ABC goes dark for New York Cablevision subscribers: Via Washington Post Tech.
Just after the stroke of midnight Sunday, 3 million Cablevision viewers in the New York area lost their ABC channel because of an impasse by the cable operator and broadcaster to resolve a feud over transmission fees.
And unless an agreement is reached during the day between Cablevision and Walt Disney, the parent company of ABC, viewers won't see George Clooney or Sandra Bullock stroll the red carpet at The Oscars. And subscribers will miss out on some of television's most popular shows such as Lost and Good Morning America.
The negotiation breakdown was the latest in a series of similar standoffs between broadcasters and paid television providers. Time Warner Cable and New Corp.'s Fox eventually came to an agreement late last year after a long battle over fees. The Federal Communications Commission has largely stayed on the sidelines of such negotiations. But some lawmakers and consumer groups have urged greater involvement by the agency to prevent viewers from missing out.
"If negotiations break down to the point of intractability, the FCC should step in and faciliate fair arbitration," said Ben Scott, policy director of public interest group Free Press. read more... »
Into the DTV era, with no broadcast flag mandate: Via EFF.org Updates.
Today (June 12, 2009) marks the completion of the U.S. transition to digital television, as TV stations switch off their analog transmitters.
Just a few years ago, some broadcasters and movie studios argued that this transition couldn't happen without a DRM mandate -- a legal requirement for devices to obey the broadcast flag and apply DRM restrictions to free, over-the-air broadcasts. And they said they would hold up and obstruct this transition unless they got their way.
The DMCA has already been used to restrict the ability to produce innovative, useful products that copyright holders disapprove of. read more... »
"Wake up and smell the converter box": FCC talks DTV switch: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.
"Let's do it, man. Lock and load," declared
G.W. Green, aka "Offender #576" just prior to his execution by the state of Texas in 1991. One sensed a somewhat similar esprit de corps here at the Federal Communications Commission, where a mid-sized platoon of government, industry, and technology types gathered on Wednesday to stare DTV Day version 2.0 in the face—it's coming (yes way; for real) on Friday, June 12. read more... »
FCC will run nationwide DTV "soft test" on May 21: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.
The "end is near," declared Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein at Tuesday's Open Commission meeting. Adelstein was referring to the DTV transition, scheduled to conclude on Friday, June 12, one month from now. There are still 927 full power television stations that have to make the jump from analog to digital by then. To get a sense of who is or isn't really ready for this apocalypse, the agency has called upon those broadcasters to run a "soft test" of the switch three times on Thursday, May 21.
Read Original Article:(Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica.)
Hidden Cameras in DTV Converters? YouTube Hoax Fans Conspiracy Fears : Via Threat Level
Ever wonder what the government is really up to paying for all those digital TV converter boxes? Last week a Spokane, Washington man claimed he'd discovered the horrifying truth, and he produced a YouTube video to prove it.
In a 90-second video that's popping up on tin-foil-hat sites everywhere, 28-year-old software engineer Adam Chronister is seen cracking open his government-subsidized Magnavox converter, and revealing to the world the tiny video camera and microphone hidden inside. read more... »
Report: new Fairness Doctrine would face high legal hurdle: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica
Is Congress going to introduce a bill calling for the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine? Dark predictions continue to emanate from various experts auguring an attempt to revive it. But according to the Library of Congress' Thomas guide on Congressional action, the only active Fairness Doctrine-related bills in the House and Senate would bar the FCC from ever bringing the policy back again.
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Yankee Group Blog » Blog Archive » Cable and Satellite Providers: Beware the Killer Rabbit (Ears): Via Yankee Group Blog » Blog Archive
In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, our equine-challenged heroes come upon the Rabbit of Caerbannog, which appears to be an ordinary, harmless rabbit until it starts killing people. read more... »
Forget Coupons — Are There Enough DTV Converters? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com: Via Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
Two weeks before the country was supposed to shut off its analog television broadcasts, there is a shortage of converter boxes that people need to get over-the-air digital television.
Michael Petricone, the senior vice president for government affairs at the Consumer Electronics Association, told the Federal Communication Commission Thursday that three million to six million converter boxes are in the pipeline and available to be sold, according to an account in Broadcasting & Cable. read more... »
Retailers may run out of DTV converter boxes soon: Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica
Are you worried about the digital TV transition? Concerned about whether consumers will be confused now that Congress has switched the last day of analog broadcasting from February 17 to June 12? Nervous that the government's set top box coupon program has run out of money despite having a waiting list of 3.7 million people long?Well, here's something else for DTV nail biters to chew on: a top retailing expert says that the nation's electronic appliances stores could sell out of analog-to-digital converter boxes around, roughly, this month.
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Read Original Article ( Via Law & Disorder Section - Ars Technica. )
DTV Converters In Short Supply: Via Slashdot
Ponca City, We Love You writes with a New York Times story saying there could be a shortage of DTV converter boxes in addition to the problem with coupons. "At the current rate of coupon redemption, 115,000 per day, plus sales without coupons, that means the current stock of converters could be sold out by the end of this month. So what would have happened if the whole digital transition worked the way it was supposed to? read more... »