Legal News

Digital TV Delay Bill Passes Senate

The Senate on Monday passed a bill that would delay the nationwide switch of over-the-air television signals from analog to digital, from the original February 2009 deadline to a new date in mid-June. The bill -- seen as a necessity by lawmakers because many U.S. households are not prepared for the switch to digital -- is expected to pass in the House as early as today.

According to the FCC's special DTV.gov website, when the switch takes effect, "Consumers who rely on antennas (including outside antennas and 'rabbit ears') to receive over-the-air broadcast signals on TV sets having only analog tuners will need to obtain separate digital-to-analog set-top converter boxes to watch over-the-air TV. These boxes receive digital signals and convert them into analog format for display on analog TVs." Reuters reports that the Digital Delay bill -- which puts the signal switch on hold until June 12 (it was originally scheduled to take place on February 17) -- was "fueled by worries that viewers are not technically ready for the congressionally-mandated switch-over." Television stations are currently broadcasting their signals in both analog and digital. Congress had mandated that February 17 would be the last day for television stations to broadcast in analog, making over-the-air signals digital only.

• The Digital Television Transition: What You Need to Know (DTV.gov)
• The Digital TV Transition: FAQs (DTV.gov)
• Reuters: Senate Passes Bill to Delay Digital TV Switch
• PCWorld: DTV Delay: A Good Idea
• Consumer Action Handbook: Digital Television (FindLaw)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on January 27, 2009 (boomark / email).