Digital TV conversion isn't creating a lot of waves

So far, so good.

Though some people woke up this morning to find their television programs missing from the airwaves, the nation's transition to an all-digital TV broadcast has thus far not resulted in pandemonium.

At least five stations in Los Angeles killed their analog broadcasts by this afternoon. The rest are expected to turn off their analog signals by midnight. Although the full extent of the confusion won't be known until tomorrow, the changeover is starting to play out in much the same way as the Y2K glitch that threatened to wipe out computers across the globe but ended up causing only minor headaches.

TV stations on the East Coast and elsewhere reported that the volume of calls from confused viewers was "low to moderate." Retail stores, girded for an onslaught of customers seeking digital converter boxes for their analog sets, found they had plenty in stock to satisfy today's spike in demand. And many viewers, though unhappy over having to make the change, appeared resigned to ditching their rabbit ears.

Stations across the nation that made the switch earlier today reported receiving an average of 130 calls each by midafternoon, according to the National Assn. of Broadcasters.

"Television stations are largely prepared for these calls and are doing everything possible to ensure a successful transition," said Jonathan Collegio, the NAB's vice president for digital television.

Jana O'Leary, a spokeswoman for Target Corp., said that though sales of converters exceeded the company's expectations, stores still had many on hand this afternoon.

"But sales of the converter boxes have been strong," she said.

At a Best Buy store in Glendale, customers showed up early. One of those customers was Edna Chan, who swung by to pick up a converter box for her mother, 81-year-old Chiyeko Naito.

"My mom called me and asked me to pick up a box for her and set it up," said Chan, 51. "She knew the deadline was today. I think the majority of people who aren't prepared today are the elderly. And not everyone has someone to help them."

By midday, however, demand tapered off, and the store relocated a pallet of converter boxes from its morning spot by the front door back to a walkway display inside the store.

"I didn't expect this many customers to show up this early," said Art Taylor, a store manager, who said the majority of the buyers were elderly. "We haven't had anybody come in with there arms up saying, 'My TV doesn't work, my TV doesn't work,' " he said.