The Big Switch From Analog To Digital TV

More Than 2 Million Homes May Be In The Dark

(CBS)  Atop the Empire State building Friday, engineers from one of the country's biggest television broadcasters, WCBS, pulled the plug on its analog transmitter.

For 60 years, analog has delivered classic TV programs, and brought history into our living rooms.

But by midnight Friday, analog will be history. CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg reports on the transition from analog to digital.

Digital will deliver clearer pictures and high definition signals.

The transition got a big boost after September 11, when emergency crews demanded, and will get, some of the abandoned analog airwaves to upgrade aging communications systems.

But the transition was plagued with delays, taking 18 years and $4 billion dollars of taxpayer money.

Still as many as 2 million homes, many in areas with large non-English speaking populations, could wake up Saturday to nothing on the television.

"Think about it. It's a massive technological program being run by the government. There's a problem right there," says Brian Cooley, editor-at-large at CNET.com

Most newer TV's and TV sets connected by cable or satellite aren't affected.

Older sets with a proper antenna will still work, but they will need a converter box that costs between $50 and $60 dollars.

Neil Dick used a $40 dollars government coupon to help buy his converter. He says, "If I don't do this, I won't have any television. No broadcast service at all."

Nearly half of all stations have already switched. The other 974 will do so today, keeping call centers and help desks busy.

In some cases, the Federal Communications Commission is actually making house calls. Thousands of volunteers, firefighters and tech's hired with stimulus money, are going to people's homes to set up their TV's.

"We know there will be some disruptions this weekend and over the coming weeks, but it won't be for us not trying," says William Lake, the FCC DTV Transition Chief.

One group is already looking ahead to the next TV frontier. The cell phone industry paid billions for once public airwaves in the hopes that you'll pay for TV delivered to the palm of your hand.

[tincup356]

Its all about money. you have some ...they want it......and they invent ways to get it so a lot of them get filthy rich during all this mess......just more fruit off of the lobby dollar tree....poison for the peoples pocketbook. Notice ALL the NEW CHANGES..... when people find themselves Broke, jobless, homeless, and hungry,,,,,,it will stir memories of changes we can't believe,,,,,,,How the two great white collar suit and tie terrorist parties, robbed the country and sent us all living out on the streets.

[_1_______2___3___4_______]

The date was long set before the downturn of the economy--it's just bad timing...

[xlib]

How many years have we been working up to this?? I understand millions of people are waiting for someone in the guvmint to personally come and make the switch for them.

[paddyhayes]

Er, skeezix06 ...

Take this into consideration the next time the police, fire and ambulance crews that respond to the fire at your house do not have to step on each others transmissions and cause confusion.

[paddyhayes]

Does anyone else wonder why it is that 45 years ago I sat twisting a dial through the three stations we got and couldn't find anything to watch -- and now I can sit with a remote in my hand and surf through 300 channels and not find anything good to watch?

[Void_Master]

Those cheap converter boxes (and I speak of their quality, not their price) should have been given away for free; at least one per household.

[redrubberballs]

Kill your TV

[skeezix06]

Let's all give a rousing cheer for a system that is expensive to go out and buy; either a new tv and a dtv antenna (approximately $400 start up cost) or monthly cable bills until your current tv goes out or a converter and a dtv antenna (approximately $250).

Oh. And did I mention that here in tornado alley, the signal for the local station freezes and disappears when bad weather is in the area? This has the potential to be life threatening. The analog didn't do that. Perhaps the old adage "don't fix what ain't broke" should have been considered more carefully before Congress voted this monstrosity into law. You better believe I'll be taking this into consideration next time I step into the voting booth.

[barbaram99]

They turnt off the analog format at 9AM this morning here in Seattle. I knew they would. I have Notebook on a ext TV card. I del the analog format. I got a blue screen. I watch the digital ones on rabbit ears. I knew it was going to happen as early as 06.. I had HP put a tuner in my tower when they built my computer last year. I did not want to mess with installing a tuner in the tower. I mostly use my notebook. Even when there was analog I did not watch it much as it was snowy. I do the digital. i am 54.