The Switch-Off: Analog TV Gone For Good

After 70 Years, Static Replaces Signals As Stations Turn Digital; Late Adaptors Line Up For Converter Boxes

(CBS/AP)  TV shows were replaced by the hiss of static in perhaps 1 million U.S. homes Friday as stations ended their analog broadcasts and abandoned the transmission technology in use since the days of Milton Berle, Sid Caesar and Howdy Doody.

The vast majority of households that rely on antennas for their TV signals were prepared for the shutdown, but many people remained vexed by the challenge of setting up digital reception.

Hundreds of people began lining up about 3 a.m. Friday outside the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati, five hours before the agency began giving out 250 free digital converter boxes. The center had given all the converters away by 10:30 a.m., and many people were still in line.

Harvey Durrett, 48, said he got in line about 6 a.m. but was unable to get a converter, which costs about $40 to $60 in electronics stores unless the consumer has a $40 coupon from the government.

"I'm on disability, and I can't really afford to buy one," Durrett said. "I can't get anything on my TV now, so I guess I'll have to go to friends' houses if I want to watch anything."

Any set hooked up to cable or a satellite dish is unaffected by the end of analog broadcasts, but around 17 million U.S. households rely on antennas. Nielsen Co. said poor and minority households were less likely to be prepared for Friday's analog shutdown, as were households consisting of people younger than 35.

TV stations were free to choose when in the day to cut their signals, and many were holding off until late at night. That means the full effect of the shutdown will not be apparent until this weekend.

At WTTG, a Fox affiliate in Washington, the 11 a.m. newscast concluded with the signoff used when the station was a part of the old DuMont Broadcasting Network - playing The Star-Spangled Banner, followed by a test signal. Then at noon, the station showed an engineer pushing a red button to shut off the analog broadcast.

TV stations, electronics stores and the government said most of the calls they received Friday were from people who had converter boxes, but needed help setting them up.

Fox affiliate WUPW in Toledo, Ohio, cut its signal at 8 a.m., making it one of the first stations to go. By 5:45 p.m., the station's five-person phone bank had received about 170 calls.

Chief engineer Steve Pietras said many callers had put off hooking up their converter boxes because they thought that digital broadcasting did not start until Friday. Like most stations, WUPW has been broadcasting digitally for years, alongside analog.

"That's kind of causing some last-minute jitters in a lot of people," Pietras said.

The Commerce Department reported a last-minute rush for the $40 converter box coupons: It received 319,990 requests Thursday, nearly four times the daily average for the past month. In all, the government has mailed coupons for almost 60 million converter boxes. The limit is two coupons per household.

It takes nine business days for a coupon to reach the mailbox. Leo Jones, a 79-year-old retired school administrator in Ontario, Calif., was chagrined to learn this Friday. His coupon will not get to him in time for the fifth game of the NBA playoffs on Sunday, when the Los Angeles Lakers could be crowned champions.

"I'll have to visit my neighbor," Jones said. "I would rather watch it at home."

The government is accepting coupon requests and offering technical support at 1-888-CALL-FCC. CBS News correspondent Daniel Sieberg reports that the FCC expected to get 150,000 calls Saturday, in addition to the 700,000 they have received since Monday.

Among several confusing elements to the transition, many stations were moving to new frequencies Friday. That means that even digital TV sets and older sets hooked up to converter boxes need to be set to "re-scan" the airwaves. New TVs and the converter boxes have menu options, accessible through their remote controls, to enable a re-scan.

Some people might also need new antennas, because digital signals travel differently than analog ones.

A weakly-received analog channel might be viewable through some static, but channels broadcast in the digital language of ones and zeros are generally all or nothing. If they do not come in perfectly, they are blank or show a stuttering picture that breaks apart into blocks of color.

The shutdown of analog channels opens part of the airwaves for modern applications like wireless broadband and TV services for cell phones. The government reaped $19.6 billion last year by selling some of the freed-up frequencies, with AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless the biggest buyers.

