[opendtv] Out of Sync?
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 07:44:13 -0500
If this were not so ridiculous it would be funny...
Here we are less than two years out from the "supposed" end of analog
TV broadcasts, and there is some finger pointing going on about the
end date. It seems that the government and TV industry are "Out of
Sync."
DUH!
The story leads with:
Government and industry may agree on the importance of informing
consumers about the looming transition to digital television.
They may agree it is important, but NOBODY is doing it.
And why the hell is it the governments responsibility to inform the
public about the transition, when broadcasters have the VERY BEST
means to educate the public?
Where are the educational promos?
Maybe the TV broadcasters expect the government to buy time on their
stations to run ads about the transition?
Is there any better way to inform the public that the analog TV
service is going away than to run promos ON THAT SERVICE?
The NAB keeps telling us about the multiple billions in public
service that TV stations provide each year, yet the TV industry has
completely ignored the opportunity to promote the new DTV service and
to inform the public of the impending changes.
Does it really matter if there are multiple countdown clocks with
different outcomes? What we all what to know is when the DTV
transition is going to BEGIN.
Regards
Craig
Breaking News
FCC, Industry Out of Sync on DTV Conversion
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/4/2007 11:40:00 PM
Government and industry may agree on the importance of informing
consumers about the looming transition to digital television. But
when it comes to counting the days until the deadline, they're out of
sync.
Both the FCC and the Association for Maximum Service Television
(MSTV), the broadcast industry's spectrum watchdogs, display ominous
countdown clocks on their Websites. At press time, however, the two
were a day apart-and it seems the government's clock is the one in
error.
The FCC's DTV site, dtv.gov, states that analog broadcasts may
continue "through February 17, 2009." But according to its clock,
zero hour comes at midnight on Feb. 16, a day earlier.
MSTV is confident that its clock at mstv.org-which is counting down
to 11:59:59 p.m., Feb. 17, 2009-is right. Because the clock adjusts
to individual computers' internal clocks, it may vary by several
seconds, says MSTV's Web guru. "But I'm a lot closer than a day off."
Given that the deadline floated between the Senate-proposed April 7,
2009, and the House-preferred Dec. 31, 2008, before landing on Feb.
17, the confusion is unsurprising.
A spokesperson concedes that the FCC's clock is off and says the
commission is working to correct it.
For instructions on testing the clocks yourself, go to broadcastingcable.com.
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