When the transition to digital television broadcasting goes into effect in about a year, there could be some confusion for viewers in rural areas who depend on low-power stations and translators, or signal-relay stations. The transition is required for full-power stations, but not these smaller broadcasters, so the Federal Communications Commission wants to make sure rural viewers stay tuned, reports John Dunbar of The Associated Press.
"The government is spending $1.5 billion to provide people with older-model televisions that use rabbit ears or other over-the-air antennas with special digital-to-analog converter boxes," Dunbar writes. "That solution helps full-power stations, but creates confusion for viewers of low-power stations. People who buy the wrong box might actually end up blocking their favorite local channel without knowing it."
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he would propose an order that "explicitly encourages" the makers of those conversion boxes to allow analog signals to pass through without being blocked. He also said he would set a 2012 deadline for low-power stations to make the switch to digital. "Congress appropriated $65 million to reimburse low-power stations for equipment purchased to make the conversion, but the money will not be available until late 2010," Dunbar writes. "Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, proposed legislation last week that would move up the payouts to 2009." (Read more)
For the FCC's fact sheet on digital television, go here. For the FCC's consumer-focused site, go here. Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, will start stocking digital-to-analog converters this weekend. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, however, said its secret shopper survey found many retailers were giving bad advice on the converters, reports Mark Melnicoe of McClatchy Newspapers. A Consumer Reports study found 36 percent of Americans had not heard about the shift, and that the remaining 64 percent had lots of questions about it. (Read more)
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