Analog to Digital TV Conversion: Approximately 2.8 Million Americans Now Without Television

Converter Boxes Are Not a Reliable Solution

I don't watch a lot of television, but I do depend on my TV during bad weather or other crisis, so I have tried to make the conversion. I bought my boxes - two of them - and jumped through numerous hoops since February trying use the converter boxes those with antenna TVs were told would make our changeover "easy." I have made multiple calls to Magnavox, the FCC and my local television stations as well as many visits to Walmart, Radio Shack and Electronics Express. I purchased an amplified antenna and an adapter, but the facts remain the converter boxes do not work on my old 1986 TV set. According to my local TV stations, the boxes don't work on a LOT of televisions.

If I hold the antenna just right, occasionally I can pull in a pixilated black and white picture with no sound but a hiss. The picture lasts a few seconds before it disintegrates. Usually I cannot get an image again for several hours or several days. You can read the full article about the different steps I took to try to make this work at "Converting Analog to Digital Not as Easy as Promised."

Digital Televisions Are Not a Reliable Solution

After facing the same frustrations, a friend broke down and bought a new digital TV this week. She then had to buy an amplified antenna because she could not get a reliable signal on her brand-new digital TV. Now even with the new TV and amplified antenna, she still can't get a regular, reliable digital signal. She gets one channel intermittently, but hours will pass when she can't get a signal, and when she does get a picture, it breaks up and disappears every few seconds making any kind of viewing impossible.

What we have been told is we live too far from town, that hills, trees and tall buildings can block the signal, that we need to switch to cable, satellite, or have outdoor antennas installed on our houses. We only live 12 and 14 miles from town respectively, and these problems were NEVER mentioned when the FCC promised us all an easy transition.

Unemployment Rate Rises While Forced Digital Conversion Raises Costs

My friend and I are both part of the massive number of people who have been laid off recently. In a report issued Friday, June 5, 2009 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unemployed persons increased in the U.S. by 787,000 to 14.5 million in May, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.4 percent. (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm) This is at the same time we are being forced to upgrade our television equipment to meet the new FCC demands or lose our signal.

A friend in Texas says the Spanish-language channels are still broadcasting in her area, because the poorer people can't afford to make the switchover. If the FCC can make allowances for Spanish speaking people in Texas, what about the rest of us? What about average American taxpayers who have lost their income and now can't even see a weather alert on their TV?

No Television Puts Former TV Viewers In Harm's Way

On June 17 after some midday storms, the sun came out and the sky cleared. There were no warnings on the radio, so I tried turning on my converter box and TV, holding my amplified antenna up and turning it until I was able to briefly pull in a pixilated black and white weather map that showed no activity in my area, so I took my dogs to the park. Halfway through our 2 1/2 mile hike, the local tornado sirens sounded. While most Nashvillians could turn on their televisions and see a much worse storm cell was heading our way after a brief clearing, I was denied that information by the FCC.

Those who are unemployed, laid off or on fixed incomes cannot afford to buy new TVs, switch to cable, get satellite or have outdoor antennas installed. The FCC has done us a terrible disservice and put us in harm's way, because we can't get see weather maps or other alerts provided by local television stations.

FCC Continues to Spread Misinformation

The FCC promised this would be easy. Buy a converter box and switch to digital - "It's easy!" the http://www.dtv2009.gov website states in bold letters, so we all rolled over and let the FCC do away with our analog stations. However, FCC officials admit that on June 12 more than 317,000 consumers called the FCC, the highest number of calls the agency has ever had in one day. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10264369-94.html?tag=mncol;mlt_related) I was one of those June 12 callers, and I was told to buy an adapter - another piece of FCC misinformation because an adapter was not needed and would not work with my television.

Most people reportedly have few issues with the digital conversion, so you may not care about the difficulties many of us are facing. However, according to a local television tech, digital may not be as reliable as analog and has a tendency to pixilate during storms, so this may effect you, too.

Although the FCC continues to downplay the havoc they have wreaked on millions of unemployed Americans, this should serve as a warning to everyone. The U.S. government can make an arbitrary decision, promise citizens it will be smooth, and then leave almost 3 million Americans in much worse shape than they were before. I HAD a TV. It was bought and paid for, and it worked just fine. Why didn't I have a voice in losing my television viewing capabilities?

Next time the government mandates a change to our American lives and promises us it will be "easy," I don't think I will roll over as readily.

More on this topic at:
Converting Older Analog Televisions to Digital Not as Easy as Promised