It’s back! 30 days till we switch to digital TV
May 12th, 2009, 9:15 am · 11 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
The 30-day countdown to the nation’s switch to digital TV broadcasts starts today. This, of course, means that TV viewers who are using an antenna to watch an older analog TV won’t get service after June 12.
What has changed since we last counted down in January, only to be delayed by swift-moving legislation signed by the new president?
According to a poll from the National Association of Broadcasters (which has likely spent millions attempting to educate the analog-TV reliant), 82 percent of these rabbit-ear antenna people have switched to digital. That leaves 2.1 million people who: a) are procrastinators, b) have no idea what’s going on, or c) don’t care, don’t need it, don’t want it.
By comparison, in January the percentage of prepared households was 52 percent.
For those who are either a) or b), this is your friendly reminder.
I set up a guide to the digital TV transition RIGHT HERE (gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/dtv2009), but the essence is that you need to take action if you rely on an antenna and analog TV set. To convert, you can order cable or other paid TV service, buy a digital TV (all TVs sold after March 2007) or buy a converter box. The converter box is the cheapest option and the government still has $40 coupons available to offset the price. To apply for a coupon, visit www.dtv2009.gov.
Some of the problems occur after consumers install the converter box. The biggest issue has been reception and getting channels. But that is apparently changing too as more channels go digital and improve their broadcast strength. According to a new NAB survey of 1,080 broadcast-ready consumers, 75 percent of digital-ready households say they are getting better reception then before. Approximately 8 percent, however, say they are receiving fewer channels.
Follow the tips at antennaweb.org or my guide to understand the digital conversion and how to get better reception (suggestions are to buy a rooftop antenna and always rescan the converter box to pick up new channels).
More digital TV transition news:
Check out the Gadgetress Guide to the Digital TV transition
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Tamara,
One aspect of this switchover that doesn’t get much attention is the fact that portable TVs won’t work anymore. I happen to have a Sony Watchman which has come in handy a number of times while I’ve been out walking the dog, at a sports venue, etc. While I realize that some cellular phone carriers make live TV available, my carrier does not provide it and I do not wish to change over if I don’t have to.
I’d appreciate it if you could stay on top of the latest developments in portable digital TVs. I’ve think there are one or two companies out there who make them, but I’ve never heard of the brands and am suspicious of the quality.
Thanks!
I’ve mentioned the whole portable TV issue before and that yes, most portable TVs will be e-waste after the switch. However, there are now a few more options, including a battery-powered converter box (or try this link), and portable digital TVs.
Do you think it’s just a coincidence that they surveyed 1080 broadcast ready customers?
heh!
Would’ve been really funny if two-thirds of those 1080 digital-ready households, not 75%, were getting better reception.
Why? Two-thirds of 1080 = 720!
Wake me when it actually happens.
The biggest non-event since Y2K
The biggest problem in this whole thing is the vocabulary. The people who have only recently converted to digital or who still aren’t ready are the ones who did not understand the terms analog or digital. I know that if I were not tech-savvy and only half paying attention, I would not have understood what an analog TV was. To these folks, a TV is a TV. It is only in the last few months that the publicity has switched to showing pictures of older TV’s and making it simple: “If you have one of these TV’s and use use an antenna to watch CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, your TV will not work after June 12th”
Also, Tamara, are you aware that the local stations will be switching thoughout the day on June 12th and not simultaneously. From the AVS forum’s Los Angeles over the air section, someone posted the times as given out recently by KCAL(only the major VHF stations were giving out specific times–PBS and other channels have said “sometime in the evening” of the 12th):
KNBC 6am
KABC noon
KCBS/KCAL 1pm
KTLA 10:45pm
KTTV/KCOP 11:45pm
I hope the cable companies are ready to switch their analog customers (people without a box who have the wire going directly into their old tv).
Thanks Eric. One other bit of info from the NAB: 94 percent or 1,655 out of 1,759 full-power TV stations are broadcasting in digital today, according to the NAB.
As for cable customers who don’t have a box like your example, the cable TV co’s are (at least for the near future) converting the digital signal back to analog at the main plant and then piping into the customers home. Analog cable customers will still be able to watch TV on older sets. This is true for Time Warner Cable and Cox. Not sure about other cable co’s outside of O.C.
Hopefully that clown Obama wont delay it again.