Insights about Digital TV transition (Article from WashingtonPost)
April 6, 2008 8:51 am Digital TVAs TV Goes Digital, Some Viewers May Be in the Dark
Wallace Page, 87, begins and ends each day with his television. His tired legs don’t let him get out much anymore, he doesn’t own a computer and reading often strains his eyes. The TV set is sometimes his only connection to the outside world.
But the TV signals he’s come to rely on will soon disappear. In February, traditional analog broadcasts will be shut off so the airwaves can be used for wireless phone services. And the transition to digital-only television — the biggest change for the industry since color TV — could leave some people in the dark.
The digital conversion presents a huge logistical and technical hurdle for the communities whose dependence on rabbit-ear-style analog TVs are high, but whose understanding of how to manage the change is low.
Many of the older TVs belong to seniors and low-income individuals — populations that are typically harder to reach to educate about technical change. Yet these groups are also the people who most rely on their TVs for critical information such as news reports and public-service alerts. In nursing homes and retirement communities, where many sets need antennas to pick up signals, TVs could flicker out.
In the Washington region, 15 percent of TV viewers use analog signals, according to research firm Centris. In the District, nearly a fifth of the population relies on over-the-air broadcasts, the fourth highest in the nation behind Alabama, West Virginia and Kentucky, according to the company…continue reading.