Crave

The Haier HLT71 7-Inch LCD TV is currently the bestselling TV on Amazon.

(Credit: Haier)

As most people are by now aware, on June 12, full-power broadcast TV stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting their analog TV signals and will only broadcast TV signals digitally. Obviously, that impacts people who have older TVs and still use antennas to get a TV signal at home. But what's not talked about as much is the thousands of portable TVs that will stop receiving signals once analog signal disappears for good. For those who rely on such sets to tune into sporting events, such as the NBA Finals, the analog switch-off requires immediate action.

It's no wonder, then, that the top two bestselling TVs on Amazon are portable TVs with digital tuners. The Haier HLT71 7-Inch Portable LCD TV sells for $105.99, while the Axion AXN-8701 7-Inch Widescreen Portable Handheld TV is $119.99. Coby's 8-inch TF-TV891 Widescreen LCD TV isn't as popular, partially because of its higher $159.98 price tag, but it still sits in the top 15.

So far we really haven't seen any digital portable TVs from tier-one manufacturers, which explains why all the top-selling portable TVs are from budget brands. We're still waiting for Sony's waterproof Bravia XDV-W600 to show up. (The 4-incher turned up in blogs late last year, but hasn't been heard from since.)

Anybody looking for a new portable TV? (Let's hope that all the old ones don't end up in landfills.) As always, feel free to comment.

The waterproof Sony XDV-W600 may be the future of portable TVs--but we're still waiting for it.

(Credit: Sony)

Fewer households than ever will get snow on June 12.

With under 40 days remaining until the June 12 switch-off of analog TV stations across the United States, Nielsen Media Research reports that 3.1 percent of TV homes in the U.S. are still not prepared for the DTV transition.

That number amounts to 3.5 million households being caught by surprise when their analog-only over-the-air TV broadcasts go to snow next month. That's an improvement of about 1.5 million homes since a February 18 Nielsen survey, which is significant because the original switchover date was scheduled for February 17 before being delayed.

There's no sign of a delay for the June 12 deadline, which could indicate that the 3.5 million estimate is acceptable to lawmakers. In a recent interview, Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology & the Internet Chairman Rick Boucher said the transition is on "a very good path. I do not anticipate any further problems." He also cited improvements in the DTV coupon program owing to infusions of new cash as a result of the stimulus program.

Nielsen's report (PDF) names the Albuquerque/Santa Fe market as the least-ready for the transition, at 8.77 percent unpreparedness, while somehow the Providence/New Bedford market achieved 100 percent preparedness. The least prepared ethnic group is African-American (5.9 percent), followed by Hispanic (5 percent), Asian (4.1 percent) and finally white (2.4 percent). Despite the stereotype that the elderly are less aware of DTV than the young, just 1.7 percent of households headed by people above the age of 55 are unprepared, compared with 5.7 percent of households headed by people under 35.

(Via EngadgetHD)

Just last week, President Obama signed the DTV Delay Act into law. But despite appearances, the delay isn't mandatory: about one-third (650-plus) of the nation's TV stations will be pulling the plug on their analog towers by the end of Tuesday. The remaining stations will be taking advantage of the new legislation, transitioning to digital between March 14 and June 12.

Which stations are switching early? An updated document at the FCC's DTV Web site will let you know which (if any) stations are in your area (PDF). Here in New York--as in most large metro areas--no stations are transitioning early. But those of you with antennas in smaller or rural markets may begin to see stations blink out in the next 24 hours, if they haven't already.

Remember: anyone with cable, fiber, or satellite TV service shouldn't see any disruption in service. Likewise, anyone with an antenna attached to their DTV or DTV converter box should be up and running on the digital versions of their local stations. (See a side-by-side comparison of analog and digital broadcasts during New York City's October 2008 analog shut-off test, for example.)

Meanwhile, some analog stations will be running a "night light" service for the next few weeks--basically a public-service announcement confirming that antenna viewers need to get a DTV converter box if they wish to continue receiving the channel. (My take: if the FCC had mandated a more aggressive version of this sort of on-screen reminder months ago, people would've been better informed, and no delay would've been necessary.)

Anyone who still has questions can read the in-depth CNET Guide to the DTV Transition.

Frustrated or confused by the nondelay delay of the DTV switch? Sound off below.

UPDATE (February 4, 2009): Both houses of Congress have now passed identical versions of a revised DTV bill that President Obama is expected to sign into law. However, it appears that the law will still allow analog stations to shut down starting February 17. See CNET News for more information.

The future of the DTV transition is still uncertain, and Wednesday the House of Representatives is set to vote on the latest bill to delay the transition from February 17 to June 12.

That sounds simple enough, but the reality is still pretty muddled. For one, the delay is still voluntary, which means it's possible that TV stations will turn off analog signals anytime between February 17 and June 12. (Some representatives dispute how voluntary the delay actually is.) Early switchovers seem likely if it's true that just running the analog transmitters will cost stations tens of thousands of dollars.