The shutdown was originally scheduled for Feb. 17, but the government's fund for converter box coupons ran out of money in early January, prompting the incoming Obama administration to push for a delay. The converter box program got additional funding in the national stimulus package.

Research firm SmithGeiger LLC said Thursday that about 2.2 million households were still unprepared as of last week. Sponsored by the broadcasters' association, it surveyed 948 households that relied on antennas and found that 1 in 8 did not have a digital TV or digital converter box.

Nielsen Co., which measures TV ratings from a wide panel of households, put the number of unready homes at 2.8 million, or 2.5 percent of the total television market, as of Sunday. In February, the number was 5.8 million.

Both the Nielsen and SmithGeiger surveys counted households as unprepared even if they have taken some steps toward getting digital signals, like ordering a converter box coupon.

Nearly half of the nation's 1,760 full-power TV stations had already cut their analog signals even before Friday, mostly in less populated areas.

Even after Friday, low-power analog stations and rural relay stations known as "translators" will still be available in some areas. And about 100 full-power stations will keep an analog "night light" on for a few weeks, informing viewers they should switch to digital reception.

The change also put a few stations off the air temporarily, making them available only through cable and satellite. In Syracuse, N.Y., NBC affiliate WSTM shut down both analog and digital signals at midnight. The digital signal will be restored this weekend, after the station completes its work to move to a new frequency, said Laura Hand, community relations director for the station.

WGTU in Traverse City, Mich., was off the air at midday and was working to come back up before the Detroit Red Wings played Game 7 of the Stanley Cup on Friday night.

"We do have some folks here that we don't want to disappoint," said Jill Saarela, the head of the station.

[mutnauq4842]

Gee, what will all the stations that were engaged in advertisement gouging do for a source of revenue? They could go broke without the massive influx of ad money! Snicker

[4merGOPr]

With the coverage that has been on TV about the switchover for what seems about 20 years, if people aren't ready it is not because of the government but because of the typical tendency of people to put off and the complain that they weren't ready, Obama could have delayed it another 10 years and people would have still be "caught off guard". Get a life, pay attention, and stop you belly-aching.

[OregonJames]

As bad as television has become, I wonder if we wouldn't all be better off if television just went away.............

[darwufche]

It is, at once, hilarious and infuriating that public was chided for wanting delay to the switch, only to find that once delay occurred and switch (supposedly) had been made, many stations still aren't ready.

[artorus]

They should have done this gradually, region by region so they can see problems early on and make the switch more efficient.

[ceb969]

I live 20 miles from most TV signal source. Last night I had most of the local stations, today I have none. This is about as bad as when I was young and lived in the Ohio country side the TV stations were about 60 miles away and we had a tall antenna that move on the controler had marks were to point the antenna to pick up that station.

THIS B.S. THAT UNCLE SAM HAS PUSH OFF ON US JUST SO THEY CAN KEEP TRACK OF WHAT WE WATCH AND WHEN IS JUST THAT B.S.

Or maybe they are getting a cut of profits from Cable Co. and Dish Co. now that they are forcing people to go to them.

[guest173]

the only criticism I have is more news stations should have had a headline that also said "Don't forget to rescan for channels at June 12 and 13 because many stations are changing frequencies even on DTV." I was really annoyed that half the digital channels disappeared at midnight, and I had to dig through several articles before finding out I needed to rescan for channels.

[mollydtt]

I had to get a new cell phone 2 years ago, because the analog towers were going away and only digital networks would be available. Now that the analog tv transmission towers are gone, I'm sure that the digital signals will improve. Before, there was the incentive to make sure that everyone could receive an analog signal. Now, the television stations won't have to broadcast in both analog and digital and can concentrate their efforts on only one mode of transmission. I honestly don't think anything will be analog in the near future.

