For the vast majority of Americans, analog TV sets aren't supposed to go black as part of the switch to all-digital broadcasts until February 17, 2009. But federal regulators are expected to announce Thursday that Wilmington, N.C., has volunteered to make the transition several months early as part of a last-minute test of sorts, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The waterside town of about 100,000 plans to cut off its analog broadcasting as soon as September 8, according to the Journal and confirmed by a source familiar with the matter. North Carolina is Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin's home state, but it was unclear whether that had anything to do with the test market's choice.
The FCC has scheduled a press briefing Thursday afternoon, where a formal announcement is expected to be made. An agency spokesman declined to comment further but said Martin would be answering questions about the plans at that event.
As part of the larger digital television transition, people who rely on over-the-air broadcasts will have to outfit their analog TVs with converter boxes--which the U.S. government has offered to partially subsidize--or buy new digital TVs or peripherals, such as VCRs.
Of course, residents who rely on cable or satellite for their television service won't have to worry about making any changes to their TV-watching set-ups. For more on what the switch means for you, see our FAQ.
This National Association of Broadcasters' "TV Trekker" truck is one way that broadcasters are trying to get the word out about next year's switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts.
(Credit: Anne Broache/CNET News.com)By now, you've probably seen at least one of those televised public service announcements--or maybe even read on this very Web site--about how the U.S. government is forcibly cutting off analog TV broadcasts starting next February. And if you're a cable, satellite, or Internet-based TV subscriber, you probably already know that you shouldn't have to make any changes, and if you rely on over-the-air broadcasts, you may have already requested a taxpayer-funded coupon for a converter box.
Well, it seems your elected representatives on Capitol Hill don't have a lot of faith in the ability of their constituents--particularly ones who are elderly and live in rural areas--to make whatever adjustments are necessary to keep their TV sets from going dark when that juncture arrives.
At a hearing on Tuesday afternoon, Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee sounded repeated alarms about the coming switch to all-digital broadcasts--and grilled the transition's top two administrators, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin and National Telecommunications and Information Administration Chief Meredith Baker, about how they can be sure the message is getting out to every nook and cranny of the country.
Some suggestions arguably verged on the impractical. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), voiced concern about getting the word out to "those people in rural areas who rely on the (TV) system but don't pay attention to it," a notion that Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) seconded.
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) said he is concerned about reports, which he claimed arose from a recent Washington Post article, that if people don't type in the "exact right" Web site address for the coupon program (
A number of senators said they were worried that senior citizens would be left behind, and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), voiced concern that people living in tribal areas in his home state won't get the message.
In response to the queries, Martin and Baker outlined a familiar list of educational strategies that their agencies are employing. (FCC staffers have been going to senior centers around the country to provide information, for example.) The FCC, for its part, has also called for more frequent public service announcements during peak TV-watching hours.
They also pointed to an backed by trade associations representing consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers, the cable and broadcast industries, public television stations, and civil rights advocates. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), which has said it will have spent $1 billion on a "multi-platform" information campaign by the time the transition occurs, has even taken to driving giant TV-shaped trucks around the country as part of its efforts.
The politicians' concerns come amid mixed evidence about how much Americans know about the switch. A survey of about 1,000 American residents conducted in late January by the advocacy group Consumers Union found that more than one third weren't aware of the government's converter box subsidy program and nearly two-thirds incorrectly believed the transition wouldn't affect them. Results of a broadcaster-commissioned survey (PDF) put out the same day found that some 79 percent were aware of the switch.
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the Commerce Committee's chairman, said he worried that "too many Americans remain in the dark about what the digital television transition means" and called for monthly reports from the FCC and NTIA about how things are going.
"I've just got my fingers crossed," the veteran senator said. "I hope everything turns out well."
If you're among the 2.4 million Americans who have already applied for government subsidies to offset the cost of a forced digital television upgrade, you should be receiving that voucher soon.
Next week, the U.S. Department of Commerce plans to start mailing out the $40 coupons, which can be used to defray the cost of selected converter boxes that permit older, analog televisions to receive digital broadcasts, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said Friday.
It's all part of the congressionally mandated switch from analog to all-digital broadcasts scheduled to occur on February 17, 2009.
Here's a favorite demo that digital TV converts like to show: contrast the snowy picture generated by the good ol' rabbit-ears antenna and analog tuner on the left screen with the clearer image on the right of the analog TV outfitted with a converter box.
(Credit: Anne Broache/CNET News.com)If you're currently a cable, satellite, or Internet Protocol TV subscriber, you're most likely not going to have to make any changes. But anyone who relies on over-the-air broadcasts will need to purchase a TV or DVD player with a digital tuner--or take the arguably thriftier route of outfitting an existing analog TV with a digital-to-analog converter box.
To that end, the government is allowing any household, regardless of income level or any other factors, to request up to two of the $40 coupons during a first phase, in which 22.5 million coupons are expected to be available. If that supply runs out, Congress can authorize some 11 million more vouchers, but households applying for that batch would have to self-certify reliance on over-the-air broadcasts.
Some 9,700 store locations across the country are prepared to accept the electronic cards next week, and another 7,000 or so expect to be able to redeem them in the coming months, according to the Commerce Department. The coupon-request Web site allows you to search for the nearest retailer who's supposed to be stocking one or more of the certified models.
The eligible boxes--some of which are apparently already in stores--cost between $40 and $70, according to the Commerce Department. Here's a complete list of the more than 30 certified boxes.
