Impromp2, The Community Blog

DTV Ready?

Nielsen reports progress continues to be made with switching all US households to DTV. Since the actual transition date of June 12, more than 800,000 US homes have made the switch with half that number converting last week. This now leaves 1.5% of US homes or 1.7 million total homes remaining completely unready.

Analog Shut Off This Friday

WPBT2 will stop sending our programming over our analog signal starting this Friday, June 12 at 10:00 p.m.

It won't be the end, entirely, of our analog transmission, but you will no longer be able to see our traditional programming unless you are able to receive a digital signal.  For tips on how to be ready, check the "digital television" category in this blog or take a look at Daniel Vasquez's article in today's Sun Sentinel.

For one month, WPBT2 will operate a "nightlight" service before we turn the analog transmitter off altogether.  Until July 12, you will see a short video with tips on ho to receive a digital broadcast signal.

If this is all you see, you need to be aware that you will lose all television service by July 12 if you don't take action.

If you need immediate help to prepare, you can also visit our digital resource pages here.

There are also a large number of walk-in help centers, you can find the full list here.

There's still time to order your $40 DTV digital converter box coupon

> Posted by Daniel Vasquez on June 1, 2009 11:07 AM

Order up to two $40 federal DTV coupons today - to be used for the purchase of a digital converter box - and you still have a good chance of getting the coupons in the mail by the June 12 conversion deadline.

How it works: Anyone who does not have paid TV service and relies on rabbit ears or rooftop antennas needs an analog-to-digital converter box so their TV will still receive signals after the June 12 transition. The boxes are sold at most electronics stores and most cost between $40 and $70.

If you need a converter box and the one you choose costs $40 - a $40 coupon (provided by the government) makes it cost-free. If the box costs $50, you pay $10. But you must apply for the coupon by TODAY for the best chance of getting it on time. Click here for details.

Order up to two $40 federal DTV coupons today - to be used for the purchase of a digital converter box - and you still have a good chance of getting the coupons in the mail by the June 12 conversion deadline.

How it works: Anyone who does not have paid TV service and relies on rabbit ears or rooftop antennas needs an analog-to-digital converter box so their TV will still receive signals after the June 12 transition. The boxes are sold at most electronics stores and most cost between $40 and $70.

If you need a converter box and the one you choose costs $40 - a $40 coupon (provided by the government) makes it cost-free. If the box costs $50, you pay $10. But you must apply for the coupon by TODAY for the best chance of getting it on time. Click here for details.

DTV Resources by County

All information can be found at www.dtv.gov.  Note:  All locations subject to change.
FCC DTV Contractors:  http://www.dtv.gov/dtv_contractors.html

BROWARD COUNTY

Walk-In Help Centers

ASPIRA YLD – Broward (FCC DTV Contractor: ASPIRA Foundation)
6920 SW 35th Street
Miramar, FL 33023
Phone:  (954) 981-9221
Dates:  5/29/09 to 7/31/09
Hours: 
Monday-Sunday:  12 PM to 8 PM

Walk In Help Center

There are a number of Walk-In Help centers available in the Miami-Dade and Broward area for consumers who need help setting up their homes for Digital Television.  The Analog Shut Off date is only a few weeks away (June 12, 2009)

Walk-In Help Center Addresses:
The Delta 21 Resources, Inc walk-in centers are at the following addresses

Southland Mall (Static Site)
20505 S Dixie Hwy
Miami, FL 33189
DTV Center Hours
Monday-Saturday:  12:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sunday:  11 AM - 7:00 PM

Big Lots (Mobile Site)
2100 SW 27th Ave
Miami, FL 33142
DTV Center Hours:
7 Days:  12 PM - 8 PM

In the upcoming days a few more centers will open, visit the Delta 21 resources website for updated information.

Digital Converter Update

NTIA has made several improvements to the TV Converter Box Coupon Program that will help consumers prepare for the shut off of analog broadcasts by June 12, 2009, and has additional improvements planned for the coming weeks.  These changes are a result of the DTV Delay Act and made possible through funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. 

