Well after a delay from February, June 12th is the day that we here in the USA cease analog TV transmissions. After the switch from analog to digital broadcasts is complete, analog TVs will be incapable of receiving over-the-air broadcasts without the addition of a set-top converter box. Consequently, a digital-to-analog converter, an electronic device that connects to an analog television, must be used in order to allow the television to receive digital broadcasts. The box may also be called a “set-top” converter, “digital TV adapter” (DTA), or “digital set-top box” (DSTB). Experts are calling it “the most significant advancement of television technology since color TV was introduced.”
If you are having any problems with your TV service please visit the extremely informative DTV website, or call your local provider.
Digital TV uses a more efficient transmission technology that allows TV stations to offer improved picture and sound quality, as well as offer more programming options through multiple digital subchannels (multicasting). Television stations have been preparing for the transition from analog to DTV since the late 1990s, when they began building digital facilities and airing digital channels alongside regular analog broadcasts. While broadcasters have been forced by Federal Communications Commission regulations to devote the equivalent of more than a billion dollars worth of airtime to public service announcements regarding the digital transition, the amount of information conveyed in these short advertisements is by necessity limited. Both the on-air announcements and government-funded telephone hotlines receiving viewer inquiries have been directing consumers to Internet sites to seek information, a problematic approach as many of those most-affected do not use online media as a primary source of information. Viewers in rural and mountainous regions are particularly prone to lose all reception after digital transition.
Nielsen Media Research reported that 3.1 % of Americans are still completely unprepared for the transition as of May, which translates to possibly 9 million people. It would have been a lot worse if it had happened in February as originally planned, as the figure of people who weren’t ready was much higher. Because the Commerce Department no longer had money to fund additional coupons for converter boxes after reaching the imposed $1.34 billion dollar limit, there was a backlog of millions of people who hadn’t received their free credit card from the government that could be used for a DTV converter box. The Obama Administration’s addition of $650 million for more DTV coupons in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill has helped significantly, but we will see soon how well the public is prepared.
p.s. Props to anyone who can guess the Sony TV in the picture; it’s definitely vintage.