Remember that the coupons expire 90 days after they're mailed. Right now, the government isn't allowing households to reapply for help beyond the two-coupon maximum if theirs expire, although some congressional Democrats are urging more flexibility.
Applications are still being accepted online at
For more information about the digital TV switch, check out CNET News.com's latest FAQ.
If you want Uncle Sam's help in bankrolling your household's switch to digital television before analog channels go dark next year, you can start filing your requests now.
As promised, the U.S. government on January 1 began accepting applications from American households for $40 coupons to defray the cost of a basic digital-to-analog converter box.
The gadgets, which are expected to cost between $50 and $70, are supposed to enable analog TVs to continue functioning when analog channels are evacuated on February 17, 2009, per Congress' orders. (About a dozen models have been cleared for use with the coupons so far.)
It doesn't matter how much money you make or how many digital TVs you already own. Every American household will be eligible to receive up to two of the coupons during a first phase, in which 22.5 million coupons are expected to be available. If that first wave is exhausted, Congress could authorize an additional $450 million, creating up to 11,250,000 more vouchers. That crop would be limited to households that certify that they rely on over-the-air TV.
To sign up for a coupon or two, you can head to DTV2009.gov or dial 888-DTV-2009 (888-388-2009). You can also apply by mail or fax. The government says it plans to accept applications until March 31, 2009, or until the coupons run out, whichever comes sooner.
As of Wednesday morning, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration had received 277,457 applications for 528,354 coupons, totaling more than $21 million, according to spokesman Todd Sedmak.
The agency plans to begin mailing the coupons on February 17. By that time,
The NTIA, which is running the coupon program, has said it's confident that the vouchers will not run out, as it has estimated the demand at 10 million to 26 million coupons. Some Democrats in Congress, however, have called for making more coupons available, arguing that some 70 million television sets are expected to need converter boxes to continue functioning.
Most American TV watchers are not expected to need new equipment.
If you already have a TV, DVD player or other peripheral device equipped with a digital tuner, you're good to go. (Nearly all new televisions purchased after March 2007, for instance, should include a built-in digital tuner, under federal regulations.) Subscribers of satellite, standard digital cable, and Internet Protocol television, or IPTV, services also aren't expected to have to make any changes. In a nutshell, only people who rely solely on free, over-the-air broadcasts will need to make adjustments.
If you're still not sure whether you need an upgrade, the NTIA has posted a quiz designed to help you figure that out. And for more information about the switch, check out our most recent FAQ.
The digital age is about to invade your elderly parents' or grandparents' living room. But do they know it?
The pending changes to free over-the-air TV for analog TV owners has gotten the attention on the Hill. The Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing Wednesday morning to discuss the topic.
Come February 2009, seniors who have analog TV sets and rely on rabbit ears to capture free TV programming off the airwaves face a huge problem--no picture.
That's when TV broadcasters will be required to halt analog broadcasting and, instead, transmit their content in digital form. For seniors who subscribe to cable, satellite or multichannel video programming services, their TV service will remain uninterrupted, even if they have an analog TV set.
But for those who don't--no TV, unless they purchase a digital-to-analog converter box.
The converter boxes are anticipated to cost anywhere from $50 to $70 and are expected to hit the shelves at consumer electronics stores in early 2008. To help offset the cost of the boxes, the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will begin offering Converter Box Coupons beginning January 1, 2008.
The $40-coupon can be applied toward the cost of the converter box, but will not cover installation fees, said Todd Sedmak, an NTIA spokesman. Consumers who need the coupons will be entitled to two per household.
An estimated 31 million U.S. households are believed to have an analog TV that relies on free over-the-air programming. Of this group, the Association of Public TV Stations estimates that 24 percent, or approximately 7.5 million viewers, are 65 years old or older.
Some of the concerns raised during the hearing included whether correct information was going to be provided to seniors, or their caregivers, by retailers selling the boxes.
Amina Fazlullah, a media reform advocate and staff attorney for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, expressed dismay that incorrect information about the converter boxes and the coupon program is being disseminated to seniors who enter the stores.
"We need to make sure retailers are providing accurate information. They're either offering boxes that are not relevant or trying to upsell (a more expensive device) to the consumer," Fazlullah said.
Though Japanese television manufacturers have mostly ditched tube TV manufacturing, their Chinese counterparts are just getting started exporting the sets.
In 2007, China's TV exports will for the first time surpass its domestic shipments, according to a new report from market research firm iSuppli. That's a direct result of Japan's TV makers' decision to focus on the more lucrative business of flat-panel sets, which bring in significantly higher margins, said Kathleen Zhang, iSuppli's China analyst. China will export 39.6 million TVs this year, and ship 38.3 million domestically, iSuppli said.
(Credit:
Erica Ogg/CNET News.com)
Though more U.S. buyers have begun to snap up these high-definition flat panels, much of the rest of the world is still buying CRTs (cathode ray tubes), mostly because they're more affordable in small to midrange sizes and there's less demand for giant television sets in places other than the U.S. That's good news for China.
The bad news is though low prices might still be attractive in the North American market, the U.S. transition to digital television and high tariffs--up to $20 per set--on Chinese imports pose problems for China's manufacturers.
As of March, all TVs sold in the U.S. must have both a digital and analog tuner for the upcoming switch to all-digital over-the-air television transmissions, which will officially begin in 2009. Putting a digital tuner in a set is more expensive and if consumers have to upgrade their TV, many will likely go with an LCD or plasma while they're at it.
However, iSuppli says it expects China to adjust well and continue to increase its TV exports despite these factors. The market for televisions exported from China could be up to 54.5 million by 2011, the firm says.
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