Say Goodbye to Analog TV

It's here, and no reprieve this time. Analog TV was supposed to (pretty much) vanish in February, but due to the fact that many felt too many U.S. citizens would be left without television, as they were unprepared and there was a shortage of converter boxes, the transition was delayed until June 12th. Well, that's today.

Despite the extra time, and two years of advertisements about the change, concerns are that as many as 1 million unprepared homes will end up without TV service. The FCC put 4,000 operators on standby for calls from consumers. Meanwhile, volunteers and local agencies were helping some set up digital converter boxes. This would only affect those still using antennas to get their TV, cable or satellite TV customers are unaffected.

Reports are that many of the callers to FCC operators waited to the last minute, putting off connecting their converter boxes, not knowing that installing them early was a possibility. Most stations have been broadcasting a digital signal for years, along with analog.

Even without that, procrastination is human nature.

WAFB, the CBS affiliate in Baton Rouge, flipped the switched at 7 AM CDT, and an hour later the station reported on Twitter that its call center was “going crazy.”

In fact, there were even some calls from people who didn't know about the transition.

Much of the concern has been about the fact that many still using antennas were either the elderly or the poor. Nielsen Co. said poor and minority households were less likely to be prepared for Friday's analog shutdown.

For those still concerned, here's a FAQ on preparations for the transition:

• If you use satellite or cable TV, you are already fine.

• If your TVs have digital tuners, as do most TVs bought in the last few years, you're probably OK. However, you will need to make your TV to scan to find all the available channels, because some have moved to new frequencies. You can find out how to do this in your TV user manual.

• An older TV without a digital tuner? You're SOL without a converter box.
  

• If you have digital converter boxes hooked up to older TVs, and you get some but not all the channels you expect, force the box to re-scan. AntennaWeb.org is a good resource of channels available in your area. Re-scan periodically to pick up stations that move frequencies after Friday.

• A final problem may be an antenna issue. Naturally an outdoor antenna properly pointed toward a TV tower is best, but indoor antennas will work if you're reasonably close to a tower.
  

• For last-ditch help, call the FCC's toll-free hotline at 1-888-225-5322 (1-888-CALL FCC).