Just in case you were living in fear of another last minute switch on the digital TV transition date, be at ease, President Obama issued a statement urging those who aren't ready yet to prepare as there will be no further delays, and for those of us in the know to make sure that people around the way are getting the message. With a week to go (again) is there anyone still reading this that hasn't gotten their digital TV future straightened out yet?

"Oh, bollocks." No, we can't definitively prove that Gordon Brown said that after witnessing a "Wrong Region" code when inserting a DVD given to him by Barack Obama, but we're sure something of the sort was uttered. You see, the ridiculous DVD region coding system recently prevented the British Prime Minister from viewing a set of 25 "American classics" on DVD, all of which were bestowed upon him by President Obama during a recent visit to Washington, D.C. We hate to bludgeon a dead mule, but seriously, when will the DRM madness end? Er, on second thought, maybe this is precisely what's necessary to keep those region-free player outlets in business, and thus, the economy strong.

[Via techdirt, image courtesy of AmericaLives]

For all of you still waiting for a little governmental assistance in buying that DTV converter box that you should've purchased months ago (we kid... a little), we've excellent news. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is overseeing the program, has announced that it has finally begun to ship $40 vouchers towards the purchase of these very boxes once more. The waitlist has grown some 4.1 million deep since the subsidy program ran dry back in January, but the agency is hoping to have that cleared within three weeks. Of course, you better not procrastinate on your second chance -- who knows how quickly the $650 million it has left will last.

[Image courtesy of BreakItDownBlog]

Exactly one year ago today, we sat as prepared as ever to embrace the forthcoming world of digital TV. After February 17th, no longer would Americans have to suffer through yet another poor analog broadcast, and no longer would we have to wait for all that spectrum to be freed up for much more spectacular things. With just a year to go, we laid out a simple six-step program that would help confused TV watchers ensure that they would be ready on the seventeenth day of February, the year two-thousand and nine. Fast forward to this very moment, and confusion about the cutover is still rampant. In fact, the cutover hasn't even happened. Well, it sort of has. Ahh... see what we mean? Come along after the break, it gets crazier.

No way Obama was going to veto this after driving it all the way through Congress, but technically, the digital TV delay wasn't actually official until now. Late today, America's President signed his name onto the bill which will delay the digital TV transition from February 17th to June 12th, though a provision allows stations to switch over beforehand should they choose. In fact, hundreds of stations still plan to kill analog later this month, as they've been planning towards that date for years now. Honestly, we can't figure out what the purpose of this is. Unless there's more cash for the currently dry voucher program tucked away somewhere in that mind-bogglingly large "stimulus package," delaying the pain won't solve a thing. Though it will confuse the hell out of people, so there's that.

In an absolutely shocking move, the United States House of Representatives has failed to pass the digital TV transition delay bill that was all but certain to fly through just days ago. The bill needed two-thirds of the votes of the House under "special rules adopted for the vote," and reportedly, the vote was just 258 to 168 in favor of changing the date. As it stands, an estimated 6.5 million Americans are not yet prepared for the switch -- which is now back on track for February 17th -- and the money well for government-issued vouchers has ran dry. Honestly, we're elated to hear the news. The February date has been blasted from the rooftops for years now, and changing it this late in the game would wreak all kinds of havoc in the industry, not to mention instill even more confusion. Soon-to-be-vacated airwaves, we're ready for you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We knew it was bound to happen, and sure enough, it's happening. For the millions of Americans still waiting for their $40 voucher before buying one of those newfangled DTV converter boxes, the US Senate has just given its stamp of approval on providing them a four month reprieve as it attempts to get its act together. Oddly, there's no mention of Congress looking for new sources of funding, though we are told that consumers holding expired coupons can now request new ones. We suspect more details will flow out on all of this soon, but for now, you can bank on the digital TV transition -- originally scheduled to go down on February 17th -- now occurring on June 12th. Until it changes again, of course.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We're actually having a hard time believing this ourselves, but word on the street has it that the Senate is "on the verge of passing a bill that would delay until June the date when TV stations must broadcast in all-digital format." Without Congressional action, all TV stations will switch off their analog signals on February 17th -- a date that has been blasted out to the general populace for years now. The issue is that millions of Americans are currently on a waiting list for one of those $40 vouchers, and evidently it'll take a few more months to get additional funding and clear the backlog. It's expected that the new switchover date will soon become June 12th, and you can find all the fine print just down there in the read link.

[Via TVWeek, thanks Vanbrothers]

Neither Verizon nor Bright House Networks can provide those oh-so-snazzy interactive mix channels like DirecTV and DISH Network can, but what they -- along with a few other providers, most likely -- can do is provide free access to HBO for a day. This Sunday (that's tomorrow for the continental US, the day after tomorrow for Point Hope, AK, Kihei, HI and surrounding areas), FiOS TV and BHN digital TV subscribers will all be given a fee-free look at HBO's exclusive live broadcast of the "We Are One: The Obama Inauguration Celebration" concert from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Better still, both carriers are providing HD feeds for those looking for the best in clarity (read: you), and those scouting the full lineup of artists and speakers can find just that in the links below. Trust us, this is like a hundred million times better than trying to get within 50 miles of The District this weekend.

Read - Verizon announcement
Read - Bright House Networks announcement
Read - Time Warner Cable announcement

Update: Turns out, HBO's letting anyone with a STB tune in gratis. Classy move.

Not one to be outdone by its fiercest rival, DISH Network has seen DirecTV's Inauguration Mix Channel and raised it free access to HBO's exclusive coverage of the Opening Celebration on Sunday, January 18th. Yep, starting this Sunday (that's tomorrow for those on the right coast), DISH subscribers will be able to tune into HBO's SD and HD slots in order to see a plethora of musical performances and speeches by the likes of Beyonce, Bono, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifa and Denzel Washington. At the strike of midnight on Inauguration Day (January 20th), it'll offer up live feeds of six news networks on channel 100: FOX News Channel (Ch. 205), CNN (Ch. 200), MSNBC (Ch. 209), CNN Headline News (Ch. 202), CSPAN (Ch. 210) and CSPN2 (Ch. 212). Curiously, there's no mention if the mosaic will link to high-def feeds of said news channels, but if so, we'd say DirecTV just met its match.

[Image courtesy of Swamp Politics]

Well, wouldn't you know it. It seems like West Virginia senator Jay Rockefeller has the same idea as the Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA), as he introduced legislation on Thursday that would effectively postpone the digital TV transition from its current date of February 17th to June 12th. On top of that, John Podesta -- the co-chairman of Barack Obama's transition team -- has issued a letter to Congress signifying that the president-elect supports the aforementioned proposal. The delay would supposedly give the government more time to find funding for the now 2 million-deep voucher waiting list, and we're told that House lawmakers are "considering similar legislation and may schedule a vote as soon as next week." Here's a thought -- why aren't we spending our time getting the money now and keeping the confusion to a minimum?