Digital Day of Action

Comments

4 responses to “Digital Day of Action”

1. 

   J.M. Prince

   May 12, 2009

   Thanks Guys, My reception was pretty marginal in any case, but I could get sound & pictures, now of course nothing. The FCC’s been swamped, and I don’t have the time to spend on hold for hours. I knew what the deal with GPTV was, but it was about the only real clear stations we got. That’s been a tremendous disappointment. Like I said, I strongly suspect that it’s 20Mil or more who are being ‘left out’ of the transition. Me? I’ll make it voluntary for as long as I can. Most of the rapacious cable companies etc. are the worst of the worst as far as corporate governance, customer service & satisfaction & ever escalating costs are concerned. And no, we don’t have to take it!

   As for ‘Bama, I’ve got little need of their news, it’s just a bit more interesting than ours. There programming is a bit better & actually more adventuresome & has more local ‘Southern’ content. They took back their Leg too (partly) we might dream of that perhaps soon. Hence my interest in what they might be doing ‘differently’. And yes, I know how strange that sounds now. JMP

2. 

   griftdrift

   May 12, 2009

   GPB chose to convert prior to June because keeping the analog transmitters going was expensive and if they broke down it was going to be even more expensive to repair something they soon wouldn’t need (the transmitters were 40 years old and showing their age).

   And if you really have a need to get the local news from Alabama? Get a better antenna.

3. 

   Jules

   May 12, 2009

   Sorry to thear all this JMP..

   But don’t give up just yet…here are a couple things I’d try.

   First call the FCC. 1-888-225-5322, folks there are really very nice, they will step through a few things with you that might help.

   Also, since the “official” change over is still in process, channels are coming on a few at a time, so if you “rescan” you might pick up a few – and for sure you are going to want to rescan on the 12th.

   You also might try getting a slightly more powerful antenna as well.

   Try going to the DTV2009.gov site they will have other tips an so forth.

   Don’t give up!

4. 

   J.M. Prince

   May 11, 2009

   Thanks for this Juliana, But Umm, they already blew up my TV with the digital wonder. And it happened way before June too. GPBTV went out months ago. So did their membership checks too. I called them to confirm the problem. They never called back. A twenty year household membership, gone for now. Still, it’s what I’ll miss the most. Heck, I was once able to pick up ‘Bama’s APTV most days! They rock on Local & state public affairs people! Where’s there a cable company that can supply that to me?

   So I’ve got a useless converter box that can not pick up any signals in such fringe areas. I was saying this long before all the hoopla, but essentially for many, many suburban & rural residents? This means ‘you’ve got to buy cable/satellite’. And I’m sorry, plenty of folks just can’t afford that. Especially now that everyone’s in dire straights. They reckon that it’s less than 5-10Mil, I say it could easily be as much as 20Mil or more who are not being served.

   So if you’re in the city, the box might work. Perhaps for Cobb too. But for anyone @ more than 35-45Mi out? Forget about it!

   So yeah, I’ve got plenty of alternative information sources. I even get simulcasts & rebroadcasts of the local TV news on the radio. And of course the net. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for all sorts of useless garbage that I don’t want or need, just to get the minimal service that I watch on a regular basis on the TV. And the Stats people over @ Nielsen etc. want to know where their audiences went? Aways guys. They went away. Heckava Job!

   Again, I can afford it as many can not. But I’ve never had it, and never felt the need to get it. Never felt deprived. It’s one more useless household expense that is 95% wasted on me. It has limited marginal utility, hence it never got ‘purchased’. Come up with an ‘a la carte’ plan (pay for only those channels you really watch or want), and I’ll be more interested. But that’s a 25 year argument that makes perfect sense to most people except for the owners & operators who love to charge you for things you really don’t need, want or use. As a direct result? Survey’s now show people are actually watching less TV for the first time since it’s inception as a broadcast medium.

   Again, Heckava job! Advantage: Youtube!

   I’m doing more reading too. JMP