Toxic Concerns Overshadow Digital Transition
Many environmentalist groups such as Greenpeace and the Electronics TakeBack Coalition are advocating ways of informing the public of safe recycling options. These groups are concerned about the impending increase of electronic waste that will occur after the analog to digital transition is completed. A very large percentage of Americans who will not be able to use their older televisions after the conversion will just throw them away without realizing the consequences.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Accountability Office and the House Foreign Affairs Committee are investigating reports of companies exporting discarded electronics to other countries such as China and India. Rather than just overfilling our landfills with unwanted electronics, companies are sending them overseas to be dismantled and discarded. These countries as well as our own, in disposing of old electronics run the danger of environmental toxic poisoning. Once these televisions are dismantled, toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury and cadmium can leak into the ground and water.
Manufacturers are being encouraged thru a campaign called Take Back My TV to offer alternatives to just dumping your old television sets. This campaign has put together a video to educate the public on the hazards of just dumping your sets and offering them an alternative. You can see the video on this site http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/dtv-transition.html. Hopefully, this video as well as other educational venues will help cut down on unnecessary environmental poisoning.
Written by acwriter
Ref: www.blog.wired.com & www.washingtonpost.com
CEA And Whiskey Falls Team up for a YouTube DTV Contest
In an attempt to help U.S. consumers ease into the transition from analog to digital television, The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has teamed up with Whiskey Falls to promote a special DTV contest on YouTube. Country music band Whiskey Falls created a new video, “We are America”, which explains contest details. The idea for this contest is to help your family and friends with the transition. Knowing that just the very word contest automatically peaks a lot of interest, this could get very interesting. If you or someone you know is still watching older televisions with just rabbit ears or an outside antenna, you will have to have a converter box in order to continue watching your programs.
The grand prize being offered is a home entertainment center including a flat screen high-definition TV, an HD Blu-ray disc player and a surround sound audio system. To determine a winner, starting December 1, 2008, the public will start voting on their favorite videos. The grand prize winning entry will be announced on December 10, 2008.
Entries are asked to be informative, creative, and original in content, and should not exceed a three minute maximum time limit. These videos are meant to explain the necessity of going ahead and getting a dtv box now, and to make sure everything is working properly. Consumers may actually relate better to their peers explaining the digital transition, compared to some of the short commercial spots which have been advertised during primtime informing consumers on how to convert their televisions. For more information on this contest and to submit entries go to http://www.youtube.com/dtvtransition. This promises to be a rather interesting and catchy contest!
written by acwriter
Congress has questions for head of DTV Coupon Program
House Commerce Committee and its Telecommunications Subcommittee have sent a list (10/22/08) of questions to NTIA head Meredith Atwell Baker, in regards to the DTV converter box coupon program.
In the letter, Commerce chair John Dingell (D-MI) and Telecom Subcommittee Chair Ed Markey (D-MA) asked for answers on pressing issues such as: broadcast stations or community groups applying for coupons and giving them to consumers whose coupons were lost or stolen in the mail, or giving them to expired coupon holders. Other items include whether the coupon program has enough money left over at the end to issue coupons to cable and satellite TV customers who would also like to convert their televisions should they choose to cancel their services.
A spokesperson for NTIA said that they’re planning to respond to the letter by Oct. 31, the deadline set by congress.
Dingell and Markey submitted the following questions to the NTIA (from Broadcast and Cable)
“1. In your testimony, you noted that television (TV) converter box coupons are portable and can be used by anyone, regardless of the name that appears on the coupon. Therefore, you suggested that consumers who have seen their coupons expire after 90 days who still wish to purchase a converter box could ask their friends or neighbors to apply for coupons on their behalf.
“Do you support non-profit organizations—such as public broadcasting stations or community groups—asking members of their organizations or other concerned individuals to apply and obtain coupons and then donate their coupons or converter boxes purchased with those coupons so that these resources may be distributed to consumers:
a. Who are needy or hard-to-reach?
b. Whose coupons have been lost in the mail?
c. Who live in multiple-dwelling units without individual addresses?
d. Whose coupons expired after 90 days?
