Did you see this coming?
 
Linda H. Lord
Deputy State Librarian/Acting State Librarian
Maine State Library
64 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
 
Telephone - 207-287-5620
Fax - 207-287-5624
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DIGITAL TELEVISION
 
SENATE VOTES TO DELAY DTV TRANSITION; HOUSE EXPECTED TO AGREE IN VOTE
THIS WEEK
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]  On Monday night, the Senate, on
a voice vote, unanimously agreed to delay the nation's digital TV
transition from Feb 17 to June 12. There was no debate before the vote.
The House could vote on the measure by week's end and it is expected to
pass easily. Democrats, including aides to President Barack Obama, have
expressed concern that viewers still don't know which sets do and do not
need converter boxes and don't know how to hook up and program their
converter boxes. They also fear there are insufficient help centers
available for people having trouble setting up their sets. There also
has been concern that viewers may not know be aware of signal patterns
that could make some stations more difficult to see. Finally, there has
been concern from both Democrats and Republicans that not enough money
was set aside to help defray the cost of converter boxes needed for TV
sets not connected to cable or satellite. The government was issuing up
to two $40 coupons per household, but that money has been used up, so it
can only issue new coupons when existing coupons expire. Nearly 2.6
million households are on the waiting list, and those coupons won't be
in consumers' hands by Feb. 17.
http://benton.org/node/21225 <http://benton.org/node/21225>  [52]
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