Tech Chat Recap, 2/11/08

[Scott Greczkowski]

People with DISH Network ARE eligible. You do not have to be dependent on OTA to be eligible for a coupon.

You may be correct, the rules were only people who depended on OTA as their only means of receiving television signals were the ones who were eligible.

Hoever looking at the current rules it appears they scrapped that rule as they had no way or manpower to verify if the person was OTA only, had cable tv, satellite etc.

 

[tigerfan33]

My thinking here that Dish has run into another road block with negotiations. I see this morning that Smithsonian going to be added to Verizon and Charter with no mention of Dish. We know that they have bandwidth for these channels.

 

[Peter Parker]

You may be correct, the rules were only people who depended on PTA as their only means of receiving television signals were the ones who were eligible.

Hoever looking at the current rules it appears they scrapped that rule as they had no way or manpower to verify if the person was OTA only, had cable tv, satellite etc.

Those were the original rules sent out for comment not the final rules. We are all eligible. Only in the last round will there be any attempt to restrict eligibility.

 

[Bradtothebone]

I was intending to buy two TR-40's when they came out in MARCH (per CES), so I went ahead and ordered my coupons. Now, with the TR-40's delayed until JUNE, someone else will get my (government subsidized) money, and my Mom's (who is OTA-dependent)!

Brad

 

[DISH_NC]

Those were the original rules sent out for comment not the final rules. We are all eligible. Only in the last round will there be any attempt to restrict eligibility.

All are eligible but the coupons are broken into two allocations, one of which are not available to Cable or Sat Subscribers.....

From the DTV2009.gov website:

Yes, but supplies are limited. There are 22.25 million coupons available to all U.S. households. Once those coupons have been used, there are an additional 11.25 million coupons available only to households that solely receive their TV broadcasts over-the-air using an antenna. Households with TVs connected to cable, satellite or other pay TV service are not eligible for this second batch of coupons. Consumers can apply for coupons until March 31, 2009, or until the funds are exhausted.

 

[Peter Parker]

That sis true---and I said that in my earlier post. It is the SECOND allocation that is avaialble only to OTA people. At this time it is perfectly acceptable for ANY household to request the coupons.

It may seem like I am splitting hairs here but there is a lot of misinformation about the conversion. Just as it is not true that a set with an ATSC tuner needs one it is equally untrue that cable and satellite customers have no need for them or cannot lawfully apply. Every household has a right to the coupons and the fact that I have two sets hooked up to DBS does not preclude me from having one or more sets that receive a terrestrial signal.

While the second allocation is targeted to people that receive OTA only the initial one is open to all of us. Many of us ahve applied and we were not defrauding anyone by doing so.

 

[darrencp22]

That si true---and I said that in my earlier post. It is the SECOND allocation that is avaialble only to OTA people. At this time it is perfectly acceptable for ANY household to request the coupons.

It may seem like I am splitting hairs here but there is a lot of misinformation about the conversion. Just as it si not true that a set with an ATSC tuner needs one it is equally untrue that cable and satellite customers have no need for them or cannot lawfully apply. Every household has a right to the coupons and the fact that I have two sets hooked up to DBS does not preclude me from having one or more sets taht receive a terrestrial signal.

While the second allocation is targeted to people that receive OTA only the initial one is open to all of us. Many of us ahve applied and we were not defrauding anyone by doing so.

A lot of people are mad at me in another thread for grabbing what I am rightly eligible for. I've been called a liar, dishonest, and defrauding the govt so far.

 

[cparker]

Did you know that with the government coupon program those with cable tv or satellite tv are supposed to be ineligible for the government coupon program?

Wait a sec. I have 2 TVs on satellite but I also have 2 TVs that are NOT on satellite and don't have digital tuners. They are small TVs in my kids' rooms. (they don't get no satellite in their room... only *I* get satellite in my room... hehehe)

So having a satellite service AT ALL makes you ineligible for the coupons even though you may have other TVs not connected to satellite that will need a converter box?

That seems wrong.

** edit ** I should read an entire thread before posting..... duh

 

[Peter Parker]

No. That is not what I am saying. I am saying the opposite---you are entitled to it.

I have no idea where the other thread is but anyone accusing anyone of defrauding anyone should check out the facts before they make such a charge.

 

[waltinvt]

I'm sorry, but I totally disagree! I found the chat very interesting as always and was pleased with what EchoStar is doing to remain the leader in DBS.

I feel the TR-40 and TR-50 are wonderful additions to their already superior product line. I plan on being one of the first to purchase the TR-40 with my coupon and test it out. Before last night's show I did not know that I should wait until May to order the coupon, because they expire in 90 days.

I also was pleased to find out that there will be a firmware upgrade to allow DVR recording sorting by episode number.

It was fasinating to find out that channel 37 was never assigned to a broadcaster.