“2. You stated in your testimony that you expected the TV Converter Box Coupon Program to have approximately $340 million in unspent funds at the end of the program. If that is the case, do you support repealing or waiving the rule NTIA adopted—which was not part of the statute that Congress enacted—that limits the number of coupons available to households with cable or satellite service?
“3. Do you expect to have $340 million in unspent funds because the amount remaining reflects the expected demand? If you expect that amount of left-over money because you are predicting demand will be low, please respond to the specific points raised to us in an October 6, 2008, letter by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who stated that he was “concerned that the total funding required to satisfy consumer demand may prove to be insufficient.”
“4. Do you expect consumers in households that subscribe to cable or satellite service to be turned away when they apply for coupons because there are not sufficient funds to accommodate their requests? If so, on what date do you think this will occur, and how many consumers do you estimate will be denied coupons?
“5. Do you anticipate that any households that subscribe to cable or satellite service might need to be placed on a waiting list until coupons that have been sent to other cable and satellite homes have expired? If so, on what date do you think NTIA will need to create a waiting list, and how many households do you estimate will end up on the waiting list?
“6. If money for converter box coupons for households that subscribe to cable or satellite service runs out, does this mean that NTIA will no longer expect that the TV Converter Box Coupon Program will have unspent funds at the end of the program?
“7. If money for converter box coupons for households that subscribe to cable or satellite service appears to be running out, will NTIA act to waive or rescind the rule it adopted—which was not part of the statute that Congress enacted—that limits the number of coupons available to households with cable or satellite service?
“8. If money for converter box coupons for households that subscribe to cable or satellite service runs out, will you encourage such households to ask family members or neighbors in over-the-air-only households to apply for converter box coupons on their behalf? Please explain how your answer is consistent or inconsistent with your testimony before the Subcommittee that consumers who have seen their coupons expire after 90 days who still wish to purchase a converter box could ask their friends or neighbors to apply for coupons on their behalf.
“9. If a household that subscribes to cable or satellite service is applying for a converter box coupon for a neighbor who relies on over-the-air reception whose coupon has expired or was lost in the mail, will that application be treated differently from an application from a resident of a household that subscribes to cable or satellite service who is applying for the coupon for herself? If not, if the money for converter box coupons for households that subscribe to cable or satellite service runs out, how will residents of cable or satellite homes be able to apply for coupons for friends or neighbors in over-the-air-only homes whose coupons have expired or were lost in the mail?
“10.Based upon the experience with the DTV transition test in Wilmington, North Carolina, and data coming in from calls from consumers in that market, how many coupons do you estimate were lost in the mail during that switchover?
“11.How many coupons does NTIA estimate, by percentage, are being lost in the mail nationally?”
New York TV stations plan 2 minute shut-off for DTV
On Tuesday (10/28/08), New York broadcasters will hold a blackout (soft shutoff) of their analog signals to help inform consumers about the transition to digital television, as reported by broadcastingcable.com and station group ION Media Networks. The test will occur at 5:59 pm and last until 6:01 pm on October 28th, 2008.
The following channels will have agreed to participate in the shutoff (Click on the station to visit their webpage):
WABC – TV (ABC, channel 7)
WCBS – TV (CBS, channel 2)
WFUT – TV (Univision, channel 68)
WLIW – TV (PBS, channel 21)
WNBC – TV (NBC, channel 4)
WNET – TV (PBS, channel 13)
WNJU – TV (Telemundo, channel 47)
WNYE – TV (NYC Media, channel 25)
WNYW – TV (Fox, channel 5)
WPIX – TV (TheCW, channel 11)
WPXN – TV (ION Television, channel 31)
WWOR – TV (MyNetworkTV, channel 9)
WXTV – TV (Univision, channel 41)
More Information about the New York Broadcaster’s DTV “Blackout”
The test will start with three beeps followed by a message which will appear on television screens informing the viewer that their television is not ready for the digital transition on February 17th, 2009. Consumers who want would like to learn more about how to convert their televisions for DTV can visit the following resources below…
DTV USA Forum (Ask questions and get answers about the transition to digital television)
Information about $40 DTV Coupons
FCC official claims digital transition will be “messy”
Robert McDowell (one of five-members on the Federal Communications Commision) made the following comment last Tuesday (10-14-08), about the transition to DTV,
The transition will be messy … but we will get through it.
