Digital Broadcast Transitioning
You may remember a while back, the post I did regarding the transition of analog broadcast TV to all digital broadcasting. That was slated to be done by February 17, 2009. However, now it’s looking like a gradual thing, and it is slated to be completely transitioned over by June 12, 2009.
June 12 is the date set by Congress, but it’s looking like some stations may go ahead and make the switch now. The remaining TV stations are expected to stop broadcasting in analog sometime between March 14th and June 12th.
So why the switch exactly?
Congresses Attempt to Protect Content in a Digital Age
I ran across this U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing from way back in 2002. Chaired by Ernest “Fritz” Hollings of South Carolina, the committee attempted to address the growing concern regarding piracy of digital programming – both over the air as well as served up online. Fortunately, cooler heads in the form of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) prevailed and the overbearing restrictions proposed by Sen. Hollings in his opening statement never took hold.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2002
Washington, DC.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ERNEST F. HOLLINGS,
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
Television is Going Digital: Get the Picture
Big changes are coming to your television. But they have nothing to do with summer re-runs or the new fall season. These changes involve the transition to digital broadcasting on February 17, 2009.
For millions of Americans – those whose televisions are already hooked up to cable or satellite or those who have televisions with built-in digital tuners – the transition should be seamless. But if you get your programming on an analog television through a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears,” you will have to take action to keep your TV sets working after the transition.
Keeping Children Safe With Online TV
There are many perks that come from watching online TV, but there are some downsides as well. Children who have free reign of the Internet are finding it easier than ever to view the shows their parents wouldn’t normally let them watch.
If you think about it, it’s easy to see how this happens. Many networks and websites make content from the TV available to anyone who visits their site. There is little way to figure out how old the person is, even if they ask for your age by ‘the honor system. So, what are you supposed to do as the parent to make sure your little one doesn’t get into some off-limits TV?
TV News Violence and Children
From an early age, children are informed about the world around them. The sources for this worldly information take the form of parents, teachers, friends and the media. Though media such as television, radio, and the Internet can be a wonderful learning platform, it also needs to be filtered in order to protect the sensitive and formative minds of children from content that is inappropriate and potentially damaging.