[barbaram99]

It is true Analogue did reach more people. There was a day when phones were analogue, They are ditigal now. I 'member the holes to dial, I could dial faster on them. I .member the one dial sets in the 60s. Years ago I bought a TV with a remote. I was used to the dial. I have a upto date TV. I sat the rabbet ears in the window to re scan the stations. It is a rip in one way. I know the new format is computised-the 0s and 1s.
Canada will go all digital. The UK is ib the process of going digital. They will be all digital by 2012. read it in their paper online. Seattle is all digital. Will the radio be next.
With analogue even if the display was awful ye could still hear the sound and followit it. I am wondering if there will be a new audio TV tunse in a radio that ye just listen to. I use to have a radio that got the local TV bands. Ye heard the audio only.

[taxchurches]

Analog, digital, what's the difference? TV sucks. I haven't watched television in 25 years, and it was the best decision of my life. Passive, time-wasting, mind-killing garbage.

[Illuminated1]

At the current pace by the end of the year we will be getting very close to having only two classes of people in America, those who have , and those who don't.
Posted by tincup356

I agree, it seems we're heading towards an american empire based on Roman politics...
The Patricians, people with lots of money elevated in class...
The Plebeians, the working class, living in tenement apts. in worse conditions than the slaves of the Patricians..The young men usually joined the Roman armies...as that was a well paid job.

[Illuminated1]

Goodbye analog, it was nice growing up with you...

Welcome digital, may your success be hand in hand with America

[Dgunner]

The tv channels that are not getting out will figure a way to get to your living room. Viewers pay thier checks and create jobs. They will be there soon. theres too much to lose by not getting to your tv. I live on top of the tallest mountain for hundred miles radius and i only get two channels . I live less than 2 miles from a major tower exchange.I don't think they know what thier doing and are just winging it and telling the viewing public what they want to hear.

[MarchingOn]

My old TV was about to die anyway so I bought a new digital ready TV so I wouldn't need a converter box. I bought the recommended antenea. My area switched to digital on Feb 17th. The only channels I am able to get now are ABC and CBS probably because I live in a rural area. When the picture comes in, it is of excellent quality...but if the dog walks around in the room the TV is in or if it is sprinkling outside the picture freezes. What a rip off!!

[brianbwb-2009]

Since it was government fiat that shut down the analog airwaves, forcing prople to pay even one cent for a converter box anounts to a TV tax that was not approved by the proper authorities, and is therefore illegal.

At $40 per box for some 100 million boxes, this means that some private companies will make 4 billion dollars that they are not legally entitled to make.

Since we have grown stupid enough to accept the concept of tax by declaration, we should then declare a 95% tax rate for the companies that raked in that money.

The airwaves belong to the people, to do with as we please, and the existence of FCC regulations was also never brought before the people for a vote.

Time to start running "pirate" TV stations, as they do in Europe.

[erasmus111]

I find the digital box a pain in the butt.

[erasmus111]

I had a voucher a couple years ago for about $40 I think it was and the box cost me about $40 at Best Buy. Think maybe I got ripped off? Hmmmmm
Posted by rwsmith29456 at 6:02 PM : Jun 13, 2009

I don't get what you mean? A couple of years ago the box would have been more money.

[MalloryDavis]

I dumped my cable, and now I can go, see, and do. I have extra money and lots of time to live without the idiot box that the government wants us to use. EFF U government! You can not watch me in my bedroom...ya effing sick preverts! (I do know that the correct word is perverts...but they were the first verts).

[tincup356]

It's all about the money, someone is going to get very rich buying that broadband space made available by the switch. Not to mention putting millions of Americans in the dark keeping them from receiving news, providing even more cover for the corruption and lobby robbery that they are committing right now in conspiracy with corporate America.Our government has gone over the edge and Americans better wake up. At the current pace by the end of the year we will be getting very close to having only two classes of people in America, those who have , and those who don't.

[mainermike]

AS I SEE IT ----- Mike "Mainer Mike" Brown.

I don't have high speed internet. I have to put up with slow dial-up, since I can't afford the high prices that Hughes Net and the others charge.

But I'd still rather have a computer with slow dial-up than a TV with cable or satellite. I don't like watching movies, and most sitcoms are stupid in my view.

Sure dial-up is frusterating much of the time. But I just feel fortunate that I have it.