The Daily OrangeLaw pushes back national switch from analog to digital broadcasting
By Meredith Popolo
Posted: 2/16/09, 3:22 AM EST Section: News
About 5 to 6 million families in the United States could have woken up Tuesday to find that their televisions were no more than useless boxes.
But thanks to the passage of the Digital TV Delay Act, the complete switch from analog to digital broadcasting will not occur until June 12.
Public service announcements have been cramming the airwaves for months, warning viewers that on Feb. 17, stations will stop broadcasting in analog signal and use solely digital. This means that any viewer who relies on an outdoor antenna or "rabbit ears" to receive free over-the-air programming will need to prepare for the switchover.
Lee McKnight, an associate professor in the School of Information Studies and chairman and CEO of Wireless Grids Corporation, correctly predicted last summer that there would be a delay.
"Turning off the TVs on millions of people was not going to be one of the first things Obama would want to be blamed for," McKnight said.
The government offers a limit of two $40 coupons per household to fund the purchase of a converter box, which translates an analog signal into a digital one. But when the program ran out of money, Congress passed the Digital TV Delay Act to extend the deadline for stations to switch over to a completely digital broadcast until June 12.
The new law does not require stations to continue broadcasting in analog past Tuesday, and some local Syracuse stations are going ahead with original plans to switch over.
Al Gillette, an engineer for FOX 68 WSYT, said the station will be transitioning to an exclusively digital broadcast as soon as possible because of the high costs of sending out both a digital and an analog signal.
Gillette estimated that it costs $30,000 per month to keep the analog transmitters on.
"That's just the one station here in Syracuse," Gillette said. "You have to remember that the company has about 60 stations, so if you multiply that, it's millions."
Gillette said he felt that the pushback was also confusing to viewers.
But thanks to the passage of the Digital TV Delay Act, the complete switch from analog to digital broadcasting will not occur until June 12.
Public service announcements have been cramming the airwaves for months, warning viewers that on Feb. 17, stations will stop broadcasting in analog signal and use solely digital. This means that any viewer who relies on an outdoor antenna or "rabbit ears" to receive free over-the-air programming will need to prepare for the switchover.
Lee McKnight, an associate professor in the School of Information Studies and chairman and CEO of Wireless Grids Corporation, correctly predicted last summer that there would be a delay.
"Turning off the TVs on millions of people was not going to be one of the first things Obama would want to be blamed for," McKnight said.
The government offers a limit of two $40 coupons per household to fund the purchase of a converter box, which translates an analog signal into a digital one. But when the program ran out of money, Congress passed the Digital TV Delay Act to extend the deadline for stations to switch over to a completely digital broadcast until June 12.
The new law does not require stations to continue broadcasting in analog past Tuesday, and some local Syracuse stations are going ahead with original plans to switch over.
Al Gillette, an engineer for FOX 68 WSYT, said the station will be transitioning to an exclusively digital broadcast as soon as possible because of the high costs of sending out both a digital and an analog signal.
Gillette estimated that it costs $30,000 per month to keep the analog transmitters on.
"That's just the one station here in Syracuse," Gillette said. "You have to remember that the company has about 60 stations, so if you multiply that, it's millions."
Gillette said he felt that the pushback was also confusing to viewers.
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