Clydesdale™
09-06-2007, 06:19 AM
SkyFILES: 543 Days and Counting
by Michael Hopkins
Think the nation will be ready in 543 days for the switch to digital TV?
Last weekend, an acquaintance - a much older acquaintance - told me about how his 20-year-old TV set finally called it quits. Since it stopped working, he has been eyeing the latest and greatest in digital TV technology. Big … and bigger … HDTV sets. DVD players. A surround sound system. And he's excited about that.
I told him he's lucky to get a TV set that will allow him to connect to digital signals once the country's DTV transition is complete on Feb. 17, 2009.
And as soon as I made that statement about the digital TV switch, this acquaintance and the others listening to the conversation asked … what digital TV transition?
Will the TV I have in my home still work after the transition? What about the TV set in the bedroom or kitchen? What about all of the other TV sets bought years ago that cannot access digital TV signals? And what about cable and satellite TV's role in the big DTV change?
These questions and others are being asked not only by friends and relatives but probably millions of others in the nation who have no clue about the significance of Feb. 17, 2009.
So I say this ….
Good luck to Gary Shapiro and the rest of CEA in convincing your CE manufacturing membership and electronics retailers to stop wasting valuable time and start informing consumers about the transition. Good luck to David Rehr and the NAB in getting broadcasters to make a bigger effort to inform viewers about a switch that's less than a year and a half away.
Good luck to Kevin Martin and the rest of the FCC in coordinating the federal government's efforts that surround the digital TV transition. And good luck to cable and satellite TV companies and their endeavors to ensure customers get through the change in a seamless manner.
More needs to be done on educating consumers about the DTV switch. And the multiplatform companies involved should get that extra work started sooner rather than later.
by Michael Hopkins
Think the nation will be ready in 543 days for the switch to digital TV?
Last weekend, an acquaintance - a much older acquaintance - told me about how his 20-year-old TV set finally called it quits. Since it stopped working, he has been eyeing the latest and greatest in digital TV technology. Big … and bigger … HDTV sets. DVD players. A surround sound system. And he's excited about that.
I told him he's lucky to get a TV set that will allow him to connect to digital signals once the country's DTV transition is complete on Feb. 17, 2009.
And as soon as I made that statement about the digital TV switch, this acquaintance and the others listening to the conversation asked … what digital TV transition?
Will the TV I have in my home still work after the transition? What about the TV set in the bedroom or kitchen? What about all of the other TV sets bought years ago that cannot access digital TV signals? And what about cable and satellite TV's role in the big DTV change?
These questions and others are being asked not only by friends and relatives but probably millions of others in the nation who have no clue about the significance of Feb. 17, 2009.
So I say this ….
Good luck to Gary Shapiro and the rest of CEA in convincing your CE manufacturing membership and electronics retailers to stop wasting valuable time and start informing consumers about the transition. Good luck to David Rehr and the NAB in getting broadcasters to make a bigger effort to inform viewers about a switch that's less than a year and a half away.
Good luck to Kevin Martin and the rest of the FCC in coordinating the federal government's efforts that surround the digital TV transition. And good luck to cable and satellite TV companies and their endeavors to ensure customers get through the change in a seamless manner.
More needs to be done on educating consumers about the DTV switch. And the multiplatform companies involved should get that extra work started sooner rather than later.