US House Kills Proposed Delay For Digital TV Transition 664
An anonymous reader writes "The Digital TV transition delay bill has failed to pass the United States House of Representatives. By a vote 258 to 168 in favor of changing the date, the bill has failed as two-thirds of the votes are required for it to pass. The delay bill was once perceived as inevitable, [but the House] has now apparently made February 17th the date of transition once again. Now the question remains, will they attempt to pass it again by the deadline?"
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:A simple answer (Score:5, Funny)
I say pass a bil that requires ALL analog transmitters to stay online for 1 month.
Broadcasting a red screen with "If you did not expect this, YOU ARE STUPID!" on it in flashing black letters.
Most cool Japanese products never get here because they are convinced we are really dumb and could not understand them. And honestly I'm starting to understand why they feel that way.
Three Shells. (Score:3, Funny)
True, but at the same time I fail to see the need for anything more than a "flush" button on my toilet. (Although, now that I think about it, an air freshener button might be a good idea.)
Re:A simple answer (Score:5, Funny)
1) Reds in NTSC are either illegal (out of gamut) or very close to black (bad for black and white sets)
2) solid color borders and constant flashing cause bandwidth issues to crop up, making the content illegible
3) Part of the issue with delaying the shut-off is that MANY full-power TV transmitters are on their last legs and new parts are unavailable.
4) You don't need the "If you did not expect this, " part.
5) You are stupid.
Re:Three Shells. (Score:5, Funny)
I dunno about you, but as a person with a gastrointestinal disease I could really use a "nuke from orbit" button on my toilet some days. :/
Re:Three Shells. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Good thing (Score:5, Funny)
well, they do ahve that problem of trying to figure out how to get away with stealing a(nother) trillion dollars from the taxpayers ... for the children will be the eventual justification, of course
Well, how will the children ever learn how to properly manage debt if we don't give them any debt to practice with?
Re:Hawaii already switched... what's the big deal? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Good thing (Score:5, Funny)
Asshole! You almost gave me a new monitor's worth of debt from projectile laughter.
Re:people clinging to their TVs (Score:3, Funny)
As the opiate of the masses, is washington worried what happens when people lose their pacifier?
Janie Crane: Without regular picture transmissions, thousands are swarming the streets, desperately buying black-market tapes from video vendors.
Mrs. Formby: We're going to go critical if we don't act soon.
Edwards: We're going to have riots out there. We should distribute emergency video players immediately!
Janie Crane: Edison... an off switch!
Metrocop: She'll get years for that. Off switches are illegal!
Voice: This is a message to the authorities. It is also an ultimatum. You have until sunset to release the detained Blanks. This morning's failures were tests. We can desolate your systems. The reason is the actions of Simon Peller. Release the Blanks or every computer in the city will be simultaneously wrecked. You have until sunset.
Mrs. Formby: My god, they could lobotomize the network. Without television, this city would be ungovernable!
Blank Dominique: Now if all those threats are for real, well, there'd be no networks, would there?
Blank Reg: No, Dom. Not if the lads do their business...
Blank Dominique: We don't have a computer, do we?
Blank Reg: No, we don't. Computers know too much.
Edwards: Chaos out there! People are in a panic, fighting for old video recordings!
Ashwell: Personally, I'd rather watch a smoke alarm.
Background: Big Time... Television! Big Time... Television! Twenty-four hours a day, day after day, making tomorrow seem like yesterday!
Blank Reg (over): This is Blank Reg, welcoming you to Big Time Television, from sunrise to sunset, filling your empty lives with mindless drek!
Bruno: Our 'bomb' is simply a program. It links all the programs of the city through the main one simultaneously. Massive overload. Goodbye everything from... Security Systems to Network 23.
Max: Well, I'll let you know if there's life after the off-switch-tch-tch.
Bruno: I already know.
Max: What I want to know is, why you want to wreck our network? Network!
Bruno: Your network, and the authorities, are mesmerizing millions into worshiping this new priesthood of the computer! Like... cave men worshiping fire! It's a false faith, Max.
[angry crowd noise]
Edison Carter: It's starting to happen. Their world's gone away. Without their TVs, what is there for them?
Edison Carter: Only one man can prevent our city being paralyzed: Simon Peller. Mr. Peller, are you prepared to negotiate to prevent this catastrophe?
Bryce Lynch: Micro-link... running... Control.
Simon Peller (on tape): My dear Miss Jones, of course I will release these people. I have no intention of risking this city or its television network.
Simon Peller: I never said that!
Simon Peller: Those Blanks will be brought to justice. They haven't heard the end of this, Carter.
Edison Carter: Oh, I think they have... Simon. Unlike the Fringes, justice here is a lot more than cash flow... or politics.
Max Headroom: What are you laugh-laugh-laughing about? Bryce just tried to kiss me! Kiss me!
Edison Carter: Well, you are irresistible.
Theora Jones: Well, thank you.
Re:A simple answer (Score:2, Funny)
If that's the case, wouldn't you use about the same amount of bandwidth regardless of what's on the screen?
Yes.
Thank you for consulting The Slashdot Oracle.
Re:The amount of money.... (Score:4, Funny)
Your Uncle Elroy paid good money for a perfectly functional television, and the government broke it. It's up to them to fix what they broke, and to pay for fixing it.
Re:Good thing (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe this is such a hot issue because when millions of Americans wake up to a non-functional TV, in the middle of winter, with no way to keep their brains sizzling away on a diet of Oprah and Survivor, they'll actually start to think.
It will be like that WALL-E moment when the chair-dweller has her video feed disrupted and realizes "I didn't know we had a pool!"
My fellow representatives, do we really want Joe and Jane six-pack to wake up and see the pool?
Re:Hawaii already switched... what's the big deal? (Score:4, Funny)
To watch Hawaii Five-O reruns. DUH! :P
Re:Good thing (Score:2, Funny)
Wow, your right. How could everyone have overlooked this fact. Only if there was some way of getting weather data over radio waves that didn't involve pictures....maybe something in the 90 MHz range? Maybe if some government agency could only transmit weather data continuously...
Re:Three Shells. (Score:3, Funny)
News for nerds, stuff that matters:
Soulsteal talking about his green apple splatters.
I DO! (Score:2, Funny)