[opendtv] Re: DTV awareness

  • From: Tom Barry <trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:02:11 -0400

Craig -

inline ...

Craig Birkmaier wrote:
At 3:40 PM -0400 7/3/08, Tom Barry wrote:
According to one news article (and only one I've seen) our local Gainesville CBS affiliate WGFL will but turning off analog TV early, in only a week or so from now. So far I have heard no other interest in this. It should be an interesting (to me) limited test of what will happen in Feb.


I doubt that many people will notice...

My guess is that WGFL is more concerned about cutting the power bill than cutting service to the small percentage of viewers in this market that may depend on their OTA signal.


I believe the WGFL's parent company (I forget which) is negotiating to become the local Gainesville NBC affiliate. If that happens then they might have some use for some of the extra equipment from an analog shutdown.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGFL>

I might add that the NTIA boxes are not easy to find in our market. Perhaps a reflection of the >93% cable subscription rate in Gainesville and the success of DBS in the outlying areas around Gainesville.

--------- from the WGFL web page: --------------
<http://www.mygainesville.tv/index.php>

Channel 53 is signing off
        
This will only affect over-the-air (OTA) antenna viewers!

The FCC has authorized the early shut-off of WGFL's analog channel 53 transmitter. Effective July 18, 2008 channel 53 will be ceasing analog transmission permanently. There will be no change for cable customers or for Dish Network customers that have signed up for the local stations. OTA viewers who wish to continue to receive WGFL-CBS will have to have either a digital ready TV or a DTV converter box for older TV sets..

Click here for more information on obtaining a converter box coupon
or where you can purchase a converter box
<http://www.mygainesville.tv//index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1268>

---- this says you can get the NTIA coupon boxes locally at: ---------

        Walmart ($50)
        Radio Shack ($60)
        Circuit City ($60)
        Best Buy ($60)
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As an HD snob I have little interest in the darn things and haven't checked this.

It seems clever to go off the air during summer rerun season when few are watching.

But I do think it will be funny/sad if we can report on this list in a couple weeks that the local analog CBS affiliate went off the air and nobody noticed. ;-)

- Tom


Regards
Craig


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--
Tom Barry                  trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx  



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