Nearly 800,000 call for help with digital TV

[P@t_Mtl]

No it's much easier to blame "the man" for their own lazyness and lack of foresight. Afterall this as only been planned for the last 3 years, it's only been talked about everyday on every hour for the last 18 months on every news shows in North America.

You could have given people everything free, 20 years of warning and still a majority of them would still have done nothing and complaint, that is how the masses act and thing. They were doing the same thing 2000 years ago in Rome and I am sure they will still act the same way 2000 years from now.

[Big Daddy]

There should be a requirement for people to finish a 2-week course in audio/video before they are allowed to buy HD TV, HD Cable Boxes, Blu-ray players, and AVR/Speakers. In addition, the government should raise their taxes by $10 per question for asking dumb questions. That will help the federal deficit.

[Sammy]

It's been in the newspaper too. Some people just don't pay attention. There were articles around here about people having a service call to have the box installed and scanned for channels. This is too easy to pay somebody to do it.

[TVguy86]

Hey i was a tv repair guy. That is the number one thing i did on my service calls. Not fix tvs but explain to people how to use them.

The best one was the person who said their tv wouldnt turn on. Went over there and sure enough no power. Looked at how she had it hooked up. Was hooked up to the back of her converter box on the SWITCHED output. I turned on her cable box and magically her tv worked.


800,000 people i wish i could have been there for just one of them coming home the other day. Turning on their tv and THE TOTAL AMAZEMENT that their tv did not work.

[hardcorefrokid]

There was a report on the switch on the Thursday before, and well, there's this women who was complaining that she needed more time. And that the gov't should postpone the switch to digital. That just made me sad.

[CAB]

And these people are allowed to vote.

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by wafi

I agree with Riff when it comes to the Man paying for the boxes...why should the public fork out dough for what the govt and the cable companies decided upon. But 800,000 people?!?! Musta been a huge rock they crawled outta under! Cmon America!!!

Yeah, that's a pretty ridiculous number. Sorry, i guess i'm just reacting to some of the perceived haughtiness that's running through this thread. I mean, "ashamed to be an American." C'mon. I'm sure the people we're poking fun at are probably shaking their heads at us for spending thousands of dollars on AV tech and reading and posting on internet forums all day in order to "keep up." Gotta keep a little perspective here. Not everyone's lives revolve around entertainment and the mediums which deliver it. I know if my grandparents were still alive they'd think it silly, selfish, and wasteful.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by CAB

And these people are allowed to vote.

QUOTE OF THE DAY!!! Making me cry!



These 800,000 probably all voted for George Bush Jr. on the basis that he is just as educated as they are!!!

[Riff Magnum]

Awesome, another, "let's bash american's" thread. Can't get enough of those.

[bajor27]

Originally Posted by wafi

I agree with Riff when it comes to the Man paying for the boxes...why should the public fork out dough for what the govt and the cable companies decided upon.

Why should watching TV be free? TV is a luxury. If you want to watch, fork over the dough. The government has far more important things they can be spending money on.

800,000 seems like a pretty small number though. I don't know the number of Americans that watch TV not using cable or satelite but I expected more calls to be honest. I mean 800,000 is what, 1/4 of a percent of all Americans?

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by CAB

And these people are allowed to vote.

Unfortunately yes(though sometimes I wonder if they can even do that right).

[wafi]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Awesome, another, "let's bash american's" thread. Can't get enough of those.

I miss the 40s back when the world used to love us

[BluLobsta]

We'll see how many people call once they start charging subscription fees for over the air broadcasts now that it's digital and the signal can be encoded

[drago3451]

Originally Posted by wafi

I agree with Riff when it comes to the Man paying for the boxes...why should the public fork out dough for what the govt and the cable companies decided upon. But 800,000 people?!?! Musta been a huge rock they crawled outta under! Cmon America!!!

Just to clue you in. The govt does not have any money. The govt takes our money from our pay checks and spends it. It has always been our money it will always be our money. When they spend Trillions of dollars its as if they are taking our children turning them upside down and shaking them till it all falls out.

[drago3451]

Originally Posted by wafi

I miss the 40s back when the world used to love us

Its a love / hate situation. Most need our economy to survive as we spend the most and give the most. If we were to keep all of the money that we gave away to other parts of the world we would be walking on streets of gold and no one would be going hungry here in America.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Nick4u_81

These people have had almost two years to prepare for this. Come on!

Actually, this was a 10 year plan which started about 1996 or so. One of the proposed dates was April of 2006. I didn't think it would ever get here.

Was only in the past couple of years they got serious about telling people. Too bad they never touched on the topic of new antenna as much.

Tell the bozo's in Washington the old antenna will work, and they all believe it.

[Locklain]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Awesome, another, "let's bash american's" thread. Can't get enough of those.

I am an "American" and bash this country. There really isn't that much to be proud of anymore.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

... To be fair to those having troubles, most of them are probably in rural areas and are used to getting everything for free via OTA. Most of them probably resent being told by "the man" that they have to go buy some box to get the same old channels they've always got for free. ....

Funny how "the man" even gave them money to pay for that converter box. Sure, these people will cry, but once they get it hooked up properly, they will quickly change their tune once they see the picture. The problem is most people don't know they will need a new antenna.

Advisory to the bashers here. NOT EVERYONE IS TECHNICALLY SAVVY. It doesn't make them stupid. Just ignorant of knowledge. I can drive my car but I don't fix it. Does that make me stupid? But I work in I.T. Some people are doctors and can't understand how to get free OTA TV.

[William H Pratt]

No sympathy here!

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by drago3451

Its a love / hate situation. Most need our economy to survive as we spend the most and give the most. If we were to keep all of the money that we gave away to other parts of the world we would be walking on streets of gold and no one would be going hungry here in America.

Yes but while most of the time I will stand up and defend the USA (in my neck of the wood it's very "chic" to be anti-american) I have to remind anyone here that all of this (saving the world, rebuilding Europe & Japan, all the money & food...) all that was done by your grand fathers. Now a days I don't see the same quality in the USA as these proud men had. Granted that a good part of the world hold a huge debt to the USA, it's not to this generation of Amercians they hold this debt but to your grand fathers & grand mothers.