Bush wants more money for DTV tuner coupons. Initial admin funds spent.

[edDV]

It is likely more funding is coming if Congress acts in time. Otherwise expect delays.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-09-19-DigitalTV_N.htm
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_heade...leid=ca6597549

[Nilfennasion]

That is the Republican answer to everything, it seems (vouchers/coupons).

No, it was not a snipe at Republicans, just an observation of the present-day party.

Point is that no amount of bribing or pleading with the public is going to get them to switch over to anything new. The people who are smart enough to understand the benefits of switching over will have done so already. Those who are not will drag this out as long as they can. The best way to fix that is to simply shut off the analogue signal on a set date, warn the Luddites that you're going to do it on that date every day for a good six months, and then tell them tough boobs when they complain that their TV can no longer tune into American Moron after the fact.

Sales of set top boxes will explode after that date if you do it that way, and it does not take any more funding other than the cost of giving ample warning. Hell, the manufacturers would probably chip in for the cost of warning the public. All it takes is a little balls.

[edDV]

I'm still wondering why $160 million wasn't enough to adminitser rebate coupons through mid 2009? This figure doesn't include advertising, question answering or the rebates themselves ($1.5 billion budgeted). After all, these aren't mil-spec toilet seats for a C-130!

[usually_quiet]

I'm still wondering why $160 million wasn't enough to adminitser rebate coupons through mid 2009? This figure doesn't include advertising, question answering or the rebates themselves ($1.5 billion budgeted). After all, these aren't mil-spec toilet seats for a C-130!

From the second link: "So far, the NTIA has committed $157.2 million to IBM, the coupon program's contractor — nearly $40 million more than the initial contract award. ...According to an amendment to IBM's contract dated Sept. 12, the NTIA has ordered 17 million more coupons and increased its payment from $1.66 to $2.01 per coupon, not including the cost of plastic. That brings the total contract amount to $157.2 million as of Sept. 12."

There's the answer to the question of where most of the administrative funding has gone. The program has generated more orders than anticipated, and as usual, there have been substantial contractor cost over-runs. No doubt IBM can attribute these increased charges to forces beyond their control, such as a weak dollar, and rising energy costs.

There has also probably been a certain amount of waste that was not anticipated. There weren't enough boxes released and available for sale in time for the first few batches of coupons issued. The manufacturers either experienced production delays. or were waiting to see what demand would be like before going ahead. Coupons are only good for 90 days, and some people who ordered coupons early lost out. Those who waited until summer to request coupons did better, but from what I saw when I went shopping for a box, the brick-and-mortar stores that are authorized to accept coupons were still not keeping up with the demand.

The value of the expired coupons goes back into the coupon fund, but the cost of issuing them is lost, and no doubt there are administrative costs associated with coupon expiration as well as coupon redemption.

[Epicurus8a]

Screw the coupons. There are more important things to worry about now; just read the news headlines!

[FulciLives]

The poor need their TV or they might wake up from their TV induced dream state and actually think for once and cause some trouble.

[edDV]

It won't affect the prisons, they have premium cable.

[usually_quiet]

The poor need their TV or they might wake up from their TV induced dream state and actually think for once and cause some trouble.

I very much doubt that the people respnsible thought about the poor at all when they created this program. There are no income restrictions built into it.

Its only purpose is to help anyone using an analog TV to replace the functioning tuner that they will loose when the switch-over takes place. It will help some poor people. It will delay the entry of a massive amount of waste and hazardous materials into landfills. However, neither of those outcomes were the stated purpose of the program. It's all about compensation for a loss and making a large segment of the population feel better about what is being imposed on them.

[edDV]

The poor need their TV or they might wake up from their TV induced dream state and actually think for once and cause some trouble.

I very much doubt that the people respnsible thought about the poor at all when they created this program. There are no income restrictions built into it.

Its only purpose is to help anyone using an analog TV to replace the functioning tuner that they will loose when the switch-over takes place. It will help some poor people. It will delay the entry of a massive amount of waste and hazardous materials into landfills. However, neither of those outcomes were the stated purpose of the program. It's all about compensation for a loss and making a large segment of the population feel better about what is being imposed on them.

The demographic for analog tuner users has been researched and is skewed to the elderly and rural (beyond cable reach). Over 80% of all households are on cable or dbs. The urban poor are heavy into cable as it turns out but there are exceptions.

[Epicurus8a]

The poor need their TV or they might wake up from their TV induced dream state and actually think for once and cause some trouble.

It won't affect the prisons, they have premium cable.

[SingSing]

The poor need their TV or they might wake up from their TV induced dream state and actually think for once and cause some trouble.

It won't affect the prisons, they have premium cable.

GREAT SUMMARY.

[FulciLives]

The movie VIDEODROME and THEY LIVE come to mind here and that's not a good thing!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

"The television screen is the retina of the mind's eye. Therefore the television screen is part of the physical structure of the brain. Therefore whatever appears on the television screen emerges as raw experience for those who watch it. Therefore television is reality, and reality is less than television." - Videodrome

They Live ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA-_SSO_hhI

[samijubal]

The converter boxes work good for recording widescreen TV shows without having to buy a new crappy DVD recorder with ATSC tuner. Even though I have two HDTVs and use a satellite, I still use a converter box to record OTA networks.

[usually_quiet]

The demographic for analog tuner users has been researched and is skewed to the elderly and rural (beyond cable reach). Over 80% of all households are on cable or dbs. The urban poor are heavy into cable as it turns out but there are exceptions.

IMHO close to one out of five households is still a significant segment of the population. However, some of the more than 80% of households with pay TV services are also making entirely legal use of the coupon program for their analog TVs connected to an antenna.

If one of the main targets of this program is the elderly, it is not doing a great job serving their needs. Too many boxes are only available from on-line retailers. Most have remotes that are too small, with too many buttons. Among those that can be purchased at brick-and-mortar stores accepting coupons, the RCA DTA800B1 is the only one for which I have seen a review recommending it for older people, mostly because of the remote. The Zenith/Insignia boxes might also be workable. I am certain my DISH boxes would be a poor choice.