Did you know that you have only 412 days left of analog-TV viewing pleasure?
Yes, it’s true (unless lawmakers change their minds in response to lobbying from, e.g., circa-1968-Zenith-owning grandmothers from the Heartland flown in by the NAB). In 412 days, your old analog set will pick up nothing but soothing, gentle static (let’s hear it for user-generated content).
For some, this may be a relief–it will be, after all, locally-produced static.
But for others, it will be terror. No 10 o’clock news! No “View”! No very special episodes!
Without some kind of help, it would be denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance for the 45 million or so American homes without cable or satellite service who somehow miss word of the transition. No doubt 911 call-centers will be inundated.
But fear not: The government has a program. Visit the just-launched DTV2009 website to apply for a $40-voucher towards the purchase of a converter box. Get two, even! No eligibility requirements. There’s no need even to prove that you have some kind of analog device, lack cable, etc. Just fill out the form, sit back, and check your mail every once in a while.
With the voucher, expect to pay around $10 for a converter box–cheap!
To free speech, assembly, compensation for takings, and due process add a right to free terrestrial-broadcast TV. It’s probably somewhere in the 14th Amendment.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.
