TVSquad

Earlier this year, when we were going to switch to digital television in February, my sister sent me an e-mail and asked me if I was ready for the switch, and I thought to myself, I think I've been ready for several years. So I'm not quite sure why people are still having a problem switching from analog to digital (I'm especially confused when people say that older citizens use TV as their "lifeline" to the outside world - if you're using words like that, you really should switch or your family should switch for you).

Nielsen is reporting that 2.5 million homes still haven't switched to a digital TV or bought a converter box, even though that original switch date was extended to last Friday. I'm wondering why these people haven't switched yet. I'm not talking about people who have a TV but really don't watch it because they read books (as if you can't do both, but that's another rant). I'm talking about people who watch TV a lot and haven't made the switch yet.

The big digital television crossover came and went. So what do I do with my spare set? Sure, I subscribe to cable so my wired televisions should have no problem with the conversion (most of mine are recent purchases anyway and are prepared for the conversion), but that's not what I'm referring to. I'm asking what exactly I could now do with the Sony Watchman Model FD-2A that I purchased in 1985 and remains in my closet to this day.

It was intended as a way of being able to watch television during high school (and to show how dated the set is, the screen is black and white). It does actually still work, if the purpose of the set is to produce a screen of snow.

Here are some ideas that I could now use the set for:

• As a TV (all I need to do is crack it open and hook up a digital converter, which kind of ruins the portability aspect of the device)
• Target practice
• Paperweight
• Handy object to throw at my oppressors (if I ever have any oppressors)
• Tree ornament
• Abstract art
• Flashlight (if I turn off the sound)
• Fencing practice (the antenna is pretty long)
• Prop replica of a Sony Watchman
• Brick replacement

Any other ideas?

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate followed President Obama's recommendation and approved a delay in the digital TV transition date from February 17 to to June 12. If a similar measure passes in the House, then we all know what that means: four more months of DTV transition ads! Woo hoo!

Seriously, though, will it matter if the transition date is February, June, or sometime in Obama's second administration? At this point, even the most casual observer has figured out that the transition hasn't been communicated very well to the American public. People who have cable or satellite still think that they need to buy a new HDTV or upgrade to digital cable in order to be compliant with the conversion, people who got discount coupons for converters early on have found that the coupons have expired and they can't get more, and the people who have converted are being surprised that some weak stations won't come in due to the "digital cliff effect."

Echostar, the company behind the Dish Network and the Slingbox, is offering digital TV converters for $39.99. With the $40 coupon the government is offering for those with older sets that still use rabbit ears, the converters would end up being free.

Originally, the converter boxes were going to be offered between $50 and $70. Echostar is offering the converters at a discount in the interest of obtaining new customers and spreading their brand name.

Obviously, it's a good idea. I can't think of a single person who would pay $50 for something they could get for $40. It is a free-market situation that would warm the heart of most libertarians.

It's rather comforting, if a little scary, to see that even computerized icons can age a lot.

Britain's Channel 4 has brought back Max Headroom, the 80s TV character that everyone thought was just a computer creation but was actually actor Matt Frewer, for a series of TV commercials. The ads (or are they called adverts or something over there?) will show Max insulting Channel 4 for ignoring his idea of a digital TV world.

Folks, I hope that you're working on either buying a new digital television or are at least considering purchasing a box to convert your TV signals to digital, because the deadline for transitioning to this new technology is nearing and Congress isn't changing its mind. According to lawmakers in the House of Representatives, February 19, 2009 is still the deadline for the complete transition to digital TV. And, since it's coming from the United States government you know that it's for real!

Bigger isn't always better.

Josh Levin has a piece up at Slate about how he's going to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow on a 134-inch TV. OK, so it's not really a TV, but a digital projector that puts a large screen image on your wall. I don't pretend to fully understand the technology involved here (it sounds like a 21st century slide show projector to me), but I wonder when too much is, well, too much. I mean, seriously, 100 inches? 103 inches? 134 inches? Where will it end? Isn't there a point where a television is so many inches that it's no longer "television" but "a movie theater?" What size room do you need for a pic like this to even be watchable? I have a 60 inch Sony and my living room is just barely the right size for it. If I moved the couch any closer I'd feel like I was inside the TV.