DTV Conversion A Fraud Bought By Congress

Have you noticed all the hype of late about getting your coupon to offset the cost of the purchase of a converter box so you will still be able to watch television on your old analog TV? The thing is Congress approved this move a long time ago, yet they sat quietly by while television manufacturers unloaded millions of analog television sets at reduced prices to the masses of Americans who were for the most part unaware of the changes that lay ahead.

But that is only one aspect of the scam dumped on an ignorant, lazy and inept Congress. The television broadcasting companies weren’t really sure what to do because they wanted to convert to digital broadcasting but knew that just under 50% of Americans who watch TV do so by means other than cable or satellite – in other words by use of the old roof antenna or rabbit ears.

If the broadcast industry were to decide to set a date to make the conversion, that would leave millions of Americans unable to view TV unless they stepped out and bought a new digital set. In short, the broadcast industry didn’t want to financially contribute to helping in the transition or make the move and suffer the consequences of losing a percentage of their market. So what did they do?

They went to Congress and asked them to fund the changeover because the U.S. Government depends on the broadcast industry as part of their Emergency Broadcast System. Congress bought it hook, line and sinker and it appears they never got off their broad backsides and did any research into the claims being told them by the industry.

While listening to the hearing over a year ago, I recall the broadcast industry telling the Congressional committee the cost of providing the millions of households with converter boxes would run around $2.5 billion. They asked Congress to cover that cost so that these millions of Americans wouldn’t be left without access to the Emergency Broadcast Network.

Now, with virtually no means of verification, anyone can apply for up to two converter box coupons valued at $40. These coupons are mailed to the applicant who can then redeem them at certain stores toward the purchase of a converter box, priced in the $50 – $70 range.

Nothing is free as we all know and when the coupons are redeemed by the merchants it is our tax dollars that are paying for the broadcast industry to continue operating uninterrupted, while putting nothing at risk in hopes of improving their businesses by what they claim to be better quality broadcasting. Is it?

Now for some truth. I bought a converter box for my camp here in Maine. To be as transparent as possible, I could subscribe to cable television as it does run up the road in front of my camp. I could also throw up a satellite dish and cut down a lot of trees in order to get it to work, but this is all quite unnecessary and frivolous as I am only here two months out of the year.

Presently, I have a small color set that I am able to watch 4 stations on with rabbit ears. I get one PBS station, NBC, CBS and ABC. The reception isn’t the greatest but I can certainly view the stations and for the most part can read the text that appears on the screen.

I connected the converter box following the directions that came with it. I should point out that I am not illiterate when it comes to dealing with electronics, television, etc. The converter box failed as it appears the signal that I am able to pull in with my “old fashioned” analog set and rabbit ears, isn’t strong enough for the converter box to use and so all I get is a “no signal” message. I was able after many attempts to pull in the signal from one station but all I ended up with is broken up squares of jumbled video and no sound.

The broadcast industry convinced an ignorant Congressional committee that taxpayers should pay for this conversion. Obviously no homework was done and now it appears that at least a certain percent of Americans – and these are taxpayers too – will not be able to watch television where once they could. This is progress? This is improving television reception and quality?

So for me to be able to watch TV when I return to camp next summer, I will have to buy a roof antenna and hope then the signal will be strong enough to use the converter box or opt for cable or satellite, which isn’t going to happen.

Now that we live in a complete socialist country, with little hope that any of this will change by looking at the two candidates for president (I believe Sen. McCain sat on that committee), I should be able to have my government pay for me to be able to watch TV next summer.

This is just another example of a Congress that is wrought with laziness and ignorance. They did not do their jobs and allowed the private enterprise of the broadcast industry to dupe the taxpayers of billions of our dollars in order to take a step backwards.

Will any of this every end?

Tom Remington