Here comes digital TV

[Commentary] The biggest change to television broadcasting since the introduction of cable is coming Feb. 17, when 1,800 local stations turn off their analog transmissions and broadcast only in digital. The benefits include crisper pictures and more channels for the 17 million or so households that rely on rabbit ears or antennas. Of course, those benefits will flow only to viewers equipped for the switch, with either digital sets or converter boxes. And despite a decade of hype about digital TV, some advocacy groups for minorities and senior citizens warn that many people will be caught unprepared. On Monday, broadcasters in Wilmington, N.C., gave the rest of the country a preview of the switch to digital. The FCC, which paid firefighters in Wilmington to help distressed TV viewers, plans to arrange the same kind of education and support in Los Angeles and 79 other markets with numerous over-the-air TV watchers. But local officials shouldn't wait for the feds to lead on this issue. Wilmington showed that the digital transition is too big a leap for some people, many of them elderly residents for whom TV is a vital source of information, entertainment and companionship. It's not too early to start lining up volunteers to keep viewers connected and to quickly reconnect the ones who will undoubtedly be cut off.