And the actual price of your showcase is.... [static]

As I was setting up my recording equipment this morning to catch the DTV transition I realized that the whole ceremony was starting at 10:30am for the noon switch over. I saw one channel would be starting their coverage at 11, so I decided to record from 11am to 1pm. Problem is, once I yanked the cable and plugged in the rabbit ears, I couldn't pick up that station. I decided to go with the local CBS station which came in the strongest. As I was setting up the recording times I realized that the transition would be cuttign into The Price is Right (known among true fans as TPIR). I bet if Bob Barker was still hosting they'd have pushed the time back to 1 or 2pm. Sure enough when the actual transition happened, you never got to see what the actual price of the showcase was. Stupid DTV Transition. I also found that TPIR is not the only secret problem facing DTV and the transition. While flipping channels, I discovered than 3 of the 4 local stations had lost sound around 10:45. I don't know when (or if) they ever got it back before the change. On a more personal note, it seems than FCC Chairman Kevin Martin may have had a good reason to come hide out in Wilmington the past few weeks. Apparently he's in hot water with a few senators over his handling of cable companies during the DTV transition. As I have said before, I am so proud of my representatives in Washington for spending my valuable tax dollars on such important issues, while gas prices are too high, we're fighting 2 or 3 wars, and people can't afford the houses they live in. It seems there are other issues with DTV that no one really wants the rest of the world to know. Sure we've heard the official reasons why Wilmington was chosen. But if you scroll to the end of this article you'll find the REAL reason Wilmington was chosen. This is often referred to as "cherry picking." Find a test market that will make the transition appear smooth, so you can tell the rest of the world there's nothing to worry about. And if you were thinking that all you had to do to make sure mom and pop could watch TV, think again. This article by a local CBS station's engineer will explain that even if you do get the DTV converter box, you're still probably screwed. And speaking of converter boxes, after my previous post about the lack of battery operated boxes, I got an email from Dr. A: Also, several of the converters run off an ac adapter that's rated at 12VDC... In fact, I've bought two...so the converters are battery operated if you are a small bit techno savvy...Nonetheless, you are so correct..none have a battery compartment... I do need to point out that when Dr. A says "a small bit techno savvy" that is may be a relatively small bit. But with that in mind, I now present my latest idea to anyone who wants to make a barely honest dollar. Go get a bunch of DTV Converters and attach some batteries to them. They make 12 volt batteries, usually used in cameras, or you can make it look more professional by making them plug in 8 AAA batteries instead. But where you'll make your money is this: Patent them as "Hurricaneproof Digital TV Converters" and abbreviate them on the box as "HDTV Converter Boxes." I bet you could easily charge $100 each for them. Just send me a cut of the profits! Anyway, once I finally got home this evening (I covered a 6-9pm class for another instructor tonight) I grabbed a spot on the sofa and replayed the event. Sure enough about 30 minutes before the transition they changed over to the ceremony down at Thalian Hall. Lots of dignitaries and government people talking endlessly. Across the frotn sat 3 or 4 TV sets, I assume were turned to all the local TV stations. As everyone droned on and on I turned to Tasha and said "All they really need is a gigantic switch to flip." Sure enough, 5 minutes later they zoomed out to show the biggest, cheesiest, 7' tall lightswitch with "Analog" as the "down" and "Digital" as the "up." When they got about 3 minutes away, all the officials gathered around with the FCC Chairman on one side and Wilmingon Mayor Bill Saffo on the other. They then reached out to prepare to flip the switch. If you recall my Krystal Kritter Hippo Lightswitch Cover post you know exactly what I was thinking: "That's one big phallic symbol the FCC Chairman and our Mayor are holding onto." Sure enough the countdown started and pictures started clicking and then they flipped the switch... early... by 3 seconds. You'd think someone would have a digital watch, not an analog watch to time this thing. So anyway, now when you turn on regular TV with the rabbit ears, all of the regular Tv station are running the following text in a never ending loop: At 12 noon on Sept. 8, 2008, commercial Television stations in Wilmington, North Carolina began to broadcast programming exclusively in a digital format. If you are viewing this message, this television set has not yet been upgraded to digital. To receive your television signals, upgrade to digital now with a converter box, a new Tv set with a digital (ATSC) tuner or by subscribing to a pay service like cable or satellite. For more infromation call: 1-877-DTV-0908 or TTY: 1-866-644-0908 or visit www.dtvwilmington.com. Seems to me the easiest way to handle the conversion for the rest of the world is to essentially flip the switch to digital for the rest of the country for 5 minutes displaying a similar message every few hours to start with and increasingly longer and more often. It would certainly get the point across, be less annoying to those who have already made the transition, and require a lot less work in the long run. But then I guess that's why I don't run the FCC. I might actually accomplish things ahead of time and under budget. And that's just not how our government works, is it? Maybe next they can investigate steroid use in Digital Television?