18.3 percent of Milwaukee households are completely unready for DTV

[kjnorman]

I came across this today and thought you folks in Milwaukee would get a groan from this statistic "18.3 percent of Milwaukee households are completely unready [for digital TV]".  This supposedly makes Milwaukee the worst city in the nation for DTV readiness.  I do not know the definition of "city" for the survey but still its not the best accolade :bang:

Read the full article is here.

Kerry

[Army82ndAB]

Well, if the amount of DTV Converter boxes we sell through at BBY is any indication this number will be significantly lower come February. To give you an idea the store I'm at does the least amount of business in the city, and yet every Friday we receive about 200 boxes and they're gone before the weekend is over.

[Tom Snyder]

Hey Kerry!

Great to hear from you... How's life as a F.I.B. (Friendly Illinois Brother)?

[gb4fan92]

Hey Kerry!
F.I.B. (Friendly Illinois Brother)?

I remember a different meaning for F.I.B.  Now how does that go??

[LoadStar]

I wouldn't worry about it. "Unready" doesn't mean "unaware." I'd guess that most people are aware of the transition - they're just not bothering to rush out 8 months before hand and get a box.

[techguy1975]

I don't really see that as a blemish on the city at all.  There will always be late-comers to new technology.  Some people simply don't watch TV anymore.  They may own one, but it mostly sits there collecting dust.  Also, I'm sure a good portion of that number are the elderly who are either unaware of the pending change, or do not understand it.

[kjnorman]

Hey Kerry!

Great to hear from you... How's life as a F.I.B. (Friendly Illinois Brother)?

Life is good.  

The way I read this statistic is that there are simply more people living in the Mikwaukee area that use good old rabit ears.  As someone has suggested, that is not to say that people are not aware.  It's just that they see no need to go out and upgrade that 13 inch black and white TV just yet.....

Kerry

[John L]

I educated a man from church who is in his mid 80s and lives out in Elkhorn and does not have Cable or Satellite, just the TV and antenna.  Talking with him yesterday he received his coupon and purchased the box.  He just needs some help in getting his box working, which should not be a problem as I also told him that the local TV stations are already providing the digital broadcasts so its a matter of getting the box set up and making sure it is receiving all the signals.

I know he will be happy, especially when he will discover extra channels like WTMJ Weather Plus 24/7.

-John L.

[LoadStar]

Excellent point, John.

Instead of running the "The end is near" themed ads, the broadcasters should probably be running ads that let people know that they could switch now with no negative side effects. Make it clear that this isn't something they're forced to do, but something they can do, and would gain improved picture and sound by doing so.

[foxeng]

If you read the full report, it says that homes not ready mean that they have at least 1 TV that isn't digital ready. It doesn't take into account those homes with at least 1 TV that IS digital ready and teh rest aren't. Pure hype.

[LoadStar]

If you read the full report, it says that homes not ready mean that they have at least 1 TV that isn't digital ready. It doesn't take into account those homes with at least 1 TV that IS digital ready and teh rest aren't. Pure hype.

"Unready" means at least one TV without a digital tuner or another means of receiving digital signal.

"Completely unready" means every television in the household is "unready."

They differentiate between the two in the report.

[foxeng]

"Unready" means at least one TV without a digital tuner or another means of receiving digital signal.

That number makes a bigger splash though and creates a false sense that things are amiss when they really aren't.

Even though I have 4 TV's and three of then have an ATSC OTA tuner connected or connected to a MVPD the 4th one doesn't yet so according to the headline, I am not digital ready, which is of course NOT true. i am digital ready more than most people. But that is the point I am making, I AM ready, but Nielsen says I am not. Bigger headline when written that way.

[kjnorman]

Likewise I have three TVs.  One is connected to Directv in the family room and also happens to have a DTV capable tuner - though its not connected to an antenna.  The other two are in the basement rec room.  One is simply not used and the other is only connected to a DVD player - again we don't really use it.  Neither is capable of receiving DTV and so I am not ready.  Then again, neither is capable of receiving analog TV either, so I guess I am an anomaly.

One of these days I will pipe my Directv feed to the basement but for now its not a priority...

[Doug Mohr]

None of my TVs have ATSC tuners in them. Then again, they don't have NTSC tuners either. They are all HD monitors :Badger:

Does that mean even though I use only OTA digital already I am "Completely Unready" for the transition?

It's the stories like this that make me avoid the mainstream news.

Doug

[LoadStar]

None of my TVs have ATSC tuners in them. Then again, they don't have NTSC tuners either. They are all HD monitors :Badger:

Does that mean even though I use only OTA digital already I am "Completely Unready" for the transition?

It's the stories like this that make me avoid the mainstream news.

Doug

If you have an OTA digital tuner attached to them, then they are considered "Digital Ready."

Only televisions and monitors with absolutely no way to receive digital broadcast television are considered "digital unready."