Digital Tv

Government agencies and broadcasters are working on plans for a nationwide test this month of the country's June 12 switch to digital TV, saying millions of Americans remain at risk of losing reception. Details of the test, in which broadcasters would switch from analog to digital broadcasts for a few minutes on May 21, are still in the works.

This post has been updated, as indicated below. Unless the Federal Communications Commission swoops in, Tuesday could be a belated day of reckoning for cable TV customers with old-school analog sets. Local television stations shut off their analog broadcasts three years ago, forcing anyone who relied on over-the-air signals to switch to swap their analog TVs for digital ones or, more affordably, buy digital-to-analog converter boxes. The latter cost about $50, but the feds offered to subsidize the purchase of up to two boxes per home, cutting the price to about $10. Most cable TV subscribers, however, didn't have to worry about the change in technology.

Two days before the nation's television stations switch off their analog signals, the acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission visited Los Angeles to warn that too many Southern California residents still weren't ready for the change Friday to all-digital TV broadcasts. Michael J. Copps said he feared that as many as 20% of households in major U.S. cities still rely on over-the-air analog broadcasts.

With its stock price plummeting 25% since activist investor Carl Icahn lost his takeover battle for the film and television studio in December, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. may spin off or create a new division for its digital and television distribution assets in an attempt to boost its share price. Lions Gate owns half of TV Guide Channel and its website TVGuide.com, 42% of the young-male video website Break, one-third of the fledgling pay cable network Epix ? which last year signed a $1-billion distribution deal with Netflix ?

Now that June 12 has come and gone, it may be time to ask: Who, if anyone, benefits from the mandatory upgrade to digital television transmission? The move inconvenienced millions of Americans who had to obtain converter boxes for their old analog television sets. The government spent billions preparing the viewing public. But advocates and regulators say the expense and hassle was worth it. The government received $19.

So far, so good. Though some people woke up Friday 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 early Friday afternoon. The rest turned off their analog signals at midnight.

Federal officials and broadcasters are hoping that today's switch to all-digital broadcast television for stations in Los Angeles and around the country will run as smoothly as a scripted sitcom and not turn into the ultimate reality-TV mess. The odds of an orderly transition have improved, they said, because of a four-month delay pushed by the Obama administration at the beginning of the year. "We are in much better shape," said Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst for Consumers Union.

Hoping to accelerate the country's shift to digital television, leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Monday said they plan to introduce legislation to resolve several nagging disputes among Hollywood studios, consumer electronics companies, broadcasters and cable operators. The broad scope of the bill, however, and the short time left in this session of Congress make it doubtful that the legislation would pass this year. The proposal by Reps. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.

Instead of a chicken in every pot, we will now have high-definition TV in every living room. ("Feds aid viewers' move to digital," Dec. 31.) I resent the government telling me that I must purchase a new TV to comply with an outrageously intrusive bit of legislation. I can't help but think that Big Brother will have easier access to my home by this mandate. We proclaim ourselves the richest nation on Earth, yet we have the highest rate of infant mortality, the worst education system, the worst healthcare system, no social safety net; but, by golly, we have digital TV. Someone please tell me if the lunatics are not running the asylum.

Michael K. Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, plans to hold a vote this year on a plan to require U.S. television broadcasters to convert to digital signals by January 2009, a Powell aide said. Powell, who supports the plan, has decided to schedule a November or December vote even after a Senate committee rejected a similar proposal last week, said Jonathan Cody, a legal advisor to Powell on media regulation.

Grab the popcorn and 3-D glasses and get ready for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the trade event that got its start as a gadget-fest but has emerged as an important showcase for new entertainment technology. In years past, the show has been the glitzy platform from which manufacturers launched such products as high-definition television, the digital video recorder, the compact disc player and the camcorder. This year will be no different. On display Thursday through Sunday will be four technology trends that promise to shape how people get their entertainment.

First there was digital television. Now comes mobile digital TV. Designed to let viewers watch TV on the go, mobile DTV is the network television industry's answer to a generation that's often more likely to watch YouTube on their iPhones than the TV in their living rooms. Since the first U.S. broadcast in 1928, TV signals largely have been limited to sets that sit still. This year, however, local stations across the country will begin transmitting a new type of signal that can be picked up by devices that travel, including laptops, smart phones, portable DVD players and mini-tablets -- all of which are to be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show starting Thursday in Las Vegas.

On a recent winter night, while neighbors strung their Baldwin Park homes with Christmas lights, the Lams and their three children sat in front of a television set with rabbit ears sprouting out of the top. Wait a second -- rabbit ears? Is this 1950? No, it's almost 2010, and the Lams are a modern Los Angeles family that, like many in the region, are rediscovering the convenience -- and economics -- of the old-fashioned TV antenna. In the wake of the transition to digital television, Southland viewers are finding they can get nearly three times as many channels as they once could with an antenna.

Been staring at a blank TV picture since June 12, when broadcasters switched to all-digital? That's a likely sign the television is of the old analog type and can't process digital signals without a converter box. The federal government has been issuing $40 coupons that nearly offset the price of the boxes, which are available online and in many consumer electronics stores. But next week could be your last chance to get in on the discount program.

So far, so good. Though some people woke up Friday 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 early Friday afternoon. The rest turned off their analog signals at midnight.

Now that June 12 has come and gone, it may be time to ask: Who, if anyone, benefits from the mandatory upgrade to digital television transmission? The move inconvenienced millions of Americans who had to obtain converter boxes for their old analog television sets. The government spent billions preparing the viewing public. But advocates and regulators say the expense and hassle was worth it. The government received $19.

Adding more than 140 video and audio channels to its basic cable offerings, Cox Communications Inc. launched its Digital TV service to residents here on Wednesday. Regular subscribers can add the digital service, which offers super-sharp television pictures, and includes an interactive program guide, 40 music channels and pay-per-view movies. The service uses a fiber-optic network and digital compression technology to convert analog television signals to digital.

Television stations across the country will shut off their conventional signals today, leaving only their digital channels on the air. This development can't come as a surprise to viewers old enough to own the set they're watching -- digital TV transmissions started more than a decade ago, and broadcasters have been trumpeting the end of analog TV for nearly a year. Several hundred have already made the switch.

Federal officials and broadcasters are hoping that today's switch to all-digital broadcast television for stations in Los Angeles and around the country will run as smoothly as a scripted sitcom and not turn into the ultimate reality-TV mess. The odds of an orderly transition have improved, they said, because of a four-month delay pushed by the Obama administration at the beginning of the year. "We are in much better shape," said Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst for Consumers Union.