Judgment day
-
- February
- 6
Well, I see that Congress — our sterling Alexandrian leadership — has voted to move the date for the digital revolution from Feb. 17 to June 12. It’s the least the members can do given the total lack of vision they and the rest of the federal government have contributed to the “transformation.”For those who’ve not been tuned in to this national soap opera, here’s our story thus far: Congress authorized the shift from analog to digital TV for Feb. 17 of this year, providing each household that has antennas with two $40 coupons to purchase the digital converter boxes. But the coupons have expiration dates, they were sent third-class mail, they covered only part of the cost of the boxes, which weren’t always in stock, and thus sometimes expired before they could be used. Nor did they cover the cost of the dual band antenna, necessary to pick up the digital signal if you have rabbit ears.
The government now admits, sort of, that it wasn’t prepared for the digital revolution. Yet it and broadcast TV, which has a big financial stake in the transformation, continue to pretend that this is going to be so easy to make the shift, which is going to guarantee better picture and sound quality. (Indeed, the reporting on the networks and PBS has been not-so-surprisingly shoddy on this score.)
Fact: There’s no difference in quality and may be a lessening of such since the analog signal is much stronger than the digital signal. (In other words, Robert Downey Jr. will look the same on digital TV as he does on analog. We’re not talking the difference between seeing a Picasso in person and in print here.)
Fact: Some households, especially in rural areas, may have to invest in satellite and/or cable — at a time when we can least afford it — in order to get their favorite stations.
Fact: Many of the households with antennas tend to belong to poorer and older viewers, who are being discriminated against in the switch.
Fact: The real reason for the switch is that the government wanted to sell the analog signal to the wireless companies so that they can increase their offerings.
What the government should have done was to keep the analog signal as it was for households with antennas, freeing up more of it for emergency workers by switching those who already have cable and satellite TV to digital, since it will cost them nothing. The wireless companies should’ve been sold the digital signal.
This plan, however, would’ve required time, imagination and planning. As we know, these are not the federal government’s strong suits.
I predict chaos on June 12.
On a brighter note, I see there’s “Life” once again on NBC at 9 p.m. Wednesday. In last Wednesday’s episode, Det. Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis) — who had been previously shot, probably by the group that sent him to prison for a murder he didn’t commit — took matters into his own hands. While I’m no advocate for vigilante justice, I sometimes wish Det. Crews were in charge of the digital switch. Perhaps then something practical might actually be accomplished.
This entry was posted
on Friday, February 6th, 2009 at 1:18 pm by Georgette Gouveia.
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