
The article is wrong in far more than one way, guess we have to believe because it was posted on a blog, it's true.
How absolutely ridiculous, uneducated seniors tag 1:3, for one thing the less educated are far more likely to watch TV and therefore see the multiple ads and for another it's such a crass biased statement to suggest seniors are stupid, or that education could or would even impact those who watch TV at a senior level.
Oh, It's the net, somebody still needs to figure out HOW to do a study; nothing there that indicated any of the principal considerations of a 'Study'; was even a thought.
People believe this horse shit, really?
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DJMASACRE @ 11th Aug 02:19AM:
Re: We should care
said by georgec :
Couple of things here. An antenna is an antenna, it knows not if the signal is DTV or NTSC (analog). There are good ones and bad ones. SOme VHF analog stations migrated to UHF. Some took the bull by the horns and maximised power levels to replicate their old analog coverage , and then some. Some took the cheap way out. Some of those are big four network outlets. They will have a problem, and there has been a whole lot of head in sand on the part of some marginal broadcasters. Some poured millions into each station. Those signals will be ok.
Now in analog coverage, some people were accustomed to watching a snowy picture. Here's where the problem will have one origin. Marginal signal. No snowy picture in DTV. Those who had marginal reception before may very well have none, unless an outside antenna is installed.
Another factor. Hundreds of VHF Highband (ch 7-13) analog stations who currently may have marginal DTV UHF stations will be switching to their analog channel on Feb 17 for digital. This should be locally announced, and will require all receivers to re-scan. It will still show the same channel number, this is controlled by PSIP information transmit by the station. The user, remember, has no real link to the actual channel, but really sees a "virtual" channel number. In these cases current marginal coverage will improve greatly. But many of these cheap bookshelf antennas (and even the not so cheap ones) are UHF ONLY.
Now to grandma. What you youngsters (I'm 55, I can say that)don't see is that many seniors just don't believe that TV is something you should pay for. In the 50's and 60's, when I grew up, for example, we had an antenna on the roof of the house to watch TV. worked fine, and most homes did the same. This is what grandma remembers. Next, many seniors cannot pay $100/month for TV. But some missed points in this thread are that a good number of the over the air viewers are not grandma, but folks who cannot afford cable at all, making choices between foor and cable, guess what wins. Its the person paying rent and food with an income of $800/month. They still need a lifeline for information. And I'm not talking Brian and Katie every evening, I'm talking about getting local information in times of emergency. You know, from the local version of "Ted Knight", with info on the impending hurricane, flood, etc.
How do I know these things? 33 years in TV Station and corporate level technical management dealing with about 30 tv stations, and for ten years this DTV thing has been what I have worked on.
No you know what im 25 and i dont think we should be paying for any of this crap.
especially if they are FORCING you to switch ...
I think the problem here is not that they cant afford it the switch ..
because it seems there will be "coupons" or a way to just get a digital box ..
so even with all the commercials and the warnings... the elderly will still not know what is happening ?
thats their fault ..... has nothing to do that they cant afford it.
maybe the commercials that say this dont show up on the 3 channels they get on antenna.. but come on .. at this point.. i dont think they need TV.
they'll all be dead in a few years anyway ..
so its over.
lets move on .
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contsole @ 11th Aug 08:56AM:
Re: What do you expect?
said by PDXPLT :
Even scarier is that they're still allowed to vote.
I'd rather have a senior vote than some snot nosed teenager that just came from a Rock-the-Vote rally and has his head full of nonsense about the gov't holding their hand from cradle to grave.
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