Best DTV Propaganda of 2008

12.31.2008

There's been a lot of talk in the media about the DTV transition. In 2008, the message reached a breaking point with enough people to spur the inevitable: satire.

To prevent consumer confusion, your TV Technology editors have accumulated some of the highlights of a year in DTV consumer awareness in one place:

First, from the Consumerist Web site, a flow chart for the confused—although the site actually provides decent straightforward advice, recommending folks check out Consumer Reports for advice on converter boxes.

The focus on how this technological shift will affect the elderly is a perfect recipe for comedy: earnest, high-tech jargon colliding with an equally earnest analog TV devotee.

A serious ad, but framed as a spoof, came from WMUR in Manchester, N.H., taking the form of a negative political ad and taking a stance for change.

This one pegs the DTV transition as a giant scam, and heralds the end of broadcasting.

And the worst advice of all—a video—showing how to power a TV with a single AAA battery. To show what a cruel society we live in, many folks leaving comments on this video claim the stunt works, further egging on those who don't understand that AC doesn't become DC over an RCA connector.

And here's what happens when a groundhog follows the lessons of that last video and tries to power his TV with a AAA battery.

Happy 2009 from the editors of TV Technology!