Text 7977, 94 rader
Skriven 2005-10-27 20:56:12 av Ellen K. (1:379/45)
   Kommentar till text 7935 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: Just wait till TV sets "Go Black"
=============================================
From: Ellen K. <72322.1016@compuserve.com>

Gee, you mean my 23-year old black-and-white portable won't work any more when
I turn it on once every four years for the presidential debates?  (I used to
also watch the Olympics but any more nothing I want to see is on the regular
channels.)

On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 21:18:02 -0400, "Rich Gauszka" <gauszka@hotmail.com> wrote
in message <43617bd6@w3.nls.net>:

>House measure 12/31/2008 - $990 million subsidy vs Senate  04/07/2009 - $3
>billion subsidy. The 4 month difference probably isn't that important (
>unless you 'Go Black ) but the subsidy for converters could be costly
>
>http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051027/tc_nm/digital_tv_dc
>
>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday
>approved a measure ordering the switch to higher-quality digital broadcasts
>be finished by the end of 2008, setting up a clash with the Senate.
>
>The House panel approved 33-17 a bill that would require television stations
>to end their analog broadcasts on December 31, 2008 so some of those
>airwaves can be used by emergency responders and the rest can be sold for
>wireless services.
>
>The Republican-backed measure offers up to $990 million to subsidize
>converter boxes that would switch digital broadcasts back into analog so
>existing television sets would continue to work.
>
>Democrats argued that the money, which includes $160 million for
>administrative expenses, was insufficient to provide converters for tens of
>millions of broadcast-only television sets.
>
>"We can be responsible ... or we can throw caution to the wind and basically
>have the U.S. Treasury spend over $10 (billion) to $12 billion if everybody
>took advantage of the program," said Rep. Joe Barton , chairman of the
>committee and a Texas Republican.
>
>The committee defeated two amendments to expand the subsidy plan, including
>one that would have given every household two vouchers for converter boxes,
>each worth up to $60.
>
>Lawmakers also defeated an attempt by Rep. Steve Buyer , an Indiana
>Republican, to strip all the money out for a subsidy program.
>
>Pay television services are expected to offer customers either digital
>signals or an analog conversion of the digital broadcast.
>
>The Senate Commerce Committee has approved a measure to set April 7, 2009,
>as the digital transition deadline and includes up to $3 billion to
>subsidize the converter boxes.
>
>Any differences between the House and Senate bills would have to be resolved
>during a conference of lawmakers from both chambers.
>
>JUST WAIT TILL TV SETS "GO BLACK"
>
>Sen. John Ensign , a Nevada Republican, said he would try to cut the $3
>billion subsidy on the Senate floor while Democrats in the U.S. House of
>Representatives warned that Congress would likely face the consequences if
>televisions go dark in 2009.
>
>"When 70 million television sets go black on December 31, 2008, three years
>from now, I can tell you people are going to have very strong opinions about
>it," said Rep. Edward Markey , a Massachusetts Democrat.
>
>Some of the vacated analog airwaves would be used for emergency first
>responder communications and the rest would be sold for commercial wireless
>services, a sale that could bring in $10 billion or more according to some
>estimates.
>
>The House panel approved $500 million to help emergency first responders
>better communicate with each other and across jurisdictions. Lawmakers
>narrowly defeated an attempt by Democrats to increase the amount to $5.8
>billion.
>
>The Senate approved $1 billion for emergency communications.
>
>There are about 21 million homes in the United States that rely solely on
>broadcast television, while most households subscribe to cable or satellite
>services.
>
>Many homes have multiple television sets. The National Association of
>Broadcasters has estimated there are about 73 million television sets that
>may need converter boxes.
>
>Current law requires stations to switch to only digital broadcasts when 85
>percent of the country can receive the new signals, or by December 31, 2006,
>whichever comes later. Experts have said that could take a decade, prompting
>lawmakers to seek a more certain date.
>

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5
 * Origin: Barktopia BBS Site http://HarborWebs.com:8081 (1:379/45)