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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is working with community-based organizations to help educate consumers, assist with converter box procurement and installation, establish and staff help centers, and conduct post-deadline assistance with respect to the transition to digital television (DTV).

In January, the FCC awarded CSD a contract to launch an awareness campaign to America’s deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind community, regarding the nationwide transition from analog to digital TV. CSD is using a three-tiered method of getting the word out: by disseminating videos, brochures, Web banners, and other informational materials; by setting up a Help Center (call center) that will take calls 18 hours a day, seven days a week by phone, relay, videophone, video relay, CapTel, etc.; and by working with other deaf and hard of hearing organizations to assist with pointing consumers affected by the DTV transition to the CSD-DTV Help Center.

The CSD-DTV Web site can be found at http://dtv.c-s-d.org <http://dtv.c-s-d.org/>. Here, you can watch videos (in sign language, voiced, closed-captioned, and in Spanish) and find out if you need a digital converter box, how to hook up the converter box to your TV, the background behind why the digital TV transition is taking place, and many more answers.

More information below including the contact information:

For information about CSD, go to www.c-s-d.org

- Thanks to NVRC, Fairfax and CSD

The House of Representatives voted 264-158 on February 4, 2009 to postpone the deadline for changing to digital signals until June 12, 2009.  This bill had previously passed the Senate and now awaits President Obama’s signature.

An Associated Press news release reports that Nielsen Co. estimates that more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals still are not ready. People who subscribe to cable or satellite TV or have a newer TV with a digital tuner will not be affected.

We do not yet know if more funding will be made available for the people waiting for coupons from the federal DTV Converter Box Coupon Program.

FCC Chairman Michael Copps has said that 1,089 TV stations – 61% of those in the U.S. — should be able to turn off their analog signal before June 12, 2009, and are already transmitting by digital signal.

According to John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable (2/3/09), the other 700 stations would have to either turn off their analog signal and operate on their temporary digital signal until June 12, or they could move to their permanent DTV channel if the FCC determines the move won’t cause interference to any other DTV channels.

- Thanks to NVRC, Fairfax

By Kim Hart, The Washington Post 1/28/09

The House today defeated a bill to delay the nation’s switch to all-digital television by four months. The action comes less than two days after the Senate unanimously passed a plan to postpone the Feb. 17 switch to June 12.

The defeat was a setback for the Obama administration and Hill Democrats, who are concerned that too many Americans are not ready to get digital programming. House Republicans have argued that postponing the date would cause confusion for consumers and cost millions for broadcasters who have planned to make the transition.

Congress three years ago mandated that all television broadcasters shut off analog signals and air only digital programming. As a result, viewers who rely on older analog TV sets and antennas to receive broadcasts will need to upgrade to a digital TV or install a converter box to continue watching television.

The Nielsen Co. estimates more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on over-the-air broadcast signals, or 5.7 percent of the population, are not prepared for the transition and could see their TV sets go dark next month.

The Obama administration had urged Congress to postpone the transition to give consumers more time to get ready. In a letter to Capitol Hill, Obama aides cited consumer confusion and budget shortfalls as two key reasons for a delay.

This month the Commerce Department hit a $1.34 billion funding limit for $40 coupons that help consumers pay for digital TV converter boxes, which cost between $50 and $80. Consumers who need coupons are now being placed on a waiting list until already-issued coupons reach their 90-day expiration date, making money available for additional coupons. About 3 million consumers are on the waiting list.

The Senate bill to delay the transition did not specify how the costs of a delay would be covered, which contributed to opposition in the House. Other lawmakers could still come forward with new bills to delay the transition or find other alternatives. But that would require Senate action and, with less than three weeks before the transition, time is running out.

- Thanks to NVRC, Fairfax

Dana Mulvany, one of NVRC’s favorite consumer tech gurus, has been working for months on a guide for people who use pay TV services (cable and satellite) and want to know how to turn on the digital closed captioning. In addition, she has offered tips on strategies to avoid problems with the display of digital captions. If you’ve paid for a digital TV and have not been able to enjoy digital captions in the color, size and font you like best, here’s a place to go for help:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1036172

The information Dana has gathered so far is for the following:

- Comcast – Motorola cable box
- Time Warner – Scientifica Atlanta Explorer 8300 HD and 8300 HDC cable boxes
- Verizon FIOS – HD DVR STB model #6416 (and #6214)
- DirecTV DVR (HR21?)

Dana is hopeful hopeful that others can add what they have learned.

- Thanks to NVRC, Fairfax