News and Reviews....

The End of Analog TV- Part 3 ....... July 2005

By Robert Lieto

    This is an update on the issue of the shut-off of analog TV as we know it. Under current law, the complete switch from analog to digital will occur on Dec. 31, 2006, but only if 85 percent of homes are ready to receive digital signals either by owning a digital television or a converter box. 

    Currently, no region meets the 85-percent threshold. Then there is House Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) leading an effort to dismiss the 85-percent caveat and to implement the digital transition at the cutoff of 2006 no matter what. The push is for the freeing up the spectrum in the 700 megahertz band which will be auctioned off in the neighborhood of 20 - 30 billion. It is "Beach-front property" in terms of its potential.

    And so, the beat goes on in terms of the actual cut-off date. I hope you are not one of the 13 percent of the predicted population that will be left without television when the change over takes place.

Comment .....   More to come, I am SURE.

For Past Articles on the Subject

End of Analog TV - Part 2   May 2005

End of Analog TV    January 2005

Plug & Play  April 2003

The H in HDTV   July 2002

HDTV.....As I See It   October 2001