Benedict Advertising - Business Building Solutions

by Donna Cooper, Jr. Copywriter

Soon gone will be the days of Analog TV. I can recall being a kid trapped in the house during the summers and having nothing to do but watch TV. I didn’t mind so much, because I found myself enjoying old reruns of the Andy Griffith Show, Leave it To Beaver, Bewitched, and my favorite, The Munsters. Nowadays you can watch these shows on Nick-At-Nite, but back then we didn’t have cable, and I was just watching these shows on an old TV that still had two knobs, one with the primary channels, where you could catch episodes of Night Court, Married with Children, or Hunter, but on the lower knob you could tune into the more obscure channels where you could find that aforementioned shows playing into oblivion.

If I still had that old TV, and its “bunny ear” antenna, I bet I’d still be able to catch some of the same old shows. But, alas, those days will soon disappear forever…

As of February 19, 2009, analog TV will cease to exist. Not just “as we know it,” but completely and definitely. In short, it means that as of that date, in order to be able to utilize your analog TV and watch free over-the-air television, you must purchase an analog to digital converter to install on your television.

So, maybe those obscure channels and old shows won’t quite disappear forever. But, now they’re coming at a cost. Albeit, a one time cost, but a cost nonetheless for “free” television. The government, however, will be providing some assistance in that arena. They will issue two $40 coupons per household for the purchase of the converter, which will pinch your wallet for about $200.

It isn’t all bad news though. The reason is because (verbatim from the FCC website) digital is a more efficient transmission technology that allows broadcast stations to provide improved picture and sound quality, as well as provide more programming options for consumers through multiple broadcast streams (multicasting). In addition, all-digital broadcasting will free up many frequencies to be used for public safety, such as police, fire, and emergency rescue, and for the provision of advanced commercial wireless services for consumers.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 at 12:12 pm and is filed under What's the 411?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.