Friday, June 12, 2009

DTV FUBAR: The Final Chapter

Well, today is the big day for the conversion to digital television. By midnight the transition will be complete and analog will be officially dead. Anyone who still relies on over-the-air broadcasts and has failed to buy the necessary equipment will be poop out of luck.

Despite years of publicity, the Federal Communications Commission is bracing for viewer anger from those who have failed to make the transition. This raises the specter of angry mobs of senior citizens rioting and looting once the early bird dinner specials end.

To play it safe, stay indoors after 5:30 PM and let the police regain control of the streets.

Also, as TV stations officially deactivate their analog signals, its likely that some may shift their frequencies for some reason. Viewers (the over the air ones) will have to rescan their channels if this happens. Some stations may even shift to new broadcast towers, which could require changing the position of your antenna.

One big winner in this transition may be the CW Network. The fledgling network has been unavailable in many smaller cities and communities simply because there were no available stations. But with DTV, existing stations will be able to broadcast several programs simultaneously, so it's possible that some will pick up the CW. That means that more people than ever before will be able to avoid watching Gossip Girl.

0 thoughtful ramblings: