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Goodbye Analog, Hello Digital Television
By Tracy Moody
On February 17, 2009, as the clock strikes midnight, television in America will change forever. All full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to digital. The FCC reports there are still 15.5 million Americans tenacious enough to view TV over the air using rabbit ears. If these Americans choose not to purchase a government approved digital converter box by the fateful night, they will not even be watching static.
So, where are these digital converter boxes and how much will they cost? The average cost will be $40 - $70, although you can get more expensive ones. Most of them are about the size of a cable converter box; maybe the rabbit ears can sit on top of it.
To help consumers, the government established the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program. Every U.S. household is eligible to receive up to two coupons, worth $40 each, toward the purchase of a converter box. If you plan on requesting them, start now; it is first come, first serve.
Just what every household needs, another black plastic box, probably made in China, to clutter up the already bulging entertainment center. By the way, in case you were getting used to the number of remotes you already have, add one more.
Why the switch? The number one benefit the FCC asserts is that it will free up parts of the broadcast spectrum for public safety communication, better known as the police, fire departments and rescue squads. They will auction off the rest of it to companies providing wireless broadband. Perhaps, instead of auctioning it off a better use could be creating an advanced emergency system to notify laptop users and cell phone users of an impending disaster, or auction it off to hospitals, educational institutions and care centers to create a better communication network for people in need?
The second reason is that consumers will benefit because digital broadcasting offers improved picture and sound quality and is more efficient than analog. Digital broadcast gives the choice of a high definition digital program or multiple layers of standard definition programs, a process called “multicasting.” Basically, multicasting offers several channels of digital programming simultaneously, using the same amount of spectrum as one analog program. Translation – more choices for viewers, including interactive video and data services.
Think about it. Are more choices really what we are being offered, or just more of the same mindless programming and still nothing worth watching? Honestly, how many times have you channel surfed only to find nothing worth viewing? If you want real choices, visit the Houston Public Library; its holdings are 4,200,301. Subscribe to Netflix; there are over 100,000 titles, for less than $20 a month, including documentaries. Who needs planned programming with those offerings? Make your own. At least visiting the library or personally choosing DVDs gives us some form of individuality and freedom, not to mention no advertising.
The 2006 Nielsen ratings reported our society has more TVs than people! The average household has 2.73 TV sets with 2.55 people living there. We spend an average of four hours and 35 minutes a day watching TV, close to 32 hours a week. For those who are unable to go without or are addicted to more TV than they realize or want to admit, visit www.dtv.gov for more information about the conversion.
For Americans who believe they are masters of their own universe, this last push to digital could be a wake up call. Americans could spend time reading, from the millions of choices available, free by the way, at libraries across the country. Better yet, parents could read to their children each night for an hour, now that is a worthwhile endeavor. Live in 4-D; explore the new park downtown; peruse an art museum or volunteer time to help others. Visit with the sweet, elderly lady next door while helping her figure out why her TV suddenly does not work.
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Photo by Krystal Mongan: The Signal
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