McDowell pointed out that broadcasters should focus advertising in their local markets on the technical needs of consumers. One such example cited by McDowell, was, by helping consumers to determine if they need to purchase a new antenna to help receive digital airwaves along with the the use of their converter boxes.
McDowell also mentioned how important it is for broadcasters to help the local television market get ready for digital television, because they have the most to lose if viewers fail to convert their TVs before the digital transition.
Consumers who wish to discuss the technical aspects of DTV and the transition to digital television may want to visit our forum at: DTV USA Forum.
FCC may auction off unused TV airwaves
Last Wednesday (10/15/08), the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin, proposed opening up unused portions of the television airwaves for wireless broadband services.
Supporters of the plan claim that television airwaves offer an advantage over traditional cellular broadcast methods because they can ”penetrate walls”, transmit more information (bandwidth), and travel over a broader area of land.
Interestingly enough, a recent article on Yahoo mentions the following about the Martin plan,
Martin issued his proposal ahead of the official release of a technical report by FCC engineers concluding that potential interference could be eliminated with the use of wireless transmitter devices that rely on spectrum-sensing and “geo-location” technologies to detect and avoid nearby broadcast signals.
Martin’s plan also includes a condition which would force the winning bidder to agree to offer a free, nationwide Internet service. The proposal has been met with opposition from wireless carriers who argue that the use of television airwaves for broadband service would interfere with existing cellular broadband services.
9 Million Homes Still Not Ready For Digital Conversion
In a report released last week by marketing information and audience measurement firm The Nielsen Company, currently estimates that more than 9 million homes have television sets that are still not ready for the analog-digital conversion. Another 12 million homes will have at least one TV set that will not be ready for the digital transition.
Other notable items from the report include a reference to the 7 million battery operated analog televisions that may “go dark” after the switch to digital television. Most all of these mobile TVs (which also include TVs in motor homes, cars, van, and semi-trucks) will also require a converter box for continued operation after the digital transition in February 2009.
Consumers with “analog” television sets that currently receive television programming over-the-air (by antenna), will need to purchase a converter box to continue watching TV after the digital transition. Consumers who rely on battery operated portable televisions during power failure, may want to consider alternative means to stay informed. As of this date, most all converter boxes run on electricity, with the exception of one dtv box manufactured by Winegard.
-written by acwriter
Source: http://www.week.com/news/local/31180914.html
Cable Service Provider Comcast Offers “Get Ready” Plan For DTV Transition
In the light of recent consumers concern over the upcoming required Digital Conversion, Comcast has come up with new incentives under their “Get Ready” plan. Comcast is offering their services to help customers ease thru the transition. Thru this plan they are proposing that consumers do not have to worry about the hassle of switching over from analog to digital and the upcoming February 2009 deadline. Instead they are asking consumers to consider an alternative to buying new converter boxes.
Comcast is ready to give free basic cable service to new customers for a year who subscribe to their internet or phone service, as well. If customers decide not to add either the internet or phone package to their service, they will only pay $10 a month for basic cable for a year. You may call 1-800-Comcast to order any of their services. However it is advisable to remind them of this offer when calling. In addition to offering cable services instead of converter boxes, consumers can check out their website; http://www.comcast.com/dtvsite/index.html for a personalized action plan.
http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k8/oct/oct98.php
-acwriter
