DTV Delayed: It's Official June 12th, 2009 is the new date

The House voted to delay the U.S.'s digital transition to June 12th, 2009. President Barack Obama has said he will sign the bill as soon as it lands on his desk.


What you need to know about the DTV Delay:

• All TV broadcasters now must stop broadcasting analog signals after 6-12-2009(Known as the digital transition)
• Broadcasters can choose to shut off their analog signals any time before 6-12-09. If your broadcaster decides to broadcast digital only signals and your analog TV does not have a converter box, you will not receive that specific station's channel.
• Even though the DTV delay bill has been approved, expired coupon holders still cannot reapply to the dtv coupon program. There may be ammendments added to allow expired coupon holders to apply again, and as these details become available, we'll update this post.
• Update: Expired Coupon Households are now allowed to reapply to the DTV Coupon program, more details are posted here: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/governmen...ply-today.html

Would we have to contact our local stations directly? I spoke to an engineer from WSBK 38 a while ago, and I also spoke to an operator at WZMY 50 from new hampshire as well as WHDH.

WBZ today said that the delay was passed, so I guess they are staying on until june. I'm not sure about the others.

Originally Posted by staticMHZ

Would we have to contact our local stations directly? I spoke to an engineer from WSBK 38 a while ago, and I also spoke to an operator at WZMY 50 from new hampshire as well as WHDH.

WBZ today said that the delay was passed, so I guess they are staying on until june. I'm not sure about the others.

I'd say yes, but, I'm betting right that a lot of station engineers won't really know what they're going to do for a while. There are a few obsticales that television stations have to overcome before they can shut off analog signals early. ARSTechnica has a good summary of it:

In a letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission today, Barton and Stearns also question whether the revised language will truly make the delay voluntary, suggesting that "because of interference concerns, most broadcast stations would not be allowed to transition under current FCC rules until around the time that all broadcast stations transition." The transition had previously been predicated on the assumption that most broadcasters would make the switch simultaneously. In their letter, Stearns and Barton ask acting chair Michael Copps to determine—by Tuesday—how many stations would be able to make the switch early if the transition is more staggered.

President Obama signed the DTV Delay Act into law Wednesday night, which officially postponed the date for the DTV transition until June 12, 2009.

As quoted by Obama,

"Millions of Americans, including those in our most vulnerable communities, would have been left in the dark if the conversion had gone on as planned, and this solution is an important step forward as we work to get the nation ready for digital TV,".

Please keep in mind, that not all stations will wait until June 12th, 2009 to transition. Some are choosing to still switch over on February 17th, like KSPR News, so be sure to check with your local stations.

FCC orders halt for stations wanting to transition to DTV earlier than June 12th, 2009.

Citing public safety concerns, the Federal Communications Commission is ordering 123 TV broadcast stations that were previously granted permission to switch to digital signals on Feb.17 to hold off until further notice.

"We have identified 123 stations of the 491 intending to terminate analog service on February 17 whose early termination poses a significant risk of substantial public harm," the commission said Thursday

Source: FCC Orders Some Stations to Halt DTV Switch - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

Hello all new poster here well ive got one for you our cable provder suddenlink is reconverting the new digital signals back to analog so after i purchased a 1000.00 dollar digital HD set and anticipated today boy what a bummer. No HDTV for me now or in the near future as suddenlink is saying
backward conversion will continue .

Originally Posted by bwhorton09

Hello all new poster here well ive got one for you our cable provder suddenlink is reconverting the new digital signals back to analog so after i purchased a 1000.00 dollar digital HD set and anticipated today boy what a bummer. No HDTV for me now or in the near future as suddenlink is saying
backward conversion will continue .

That stinks. I think most cable companies will be providing their customers with analog signals until 2011-2012 I believe (They're on a totally different digital transition schedule than over-the-air). Atleast you could switch to the digital tuner inside your TV for viewing local channels in High Definition, and switch back to cable for the other channels. btw, hello!

TonyT the thing that really got me mad was their snob attitude.They said after i contacted them that reconversion would continue for the good of viewers with analog
tuners that do not have digital tuners in their sets.OK now 2 stations are availible in HD just started but
the other 66 would remain analog suddenlink just said in a ticker statement.