Probably the biggest reason for the delay is that the government-subsidized DTV coupon program is essentially out of money, so anyone without a coupon (or with an expired coupon) will have to shell out their own money if they don't already have a converter box. While the new DTV bill will end the expiration dates on DTV coupons, funding for that bill is dependent on the economic stimulus program passing--another uncertainty. If the DTV delay passes, but the stimulus program doesn't, it's unclear if new coupons will issued.

With all those issues in mind, we put the question to you: should the DTV transition be delayed?

Be sure to vote in the poll and discuss the details in the comments section below.

Related content:
CNET's quick guide to the DTV transition
Which DTV converter box should I buy?

Though DTV converter boxes are stacked up in most electronics stores, there are not enough guaranteed government coupons for them since the funds for the program began to run out.

(Credit: DTV2009.org)

With the scheduled transition to DTV broadcasting fast approaching (slated for February 17), one company is encouraging us to share the wealth. Retrevo's Good Neighbor Coupon Exchange Program links up those who have unused converter box coupons with those who are in need of them.

On Retrevo's DTV site, you simply choose whether you have a coupon to give or if you need one. Enter an e-mail address and a ZIP code and Retrevo will connect people living near each other so they can exchange. (Note: the person you are connected with will have your e-mail address, so consider that ahead of time.)

You can choose to give or receive your coupon through the mail or via an in-person exchange, but the only thing that can change hands is the coupons themselves--no buying or selling allowed.

(Credit: Federal Communications Commission)

Some cable subscribers may have been "forced" into purchasing a set-top box and a more expensive digital subscription to receive certain basic cable channels, according to a new investigation launched by the Federal Trade Commission.

The FCC sent out letters (PDF) to Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable and other major cable companies, requesting a tabular list of information, from the "number of overall subscribers in each affected cable system at the time of the analog-to-digital channel change" to "whether Company permitted subscribers affected by the analog-to-digital channel change to modify their service at no charge for 30 days after receiving notice of such change." Verizon Communications' FIOS network, which isn't explicitly a cable service, is also being investigated. The investigation doesn't affect satellite providers.

The investigation seems to have been initiated by a letter that the Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, according to Ars Technica.

Switching to digital is good business for cable. The New York Times reported that Time Warner Cable and Cablevision had better than expected profit this quarter. While Time Warner attributed this to phone and Internet subscriptions, it still "lost 31,000 basic video subscribers in the quarter, but added 124,000 digital video subscribers." Cablevision also gained a significant amount of digital cable subscribers.

New York City over-the-air analog TV stations went dark for two minutes today. The prescheduled test gave a temporary taste of what's planned when the stations permanently pull the analog plug on February 17, 2009.

The two minute test occurred between 5:58 and 6:00 p.m. ET, and--in the case of WCBS, at least--was accompanied by a countdown timer and an explanation narrated by the onscreen newscaster. (The test was in the middle of the local news.)

We monitored the over-the-air digital (HD) and analog feeds, and the analog one cut-off right on schedule, dumping to a "this is a test" warning crawl, while the digital feed continued unabated. (See the video above, with color commentary provided by CNET TV guru David Katzmaier.)

Simultaneously, we were monitoring the local DirecTV and Time-Warner Cable feeds as well. In both cases, the WCBS feed was also uninterrupted (even though it was the standard-definition transmission).

In other words--for our sister CBS station, anyway--the test seemed to go as planned, with only analog antenna viewers seeing the warning screen. Anyone watching on cable, satellite, or over-the-air digital--including those using DTV converter boxes to watch programming on their old sets--should have been blissfully unaware of the test pattern.

Now that the broadcasters have demonstrated that they can do this--target only the antenna-viewing audience that will actually be affected by this change--I think they should amp up these sort of tests. Reports indicate that a huge swath of the antenna-viewing public is still woefully unprepared for the DTV switchover, but if they start getting increasingly invasive test patterns during their favorite shows, I think the message will start to hit home.

If you still get your TV programming from an antenna and you're confused about the forthcoming changes, be sure to check out our Quick Guide to the DTV Transition.

D(TV) Day™ is fast approaching, and according to a new survey, 3 million Americans who rely on analog over-the-air reception will let their sets go "dark" after the transition on February 17, 2009. (Don't worry about them; they'll just sit alone in the dark not watching digital TV.)

But maybe you're not ready to let your 1986 rabbit-eared beauty hop off onto the junk pile. If you're among those still inhabiting analog broadcast TV land, how do you plan to handle the shift to the 21st century? Take our poll, and if none of our answer choices fit, be sure to suggest your own in the Talkback section below. As for the video, it may just make your day.

The Consumer Electronics Association has teamed up with Google's YouTube to sponsor a contest encouraging homemade public-education videos on the DTV transition.

The contest, entitled "Digital TV: Convert Now!", will award a tricked-out home entertainment center to the producer of the best video that "educates the public on how to prepare friends and family for the digital television (DTV) transition," according to the Web site. To get the ball rolling, the Association enlisted the country act Whiskey Falls, whose call-out video is available on the site now.

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