This Is Only a Test

THIS IS ONLY A TEST
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] Around the Federal Communications Commission, the idea has been floated that maybe the Commission should authorize a kind of test kitchen for the analog-to-digital switch, just to see what kind of problems it had not anticipated. That would mean picking a small market or community, outfitting anyone who needs them with converter boxes, going all-digital and seeing what does or does not hit the fan. That's probably unfeasible, however, and it also avoids answering a central question: Without government help, will publicity about the switchover be understood and heeded by the elderly, poor and minorities? And for stations, what other kinds of technical problems will there be? Testing is a smart idea. We'd suggest the FCC, which now has some practice with town meetings, organize some sessions at community centers and target the audience that some fear won't ever get the word or understand the analog-to-digital concept. It is an inelegant solution, but it could work. And, we think, PBS could help. Public television already has a big commitment to the transition because it serves the same audience the FCC and others fear will miss out on transition. But as a public service, PBS could broadcast meetings with poor, elderly or Hispanic viewers, and thereby serve a larger audience. There are myriad technical issues to consider, which is why a test market sounds prudent. The FCC should explore the possibilities. If nothing else, the exercise of imagining what may happen with real, live consumers could shape the coordinated transition that Capitol Hill and commission Democrats fear is tottering now.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6517276.html