cutover
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FCC approves rules for 2009 digital TV transition
While we passed the T-minus two year mark earlier this year, the FCC has just now approved rules "that it says will ensure that millions of cable subscribers will still be able to watch broadcast programming after the digital television transition in 2009." Judging by reports, not a whole lot of new material was covered, but the new FCC rules reportedly mandate that cable operators "either convert the digital signal to analog at the point where the cable signal originates or supply customers with a down converter device that will change digital signals to analog at the TV set." Interestingly, the FCC "did not require operators to pass through every bit of information, as broadcasters had pushed for," and while smaller cable systems will be able to request a waiver, all providers will be required to "guarantee that analog cable customers will receive broadcast channels until February 2012."[Via BroadcastingCable]
Lawmakers worried over digital TV transition
It's one thing to fret over the estimated $1.5 billion Congress has to set aside to pay for the "coupon program" to aid Americans in the analog-to-digital transition of 2009, but now lawmakers are "worried that too few of us know that the analog TVs we have been using for years could become big cathode-ray paperweights after February 18, 2009." Essentially, those in power feel that "too little is being done to get the message across," and that quite a few disgruntled individuals could be smacked with a reality check of gigantic proportions if no one tells them beforehand. According to a poll released by the Association for Public Television Stations earlier this year, some 61-percent of those surveyed had "no idea" the shutoff would even take place, so we'd expect a commercial blitz to give your fast-forward finger a workout in the coming months.
D-PA relaunches to hasten 2011 DTV cutover in Japan
Yes, the beginning of the end if officially upon us, and yes, the Japanese are still probably more interested in colonizing the moon with robots than worrying over that pesky DTV cutover, but "a stronger and larger Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting (D-PA) will be relaunched next month, merging two separate organizations" in an effort to "speed up" the adoption of Digital TV. The newly-formed entity is now supported by "local broadcasters, mobile phone service providers, and TV manufacturers," and essentially hopes to broaden the marketing efforts in order to "achieve a target goal of 30 million DTV sets sold in Japan by March 2008, or about 63-percent of the country's 48 million households." Of course, the D-PA should probably get started on fleshing out an actual set of guidelines for making the switch by 2011 if they hope to garner any sort of following, but they should really take heart in the fact that they've got an extra 24 months to get things in order compared to we Americans.
