Millions May Miss Digital TV Deadline

MILLIONS MAY MISS DIGITAL TV DEADLINE
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
For millions of Americans, the digital revolution might not be televised. One in 5 U.S. households — more than a million in the Los Angeles area — depends on rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna to watch TV. Without converter boxes, most of their sets will go blank the day in 2009 that federal law requires broadcast stations to turn off analog signals and transmit only in digital. The shift is being hailed as broadcast television's most dramatic upgrade since it bloomed to color from black and white half a century ago. The technology gives free TV viewers vastly sharper pictures and enables networks such as ABC and PBS to offer a wider range of channels. The 80% of Americans with cable or satellite service won't be affected by the change. Neither will those who have newer, digital TV sets. If you do have an old analog TV hooked up to an antenna, you need only buy a converter box, which will probably cost about $50. The federal government is going to hand out subsidies to help pay for it, and you have two years to get ready. Civil rights leaders and lawmakers are uneasy anyway. A recent poll found that 61% of people who rely on broadcast TV aren't aware of the digital shift. What's more, households without cable or satellite service tend to have lower incomes, and blacks and Latinos are more likely to receive only over-the-air TV than whites. The worry isn't that people will miss vital episodes of "American Idol." It's all about staying connected. Even today, with news a 24/7 affair on the Internet and pay TV, nearly two-thirds of viewers say broadcast news is the main way they find out what's going on in the world.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-digital28mar28,1,5900...
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