Or do without TV. You can download everything off the internet.

>>2492055
Not everything is online, some shows are not available even via torrents (examples include shows from G4, the soon to be closed-down Voom HD channels...)

>>The Commerce Department has said that they have run out of funding for those coupons.

Herp a derp, and Bush's gift to the HDTV industry and converter box companies has been realized. Even the idea of a coupon is fucking retarded - if the FCC is going to prevent people's TVs from working, then they OWE THEM a free converter.

You still have to PAY MONEY to MAKE YOUR OWN TV work again with the coupon. And without it, you pay EVEN MORE.

I mean shit, the British government gave every B&W TV owner a color TV when they switched to color broadcasting. An entire fucking television set.

This is bullshit. Even the experts admit that there is no considerable advantage or immediate gain to this change, one that they say could be progressively rolled out over the course of a few YEARS.

Fuck Bush, fuck the FCC, and fuck the greedy industry that buttered palms to get this shitty idea to go through. 42% of TV owners watch programs over the air. What the FUCKING FUCK, let's just fuck every single one of those people over.

>>2492083
Not much on TV is worth watching (myself, I haven't used mine to watch a TV show in years, just dvds and tapes), so I think I'll be ok.

>>2492113
The immediate gain was cash, they wanted to sell off the bandwidth to cellphone companies and such. Just another way the gov is working to sell off to big biz co's what belongs to the people for pennies on the dollar.

>>2492113
But they pay for TV licenses there, so it's at least fair the people got something out of it.

>>2492113
>You still have to PAY MONEY to MAKE YOUR OWN TV work again with the coupon. And without it, you pay EVEN MORE.

Sad truth, what they don't tell you is that even if you have a ATSC to NTSC converter you will still get less channels. Digital TV transmitters have 1/5 the power of normal analog broadcasts, and even you are in line of sight of a digital tv transmitter, multipath issues will arise.

Whats even worse, is that as it stands I do not see a reason to switchover to digital television. In the UK, they give you a reason to switchover: Widescreen programs end-to-end, teletext, EPG, interactive services via the red button, and not to mention more channels. So in the UK you have a damn good reason to switch over.

In the US, they just want to get the switchover done and out of the way without giving consumers the real reason to switchover. In the US you have many programs (in the Daytime) that are still broadcast 4x3 (mostly repeats of shows), most digital subchannels are either consists of repeats or redunant weather reports, or even infomercials. We don't even have interactive services yet such as the red button or even teletext (and possibly never will).

If I was the head of the FCC I would ask Congress to delay the transition until 2011.

And I please don't get me started on the fact that digital television won't really change anything that is currently wrong with American television (tabloid-style "local" news, lowest common denominator programing, etc, etc.)

>>2492113
think of it as stimulating the economy

>>2492113
Watching TV is not some basic Human Right, it's not like they are breaking your TV, your TV is just fucking outdated and retard.

can't blame bush
clinton ok'd this in his first term

>>2492214
>>currently wrong with American television (tabloid-style "local" news, lowest common denominator programing, etc, etc.)

I like how people think America is the only place that has to put up with this kinda shit.

>>2492215
Yeah, right. It will take about two years for the economy to get back up again.

Oh and not to mention that broadcast channels while in HD are not all time HD yet. It will take years for that to happen.

>>2492258
Canada has the same problem but CBC has some real Canadian programing to balance out the crap on Canadian Commercial television. (Even though CBC has ads)