Originally Posted by bwhorton09

TonyT the thing that really got me mad was their snob attitude.They said after i contacted them that reconversion would continue for the good of viewers with analog
tuners that do not have digital tuners in their sets.OK now 2 stations are availible in HD just started but
the other 66 would remain analog suddenlink just said in a ticker statement.

I bet they're broadcasting digital-HD signals to their customers who pay a premium for a set top box. BWH, you have basic cable service from them, right?

jay you are pobably right but after forking over 1000 dollars im probably going wait as they will be forced to upgrade june 12th.

Our stations decided to wait until June because of some rediculous all or nothing proposal. they're costing themselves tons more to do this plus i will not see much multicast extra channels OR have a reliable signal until June, plus an added bonus, FOUR MORE MONTHS of those annoying DTV ads!

I expect it will get delayed again, and again, and again, just as in the past. i knew this would be just like the Y2K issue, as in it won't just happen overnight likety split.

Remember the cellular equivilent to the DTV transition? the so-called Analog Cellular Sunset scheduled to happen in February 18, 2008? guess what? it never happened, either. it did on Cingular/AT&T but on their own accord, you can still activate a 20-year old StarTAC phone on Verizon Wireless hehe!

Originally Posted by Jay

The House voted to delay the U.S.'s digital transition to June 12th, 2009. President Barack Obama has said he will sign the bill as soon as it lands on his desk.


What you need to know about the DTV Delay:

• All TV broadcasters now must stop broadcasting analog signals after 6-12-2009(Known as the digital transition)
• Broadcasters can choose to shut off their analog signals any time before 6-12-09. If your broadcaster decides to broadcast digital only signals and your analog TV does not have a converter box, you will not receive that specific station's channel.
• Even though the DTV delay bill has been approved, expired coupon holders still cannot reapply to the dtv coupon program. There may be ammendments added to allow expired coupon holders to apply again, and as these details become available, we'll update this post.

thanks for keeping us posted on this important bill..i am looking forward for the new updates!

Originally Posted by susie

thanks for keeping us posted on this important bill..i am looking forward for the new updates!

No problem, and actually, your post just reminded me to update the expired coupon portion of my original post. You can now reapply if you have an expired coupon, details at: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/governmen...ply-today.html

An issue for consumers with regard to the digital transition is the expense. While the U.S. government is offering two $40 coupons per household to subsidize the purchase of the devices, the average retail price of a digital converter box is over $50 and the least expensive new model sells for about $46 so the consumer still has some cost to bear.
Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and similar institutions can obtain free digital TV converter boxes for residents by obtaining a government discount coupon and ordering through SolidSignal.com. The company will also provide free shipping and free support by telephone as part of their community relations program. SolidSignal.com is offering this program to non-profit organizations nationwide through June 12, 2009, the digital broadcast transition date, while inventory is available.
The online application for the government coupon can be filled out at http://www.dtv2009.gov/. Once the coupons are received, the facility director can call SolidSignal.com toll free at 1-866-374-4625 to place the order to receive the converter boxes that will receive digital TV signals after the transition.

Nice update to the thread.

Originally Posted by SolidSignal

An issue for consumers with regard to the digital transition is the expense. While the U.S. government is offering two $40 coupons per household to subsidize the purchase of the devices, the average retail price of a digital converter box is over $50 and the least expensive new model sells for about $46 so the consumer still has some cost to bear.
Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and similar institutions can obtain free digital TV converter boxes for residents by obtaining a government discount coupon and ordering through SolidSignal.com. The company will also provide free shipping and free support by telephone as part of their community relations program. SolidSignal.com is offering this program to non-profit organizations nationwide through June 12, 2009, the digital broadcast transition date, while inventory is available.
The online application for the government coupon can be filled out at http://www.dtv2009.gov/. Once the coupons are received, the facility director can call SolidSignal.com toll free at 1-866-374-4625 to place the order to receive the converter boxes that will receive digital TV signals after the transition.