Digital TV Switch 'Won't Be Seamless'; Converters Dwindling

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 27, 2009 - 12:17pm.

Washington - The U.S. transition to digital television on June 12 will likely be a bit rocky, acting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Michael Copps told lawmakers this week, and while just 3.6% of households remain unprepared, according to Nielsen, problems could be exacerbated by a shortage of digital TV converters. "Some may say that we won't be ready on June 12 either, and that there will still be consumers left behind. And that is true, this transition will not be seamless," Copps told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.

The Wall Street Journal noted that subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher (D-Va.) said there may not be enough of the digital TV converters available at retail needed by analog sets to receive the new digital signals.

"If every coupon is redeemed there won't be sufficient boxes to meet that demand," Anna Gomez, acting heading of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said at the hearing.

That testimony conflicted somewhat with what Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), had to say.

"Our survey data suggest that manufactures and retailers will likely meet consumer demand for converter boxes and antenna though the end of the transition," Shapiro said.

Nielsen's estimate equates to about 4 million homes still unprepared for the transition.

http://snipurl.com/ep73a (Ars Technica)

http://www.ce.org/Press/CurrentNews/press_release_detail.asp?id=11708