Oh my.
This campfire, started by the media analyst Pedro Picasso, is still blazing, and it looks as if Pedro Picasso got owned by the primitives.
Anyway; an old favorite shows up:
Ladyhawk (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-22-08 07:56 PM
Response to Reply #65
108. Has it been three or four years since I opted out?
I couldn't afford cable and, like you, chose the Internet. There are is no cable access to the Internet in my area.
It's been so long I've complete gotten out of the habit. After many years, I've started drawing again and I've improved my musical talents as well.
I would like to stay abreast of "what's cool" but I really don't have the money to pay a cable TV bill. I'm wondering if today's grocery bill put me in the hole this month.
The squawking primitive must still be taking singing lessons, paid for--of course--by her much-maligned mother.
nancyharris (484 posts) Mon Jan-21-08 06:25 PM
Response to Original message
6. You may want to do some research on this
The government is not forcing you to "buy" anything. it is forcing broadcasters to switch their broadcasting signal from analog to digital. You don't have to "buy" anything. New TVs (since 1999) come with digital tuners to receive digital information and old TVs can fitted with a converter (for which you can get a free voucher ($40.00). The reason for the change from analog to digital has to do with the available broadcast spectrum. Switching to digital TV will free up that spectrum for public safety communications (fire, police, rescue) as well as wireless broadband. Large cities have a serious problem with gaining access to the narrow and congested broadcast spectrum.
After which other primitives try patiently explaining to Pedro Picasso that the idea frees up airwaves for more stuff, but it's no use; Pedro Picasso remains adamantly and assheadedly Pedro Picasso.
Atman (1000+ posts) Mon Jan-21-08 06:34 PM
Response to Reply #10
15. How much did they pay for our airwaves? To whom?
Just curious. But the fundamental question I asked you ignored. Why are we being told it's because the quality is just do damned good that we just have to have it? What if I don't give a shit and don't mind a fuzzy, blurry image of American Idol? The airwaves are supposedly owned by The People.
Atman (1000+ posts) Mon Jan-21-08 06:30 PM
Response to Reply #6
11. I did, sorry to disappoint you.
If you already have a set, it will be unusable. Who is paying for those $40 vouchers (us) and who is receiving the hundreds of millions of dollars they represent (them). Who do you think is getting this "freed up" spectrum, the airwaves which we the people theoretically own? How much are these multi-billion dollar corporations paying for our airwaves so that they can increase their profits? Did YOU vote on it? Don't be condescending...I know all about the available broadcast spectrum and why it's being given away to the big corporate donors to Washington.
Atman (1000+ posts) Mon Jan-21-08 06:53 PM
Response to Reply #24
27. That's the official government link. I urge you to Google it instead.
"Why digital tv" works, but you have to keep digging a few pages deep to get past the "official" pages to the CNET article and the discussion pages.
If the link ends in .gov, you can pretty much be certain it's not telling you the whole story.
Atman (1000+ posts) Mon Jan-21-08 06:47 PM
Response to Reply #18
22. Are you sure that was "Real Time?"
Sounds like "Meet The Press," even on a regular television!
Atman (1000+ posts) Mon Jan-21-08 06:51 PM
Response to Reply #20
25. No one told you to drop Allstate and buy Geico because Geico was better.
Maybe I've overplayed the "whys and wherefores" for some. To be sure, it's a massive give-away to the media conglomerates who propped up BushCo. You don't hear about the copy-protection schemes Congress mandated as part of the conversion bill, another give-away that helps you and me exactly how? You won't hear about how much the industry is paying for all this new capacity to make money (virtually nothing). What you hear on the ads is that this is sooooo good, the government has decided everyone should have to switch. Literally, that's what the ads say.
Atman (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-22-08 03:31 PM
Response to Reply #62
87. I was mixing things up, sorry.
I was, in fact, thinking "cable" with that comment, but by the time it was pointed out my editing period had expired.
Atman (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-22-08 09:25 PM
Response to Reply #105
116. I'd agree with you, except for that I don't.
The BULK of my post was debunked? You mean that one sentence? How about the GIST of my post, and the part about the advertisements on the tv claiming that the government is forcing this change on us because digital television has such a superior picture quality that we absolutely MUST have it? Did you miss that part of my post while you were composing your snark?
Atman (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-22-08 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #82
86. None of those are apropos
No one told you you had to throw away your old car or install seat belts. As I pointed out up-thread, the government mandated that new cars have seat belts, but if you actually have a car that's so old it doesn't have seat belts, it's most likely registered as an antique and is exempt. As for helmets, they're not required everywhere, and what exactly were the intended to replace anyway? You're talking about safety features added to vehicles...why don't you add in brake lights and mirrors, too? They're required by law. You missed the point of my op. I have a perfectly fine, fully functioning 30 year old RCA 19" color TV. Still has a great picture. But the ad I referenced specifically and unequivocally states that "digital tv is so much better that the government wants you to switch by 2009." I haven't seen one person on this thread state any such thing, simply that the government is mandating it for bandwidth concerns and emergency response networks. What does that have to do with the claims the ads are making?
Atman (1000+ posts) Tue Jan-22-08 09:28 PM
Response to Reply #110
117. And you post a .gov URL as your source.
Yeah. Like BushCo is so reliable when it comes to telling us the straight story.
Did you even read my OP? Have you seen the ads running 24/7 on cable? So you're telling me that this is happening because the picture quality is SO AWESOME that the government doesn't want us to miss out? Are you really taking that position?