posted 01-30-2009 09:03 AM                    

quote: Jesse Skeen

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I was just checking out the digital stations and most of the morning news shows are in widescreen but have everything set up so if you crop it to 4x3 (which all of the digital tuners for old TVs can do) you don't lose anything- like the news anchors at the desk have empty space on the sides, and text is in the 4x3 safe area. I see the networks have even moved their precious bugs a few inches over so they won't be cut off either.

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I'm not sure how much longer after Feb. 17 the major TV networks will be composing material with a 4:3 safe action area in the center of the screen. It poses some significant limits on what really can be done within a 16:9 frame.

Regarding the little network "bug" logos on the screen, I still plenty of them getting cropped. I was watching 24 Monday night in SD (I don't get than one in HD yet). Their "FOX HD" logo in the bottom right was partially cropped. A little of the "HD" lettering was visible.

EDIT

Looks like Congress is at it again. Late yesterday afternoon the US Senate quietly pushed through a tweaked version of the DTV Delay bill. It should wind up on the House floor for discussion some time next week -with only 2 weeks remaining before the current DTV deadline. Great.


DTV Date Switch Facilitated by Senate

quote: Ira Teinowitz, TV Week

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January 29, 2009 5:06 PM

The prospects for a delay of the switch to all-digital broadcast TV signals increased as the Senate approved a revised piece of legislation that would permit pushing back the Feb. 17 DTV deadline.

With no debate, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the bill in anticipation of a House of Representatives vote next Tuesday to delay the transition to June 12.

The Obama administration urged the House to act next week to delay the changeover.

“Poor planning and inadequate funding of the DTV conversion means that millions of Americans risk being left in the dark on February 17th," the administration said in a statement.
"This bipartisan legislation which again passed unanimously in the Senate tonight appropriately acknowledges the needs of both the American consumer and the public safety community. We urge the House to move quickly to pass this bill, and we will work with Congress to improve the information and assistance available to Americans as the nation moves to digital television.”

The Senate vote was expected after senators discovered that there were technical flaws in the original version of the legislation approved Monday night. The most recent Senate vote eliminates one obstacle to enacting a DTV delay when the House returns Monday.

The new Senate vote means the House will be sending any legislation it approves directly to President Barack Obama, speeding approval.

Republicans have opposed the DTV date shift as unnecessary and offered an alternative that would instead fix the problem with government coupons for converter boxes. Money for converter-box coupons has temporarily run out, leaving requests for 2.6 million coupons on a waiting list.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockeller, D- W.Va., offered the new Senate bill with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, the ranking Republican on his committee.

“The Senate has acted quickly and in a bipartisan way to put the needs of consumers first,” Mr. Rockefeller said. “The House will have a second chance next week to implement this delay, I am hopeful they will pass this bill so we can send it to President Obama.”

Sen. Hutchison said that while she and Sen. Rockefeller agreed to the extension, the deadline won’t be extended again after June.

“I do want to serve notice that I will not support another delay in implementation,” she said. “By now, people, have had the notice and we’ve done everything to mitigate the cost of this transition. I’ve talked with Sen. Rockefeller about that and I think we are in agreement that now is the time for people to get their coupons and boxes because on June 12 this transition will be made.”

The bid to delay the national changeover comes as a number of the nation’s 1,800 stations are quietly making the switch to digital. The Federal Communications Commission said tonight that 133 TV stations have already switched to digital-only signals, with another 67 set to switch before Feb. 17 and 93 to switch at midnight Feb. 17, whatever happens with the delay legislation.

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posted 02-04-2009 07:20 PM                    

quote:

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(CNN) -- American TV viewers have four extra months to get ready for the day their local stations shut down their analog transmitters, thanks to a delay in the digital TV transition approved by Congress Wednesday.
The government's fund to give people $40 coupons to help buy converters ran out of money in recent weeks.

The government's fund to give people $40 coupons to help buy converters ran out of money in recent weeks.

The House, by a vote of 264 to 158, passed a Senate bill that would reset the death of analog TV to June 12, a measure President Barack Obama is expected to sign.

An estimated 6.5 million homes -- including many elderly, poor and disabled Americans -- would lose TV service after February 17 without the delay, supporters argued.

People who pay for cable or satellite TV service will be unaffected by the change.

The delay was opposed by Republicans who said the government has already given people years to prepare for the switch to digital TV.

"If you don't know this date is coming up, you're probably not watching television," said Rep. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican. "And if you're not watching television, you probably won't know on February 18 whether it occurred or not."
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The Commerce Department ran out of money last month for its program to help people pay for converter boxes needed to make older TVs receive the new digital signals. There are 3.7 million homes on the waiting list for the $40 coupons, said Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat.

"It's clear that the only way to avoid a massive disruption affecting 5.7 percent of the TV viewing public is to delay the transition and provide the funding to assure that, when it occurs, it occurs smoothly," he said.

Federal Communication Commission acting Chairman Michael Copps said the delay gives the government "an opportunity to do it better."

"The additional four months provided by the law affords urgently needed time for a more phased transition, including a consumer-friendly converter box coupon program, stepped-up consumer outreach and support -- particularly for vulnerable populations -- and dealing with coverage, antenna and reception issues that went too long unaddressed," Copps said.

He had sent a letter to Congress last month "to express our deep concern" that the FCC was "nowhere near" ready for the deadline "to pull the plug on television service in millions of American homes."

The Federal government raked in $20 billion by selling licenses for the frequencies being vacated by local television stations for other commercial uses.

Some of the frequencies were also reserved for emergency agencies to use for communications.

Republicans said the delay would prevent some emergency agencies from using their new communications systems.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York, said having a working TV is also important for the safety of those with older sets.

"They are going to lose the most important connection to the outside world and emergency response -- the television," he said.

Opponents noted the new date for the end of analog TV will come just as the hurricane season begins. Forcing conversion in February would be safer, they said.

All local stations will eventually pull the plug on the analog transmitters they've used since the invention of television. The stations have begun digital broadcasts over the past several years.

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