Ready, set, off! TV stations shut down analog signals today

Regulators are hoping a four-month extension of the nation's digital TV transition will avert chaos. Credit: greenkozi via Flickr.

Television stations that haven't yet switched off their analog, over-the-air signals will begin doing so today.

And federal regulators are keeping their fingers crossed that the transition will go according to script, thanks to an extension awarded in January by the Obama administration to give broadcasters and community groups four extra months to prepare viewers.

According to a story in today's Times,

Fearful of a backlash from nearly 6 million unprepared Americans who stood to lose their broadcast TV signals, President Obama and Congress put off the long-planned digital transition scheduled for Feb. 17 until today for most of the country.

They also poured an additional $650 million into the switch, including reducing a backlog of 4 million requests for $40 government coupons to subsidize the purchase of special digital converter boxes so that older televisions could receive the new signals.

Will the extra effort help avoid chaos as Americans wake up to find their TV signals scrambled? Stay tuned. We'll keep you posted.

-- Alex Pham

  Let us know if you're having any trouble shifting from analog to digital TV. You can also click here for more details on making the DTV transition.

Comments

[Mike Licht]

The Digital TV transition is no trouble at all if your cables are correctly polarized. Go to Screen 47 of the DTV Converter Box On-Screen Installation Guide and use the resident GPS to correctly align your antenna for each channel, allowing for local ionospheric conditions, and ARRRGGGHH!

Technical reference:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/tv-d-day-usa

[Jack Small]

I am 48 years old, and I do not intend to convert. Previously I only watched televised police car chases, or Presidential news conferences otherwise my main use for my old analog TV set is for watching my video and DVD movies. I say good riddance to commercial TV broadcasting in my home. And I see enough commercials on the internet now anyway.

[jerry w]

I'm still waiting to hear exactly why this switcheroo became such a huge government mandated issue. I mean, is a crap tv show any less crap when it's presented in high-def?
In trying to follow the money trail for a hint, I've run into a wall with no sign of an answer. Who gains, who loses in this stinking heap of pushing this stuff down the collective throats of America?

www.boskolives.wordpress.com