 The following Program updates are effective immediately:

 Coupon Waiting List and Distribution.  NTIA is processing approved coupon applications that were placed on a waiting list beginning in January 2009.  Consumers who had been notified they were approved for coupons but placed on a waiting list due to a lack of program funds will be issued coupons.  (Consumers can use the automatically-generated reference number they received at the time of application to check the status of their request on this Web site.) 
Consumers who apply for a coupon and are approved after the waiting list is eliminated will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last.  If the Program experiences high demand, it may be necessary for NTIA to once again place applicants on a waiting list.  Should this happen NTIA may distribute coupons to over-the-air only households first to ensure as many U.S. households as possible have at least one working television after their local TV stations complete the transition to digital by June 12, 2009.

The Analog Shutoff begins - stay tuned South Florida

As of midnight tonight, the original DTV transition date, 421 television stations will cease their analog signals. Another 220 stations have already made the switch, taking today's total to 641 stations or 36% of the U.S., according to information disseminated by the FCC. Congress recently passed a bill moving the analog-to-digital date to June 12, 2009 and President Obama signed the measure into law last week. Anticipating where the transition impact will be the greatest, the FCC sent staffers to 72 markets where analog penetration is higher and has increased staffing at a call center housing its DTV help line at 1-888-CALLFCC. TV viewers can also access the FCC's DTV reception map at http://www.dtv.gov/fixreception.html to find out what kind of DTV reception they should be receiving in their area. Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps said, "This is not just about whether people can watch their favorite reality show. It's about whether consumers have access to vital emergency alerts, weather, news and public affairs."

Congress Changes DTV 'Hard' Date to June 12

Bill also allows households with expired coupons to reapply

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/4/2009 2:10:00 PM MT

After heated debate by legislators Wednesday and a year and a half of broadcasters, cable operators and the government drilling the Feb. 17 'hard' date into the hearts and  minds of viewers, the House voted Wednesday to change the cut-off date for analog TV to June 12.
The vote was a victory for the new Obama administration, which pushed for the date change and got little push back from a broadcasting industry not looking to be the skunk at the new president's garden party, as one Republican put it.

The vote to approve the bill came after a motion offered by Republicans was defeated that would have required the FCC to force any stations on spectrum to be reclaimed for emergency communications to pull the plug on analog on Feb. 17 as previously scheduled so that spectrum could be immediately turned over for emergency communications. That would also apply to any nearby channels whose continued analog broadcasts could intefere with that first responder spectrum.

Democrats countered that the public safety interest in keeping millions connected to their TV’s trumped that first responder issue, also arguing the FCC had said few first responders were ready to start using the spectrum immediately anyway

Republicans argued that the Obama transition team’s calling for the move of the date was a violation of the then-president elect’s pledge of only one president at a time.

DTV Delay Vote Set for Wednesday - TVWeek

The House of Representatives likely will vote on delaying the switch to digital television on Wednesday this week, TelevisionWeek reports. House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., sent a letter to colleagues urging them to support the bill to delay the switch to digital-television transmission, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The heading on the letter was "How Many Families in Your Congressional District Are Waiting for a Digital Television Converter Box?" the publication says.

June 12: DTV's New Date Still Uncertain

But odds on move from Feb. 17 looking better

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, February 2, 2009

In this story:
Second Chances
Coupons Still a Problem

The DTV Countdown: Complete Coverage of the DTV Transition

Don't reset those DTV countdown clocks yet, but June 12 looked a lot more likely at week's end than it did at the beginning.

The digital transition date remained Feb. 17 at presstime, less than three weeks and counting. But a President Obama-backed congressional effort to change the date was plucked from the brink last week. And broadcasters looking for assurances about a date closure were left wanting (see Technology, p. 18).

If viewers weren't confused before about the transition date, they may be after Congress is done passing, defeating and reviving efforts to reschedule it for June 12. One Washington TV station that had been telling viewers they needed to act by Feb. 17 conceded on its newscast early last week that the date might move by four months, then reported the next day, somewhat sheepishly, that it looked like it wasn't moving after all. Then came the news late in the week that the odds were getting better again.

“The uncertainty is unfortunate,” said former FCC chairman Dick Wiley, who was instrumental in setting the digital standard. “Whatever the date is, we need to focus on it.”