In all the chat was great and I am looking forward to next month's Charlie Chat on March 10th when he will be announcing many channel additions (including HD) to the already vast amount of programming choices available to us as subscribers.

OMg - it's Chuck's long, lost brother Bubba.

 

[Harold]

I'm sorry, but I totally disagree! I found the chat very interesting as always and was pleased with what EchoStar is doing to remain the leader in DBS.

I feel the TR-40 and TR-50 are wonderful additions to their already superior product line. I plan on being one of the first to purchase the TR-40 with my coupon and test it out. Before last night's show I did not know that I should wait until May to order the coupon, because they expire in 90 days.

I also was pleased to find out that there will be a firmware upgrade to allow DVR recording sorting by episode number.

It was fasinating to find out that channel 37 was never assigned to a broadcaster.

In all the chat was great and I am looking forward to next month's Charlie Chat on March 10th when he will be announcing many channel additions (including HD) to the already vast amount of programming choices available to us as subscribers.

Did he watch the same chat?! Do you work for E*?

 

[darrencp22]

He's being sarcastic.

 

[ChetK]

So, with all of the talk regarding external hard drives, was there no mention of the Seagate hard drive sleep issue being fixed?

Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

 

[db2]

So, with all of the talk regarding external hard drives, was there no mention of the Seagate hard drive sleep issue being fixed?

Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

I know what you're talking about and, no, there wasn't any mention of the issue. To be quite honest, there wasn't any useful information given out on the Tech Chat last night. One guy called in to ask if the 722 or the TR-40 was a better receiver. That's how bad the chat was.

 

[PopcornNMore]

People with DISH Network, DirecTV abnd cabkle ARE eligible. ALL US Households are eligible. You do not have to be dependent on OTA to be eligible for a coupon. Many of su ahve one or more sets that get programming OTA and we are eligible for the coupons.

This is from the NTIA webite

Starting Jan. 1, 2008, all U.S. households will be eligible to request up to two $40 coupons to be used toward the purchase of up to two, digital-to-analog converter boxes, while the initial $990 million allocated for the program is available.

If the initial funds are used up, the Act permits funding to increase by $510 million, upon certification to Congress that the initial allocated amount is insufficient to fulfill coupon requests. If the additional funds are needed, eligibility for those coupons will be limited exclusively to over-the-air-only television households. Consumers requesting coupons from these contingent funds must self-certify to NTIA that they do not subscribe to cable, satellite or other pay television services. This program is structured to monitor demand to help ensure that over-the-air reliant households will not lose total access to television broadcasts after the Feb. 17, 2009, transition date.


I think that tbhey used the tech forum to push the Echostar product. I think that it was a bit excessive but it is untrue that DISH customers are not eligible.

You are correct. I will be using the TR-40 with another TV in the house. I may also purchase a TR-50. I feel both are great additions to EchoStar's product line.

Yes, they might have spent a little more time last night on the TR-40 product. However, over 6 million households depend on OTA signals and don't have satellite or CATV.

I realize people want more and more HD programming, but there needs to be a greater demand for HD before EchoStar invests the time and money on additional HD programming channels. They will come we just need to wait a little longer. For now, lets just sit back and enjoy the many channels (SD and HD) that are currently available.

 

[PopcornNMore]

I was intending to buy two TR-40's when they came out in MARCH (per CES), so I went ahead and ordered my coupons. Now, with the TR-40's delayed until JUNE, someone else will get my (government subsidized) money, and my Mom's (who is OTA-dependent)!

Brad

I did the same thing.

 

[PopcornNMore]

He's being sarcastic.

No i'm not being sarcastic. I just feel EchoStar has the best service and are doing everything they can to make their customers happy.

I actually enjoyed the chat and learned a thing or two. What was everyone expecting? After all it was a technical forum and not a Charlie Chat, so they had to talk about their new hardware and firmware upgrades. I feel they did just that.

 

[ramimac]

Those Q&A questions were a total joke..

and when have they not been a joke for the most part.

 

[bigblock468]

Probably the most amatuerish one hour of broadcasting, I've seen in a long time( must be because of the writers strike).

Tony

If any of you watch the Late Late show, Craig has been using that excuse for weeks ! He says "all the good writers, still on strike ! LOL

BB468

 

[ripnbigc]

You are correct. I will be using the TR-40 with another TV in the house. I may also purchase a TR-50. I feel both are great additions to EchoStar's product line.

Yes, they might have spent a little more time last night on the TR-40 product. However, over 6 million households depend on OTA signals and don't have satellite or CATV.

I realize people want more and more HD programming, but there needs to be a greater demand for HD before EchoStar invests the time and money on additional HD programming channels. They will come we just need to wait a little longer. For now, lets just sit back and enjoy the many channels (SD and HD) that are currently available.

But why spend so much time talking about it on a Dish Network broadcast that only Dish customers can see?