Sunday, June 28, 2009

DTV - How's that workin' out for ya?

An initial web search will bring up a whole page of FCC and DTV websites dedicated to telling you the "good news" about DTV but scroll forward a few pages and the the news is not so cheery.
This was not a successful conversion for many and definitely not as inexpensive for the end user as it was advertised to be.
Why the delay from Feb to June? This was not just a matter of just hooking a little $40 box to a TV in 25% of homes (20M or so...) in the US... It was much bigger and more costly than that!

My opinion: There isn't more hype about the lack of available free TV or the cost/inconvenience to convert because the outlets to express disapproval are limited and many of those "suffering" with the change are not utilizing public outlets (such as the internet - many can't afford the internet in this economy!) to express concerns but calling gov't 800 numbers instead. Those who are using the internet sites are posting to blogs and commentary sites... that you will not find unless you are looking for them...

Oh - check out some of the reporting I found once I scrolled past the first 100 search results that support the DTV Conversion...
Consumer Affairs
Associated Content
IEEE Spectrum: Inside Technology

Twin Cities
KWQC in IA
Fox News
KYMA News
fox4kc discussion
topix poll - why so few respondents?
Do a google search for "Not happy with the DTV conversion" and scroll a few pages... if you are struggling with the conversion, you will find many others in your boat!


On a side note: Who has noticed that all convert boxes have a "built-in energy saver"? They automatically shut off after and hour or two of operation... ahhhhh...

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