Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control....

The majority of seniors have cable or satellite (most cant afford it but they have little means of recreation and they would go stir crazy otherwise). Im sure most people got the message by now via friends, family, other sources. I say let it rip. Even if there are a few that didnt get it, they will let someone know. Besides, if you missed a couple of weeks of TV, you wouldnt miss anything. The network programmings are like Soap Operas anymore. The only thing that advances is the age of the actors.

Oh please, the government has enough to figure out without getting into the , lets help all of Americia be able to watch TV. Just think about this for a minute. When my mother was raising my self, my sister and my brother the government wasn't there to buy us a TV.
This is really going a little overboard, no it way overboard. For crying out loud. This is one of the things that is wrong with our country.
May God help us. I hope I can say that.

Hello!!!...The media corps promoted this rippoff deal clear back to Nute Gangridge (sp) as a payoff after the Reagan election. This is a scam that Dole & McCain tried to stop years ago, but they got no press!
There is no reason we can't have both systems, as there are as many stations in the converter as cable-but free!. Blow off the Telecom companies who want to rip of the citizens of this country who own the airwaves, by taking over the octive of FM we've had since RCA sold it from it's inventor in the 30s. So stop complaining about the government-the government is supposed to be us! Get a clue, you're being sheep. Let the new Prez stop this ripoff-at least for a while, so Spanish, Christian and other low power stations can still broadcast the truth.

-Sorry about the typos above)(Rip off, octave, Stole, not sold!)-
Another thing. I got 2 coupons in March 2006. I went to the store in June and they said the coupons had expired! I was shopping six months early for the stupid things! Why did they put a time limit on the coupons if not to use as some sort of marketing indicator? When I called to complain, they said it would take an act of congress to get my coupons renewed! That is what happens when the market interferes in governmental affairs-like the last 8 years! Put real people back into government!

Geez, are we technically challenged or what? I'm a senior, and I can plug a box into a TV. Get on with it; anyone who's not ready by February will be shortly thereafter if their TV goes off. Durn, don't we have other, more important things to procrastinate, like fixing the economy?

You know, this thing has been coming for years. Until the dawn of the day of doom, many people will do nothing no matter how much time you give them. If you delay the switch, you only delay the day of the problem. 6 more months would mean 6 more months to procrastinate and do nothing. This is truly blind siding no one. The only fault I see is 1) the sale of analog only sets should have been banned sooner and 2) more money set aside for coupons to offset the costs of converter boxes for those who need one. No one should be denied the coupons because of lack of funds. As for the rest, it's bogus and no one is suffering. The improved quality of Digital TV is well worth the costs.

Simple facts:
In most cases Digital TV works better that analog TV even with the same old antennas.
Digital TV saves RF spectrum
Switching to new digital LCD sets saves power (and therefor saves money on electricity, good for environment, ect).
Digital TV offers much more programming. Some stations now have 4,5,or 6 channels where they used to offer only one.
Digital TV offers advantages even for cable and satellite owners. It is free (local channels are a surcharge over the satellite), the picture quality is usually better, and you receive more stations. So even if you have cable or satellite service, you may still want Digital TV reception as well. I have both satellite and broadcast Digital TV running in my house.

You guys don't seem to care about how this came about or the true consquences. You are sheep and are just going along with it! Sure it is all better technologically, but what is going in the big picture?. Media control, loss of liberties, selling the peoples property to private industry, making the US TV different than the rest of the world! What happens in a disaster-digital doesn't work! This scam never was about better technology. Face it, you can't tell HD from NTSC at ten feet anyway! It is all about multi national profit. Further, all those new TVs and converters are not made in America. Wake up, before you have to warm your hands over a 50 gallon barrel and sing, "Brother can you spare an Amero"! Stop this fraud and keep both systems.

It isn't that the people are not ready for the digital transition, It's that the digital transition isn't ready for the people. Anyone that has tried to get over the air digital TV can tell you that there is so much picture freeze and signal dropout that Digital TV is unwatchable for many people using a antenna. The ATSC system is a poor design and should be scrapped. Other countries have digital TV and have great reception, BUT they use a different system than what the US has come up with. This ATSC system is such a bad system that nobody makes a portable TV that is capable of receiving the new ATSC signals. A few companies have tried but the reception is so lousy that people returned them to the stores. If you don't believe me- just go to your local electronics retailer and see if you can find a portable TV with a ATSC tuner.. This transition should be scrapped!

Maybe Obama can bring back black and white TV.

I keep smelling lanolin!
WAKE UP!!!
"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

"and the most vulnerable Americans exposed"

-----

to what? the danger of reading a book or taking a walk?

The democrats just want to pull some strings and spend more money. This has been in place and well presented. If there are some who just don't get it should not have it. I don't think we can dumb it down anymore.

The democrats? Who wants to spend more money? Buddy, it is us who are spending more money-and every tv station in the country to feed this digital monster. Maybe you need to talk a walk to the bookstore, get a book and read up on this corporate money maker!
You've been 'dumbed down' by the media bosses!

I can see why the Bush administration is rather perturbed about delaying the analog cut off date. They've already sold off analog to the tune of 19 billion without using the profit to adequately provide coupons for the converter boxes. I doubt if they'll ever have the accountability of explaining where the billions went. There's been an amazing lack of accountability for the last eight years.

What's the worst thing that will happen? People take up book reading or actually do something social? They might take up needlework or wood working instead of watching TV? They might rent DVDs or buy VHS tapes off of eBay?

This is not doomsday. There are more things in life than just TV.

The move from analog to digital is a much needed transition. the price of HDTV is down now one can purchase a HDTV for as low as 200.00 the Govt. need to let the FCC do the right thing, this transistion has been going on for the past fifty years.

Just get it over with. Change. It has already been postponed 2 years. The GOV sure doesn't need to be providing people $$ for one. That's stupid. It's not a live or die situation people.

It's amazing the number of people who have cable have also purchased the convertor boxes. Some have done so in ignorance. Some to cover their bases. Some have purchased the boxes because they are planning on dropping cable. Confusion? Yes! One of the most annoying aspects has been the "rush" to get these coupons out. I purchased two boxes. I'm not real happy with the quality of those boxes. Another problem is my location. Some folks in the region can get by with unpowered UHF antennas they've had for years. Me? I going to have to get an outside antenna even though my house is not that far from the towers. As a sidebar, some folks are unaware of the low-power analog UHF stations that will still be on the air after the so-called February cutoff.

Come on Obama, keep the focus on important issues.

I have a better idea
Stop watching TV completely

Think how much nicer it will be
Just think about it and smile.