EDUCATING THE CONSUMER ON THE ANALOG BROADCAST SHUTDOWN

As soon as the broadcast networks' TV season officially ends on May 23^rd, which these days has become highlighted by the American Idol finale, the major electronics retailers will begin, in time for advertising their "Dads and Grads" sales campaigns, alerting consumers of the impending analog over-the-air television shutoff in February 2009. That is because the FCC, in an open meeting last April, set May 25^th as the date for electronics retailers to put warning labels on any analog-only sets in store inventories. As I post this, the May 25^th date is pending approval by a federal government committee. In addition, I researched the Web sites of the nation's leading electronics retailers, and I discovered that they are beginning to sell more new digital ready TVs and fewer analog only sets, and on the online spec sheets for such analog sets, the warning disclaimer has been posted. This disclaimer reads as follows:

CONSUMER ALERT: This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation's transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. For more information, call the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commission's digital television website at: www.dtv.gov.

This disclaimer, should the May 25^th deadline get approved, will become noticeable in retail stores, and then, consumers unaware of the DTV transition should now ask questions about DTV. In addition, as of March 1^st, television set manufacturers, per an FCC mandate, should no longer be manufacturing television sets with over-the-air analog (NTSC) tuners, but digital over-the-air (ATSC) tuners, although many of these sets would also have tuners capable of receiving analog cable TV signals.

While a coupon would be used to purchase such a "converter box", it may make more sense for a consumer to just get a brand new digital TV, which is becoming more affordable. For example, during my retailer Web site research, I noticed that Best Buy is selling a 24" 4:3 tube-style standard definition digital TV set for $200. The page for this particular model also mentions the fact that since the digital TV is standard definition (SDTV – 480i resolution, whereas HDTV sets offer 720p, 1080i, or 1080p resolution), programming broadcast in HDTV will be viewable on the set, but the consumer will only be able to watch in 480i resolution, which is still a crystal clear picture and sound provided the antenna is in an optimal location. Additionally, my research revealed that Wal-Mart carries a comparable 24" SDTV model for $175, as well a 24" analog only set for $137, and the disclaimer on that Web page. So, for about an extra $40 after sales taxes are figured in, the consumer can avoid putting what could be an eyesore converter box on a new set. However, the coupons would be used only toward the purchase of converter set-top boxes, and NOT a new DTV set.

Among the retailer Web sites I visited, I found neither Sears nor Target had an easy-to-find page on their respective sites explaining the DTV transition. I did find pages with good explanations on the transition for Wal-Mart and Circuit City, but Best Buy, in my opinion, has a Web page with the best explanation to consumers about the DTV transition. However, I was a bit disappointed to notice that none of these pages had a statement assuring that an old-fashioned roof-top antenna that may currently be in use by a consumer to get free over-the-air signals for analog sets would also work for digital signals, and a new antenna may not be required. As a small consolation, Best Buy and Circuit City did provide links to www.antennaweb.org on their DTV explanation pages as a means to get information on choosing an antenna for over-the-air reception, but not much helpful information on the antenna selector color coding used for that site. So, I recommend before you visit the retailer pages I have linked on this page that you read my explanation on how the antennaweb site works in one of my earlier posts linked here, followed by my post on some tricks in using the site linked here.

Also, on April 29^th, the Associated Press published a good article about how consumers are using old-fashioned antennas to receive over-the-air digital TV broadcasts for free. That article is linked here. In addition, I found a great Newsweek article linked here about the sudden resurgence of off-air antennas. That page also can link you to additional articles in the "Related Stories" field.

Finally on a personal note, I feel all the links I have created here on this entry should lead you to all the general information you will need about the DTV transition. I am about to start a new position in downtown Chicago, and I do not see myself having much time to post additional entries for several months. Once I come across an issue that I feel should be addressed, I will gladly share my experiences in a future post, but for now, I am becoming more and more confident that in the next couple months the American public will become more aware of the DTV transition with help from the retailers, and now the switch to digital TV is looking to become a little smoother.