What do you think the fallout will be when full power analog broadcasts are shut off on Feb. 17, 2009?

Most people probably won't notice. Some of those that do lose their signal will probably be watching via Cable TV providers that aren't ready, and there will be a mad scramble for a couple of cable systems to fix the problem.

Of the small fraction of the population that still gets their TV over the air, most of them have probably already gotten their coupons and bought set top boxes. There will be some people upset because, somehow they haven't heard that this is going to happen, or they did hear about it and didn't realize that it applied to them.

That's where proactive tests that are happening in some markets helps. Having your local analog station shut down for a few minutes so that people can see whether or not they will have a problem is a great thing.

The biggest fallout will likely be from people who get their over the air TV via low power TV, or from analog translators, or from low band VHF stations that will no longer be able to replicate their coverage on UHF.

The low power TV viewers will be stuck receiving one analog station in a market with many digital stations, and they may not know enough to look for a set top box with an analog pass through.

The analog translator viewer and the viewer trying to receive UHF after years of receiving a low band VHF signal will probably be talking to their local cable or satellite provider, unless the stations they watch have been agressive in putting in digital translators.

SWITCHED ON: HDTV Online Learning Event

Hosted by StudioDell's Shannon McCormick

November 11th at 7pm CST

A new era is around the corner for television broadcasting and viewers need to take the adequate steps to be prepared. The Digital TV transition takes place February 17, 2009 where U.S. TV stations will stop broadcasting analog airwaves. How will you be affected? Tune into this free, live webcast and learn what you need to know about DTV. Sign-up now; space is limited.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/us/segments/dhs/webinar_landing?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs