by Richard D. Lewis

Last year Congress approved legislation that set a date of February 17, 2009 for the switch from analog to digital television. Managing that transition has already began. As of March 1, 2007, the FCC has required all televisions manufactured or imported into the United States to incorporate digital tuners. For televisions manufactured before this date with only an analog tuner that are still being sold, the FCC is requiring retailers to display a consumer advisory saying DTV is needed beginning February 17, 2009.

So this is a good thing, right? I mean, digital television provides more efficient transmission, not to mention better sound and picture quality. But what about all the 70 million TV sets which will be obsolete? Many of those outdated sets belong to the elderly or poor; people who may not fully understand what all these digital shenanigans are all about. Believe it or not, I know people in my native North Carolina who are still watching black and white televisions! That’s right: some folks have not made the switch to color yet! Still many others rely on over-the-air broadcasts and use rooftop antennas or rabbit ears.

Anyway, perhaps there will be some kind of giveaway from the government, for those too poor to afford a digital-to-analog converter box. Of course, if you subscribe to satellite or cable service, they will provide you with this service through the receiver or set top box they provide.

One great benefit of the transition is that once TV stations switch to digital transmission, they will return to the government a lot of the radio spectrum they currently use to transmit analog signals. Much of that spectrum will go to emergency service providers such as police, fire and public safety. With the Hurricane Katrina debacle still ever present in our collective conscious and ongoing concerns such as terrorist threats and even such things as the recent Southern California wildfires, our first responders need every advantage they can get.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 11:59 am and is filed under Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.