US switch to digital TV is slowed
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WASHINGTON The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Powell, expects to postpone a vote until early next year on his plan to convert the US television system to digital technology by January 2009, a Powell aide has said.
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After Feb. 17, 2009, full-power television stations will broadcast a digital signal only, meaning people who do not have a digital-ready TV and watch programs with an antenna will need a special converter box.
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By Mark Albright, St. Petersburg Times, Fla.  Sep. 15--Prices of flashy, high-tech TV gear may be plummeting, but  Americans are spending more on digital sets than ever.
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By The Hartford Courant, Conn.  May 30--Last year, when the state Department of Public Utility Control ruled that AT&T's method of delivering television service through telephone lines was not the same technology as cable television, it was a blessed event for consumers.
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LOS ANGELES  - A year from Sunday,  television for many Americans will cut to black. Analog signals  will stop transmitting, older sets will become useless and  millions of TV-watching households will simply disappear.
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Digital switchover is freeing up the airwaves for other services meaning the battle for spectrum is on.
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In a broad discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show, U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)&#160;Chairman Kevin Martin on Tuesday confirmed that the deadline for the country&#39;s switch to digital TV next year will not be postponed, explained the rationale behind the requirements for the current 700MHz auction, and gave hints about his thinking regarding various communications megamergers.Interviewed at the show by Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro, Martin said the February 2009 deadline for the digital TV switch is a &quot;hard deadline.&quot; He said a postponement would &quot;dis-incentivize&quot; industry to make the transition.&quot;After all of our efforts we couldn&#39;t just turn around and say &#39;We&#39;re just kidding,&#39;&quot; he said.About 50 percent of all homes in the U.S. now have digital TVs, and the CEA forecasts that some 28 million digital TVs will be bought in the U.S. this year, Shapiro noted.The transition to digital will not only improve picture quality for consumers, but also free up spectrum that can be used for wireless broadband, Martin stressed. He also noted that the extra spectrum provided by the switch would be used to improve public safety, allowing for better communications between fire departments and police. The need for better coordination among law enforcement and safety officials was a major point made in the 9/11 Commission report, he noted.Requirements related to the auction for 700MHz spectrum blocks in the U.S. will play an important part in bringing broadband access to more people, such as inhabitants in rural areas, who have limited wireless options now, he said.The spectrum auction has been broken up into blocks. One block, for example, has open-access rules and is broken up into 12 regional licenses across the U.S. There are also &quot;buildout&quot; requirements that will ensure that auction winners will actually put the spectrum to use in a reasonable timeframe, Martin said.He declined to comment directly on the planned merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, currently under review by the Department of Justice. But he noted that the companies have been talking about a la carte pricing plans for shows, which would give consumers a wide range of options to choose different bundles of programs and prices. Martin said he would encourage content providers -- especially cable TV companies -- to offer this type of program-options plan.One disappointment in the wake of communications industry deregulation has been the rising price of cable TV, he said.Martin stopped short of saying that approval of the Sirius-XM merger would set a regulatory precedent for a rumored merger deal between satellite TV companies Echostar and DirecTV. But he did say that it would be important for the satellite TV companies to give consumers more pricing and program bundle options as part of any merger plan.&quot;This is the type of thing we&#39;d be looking at,&quot; he said.
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Dropping analogue kit early Consumers won't have much time left to buy an analogue TV set if The Digital Switchover Supply Chain Group (DSSCG) gets its way. The group, backed by the likes of DSGi, Comet, Sony and Panasonic, said it plans to phase out the manufacture and sale of analogue equipment long before the UK's digital switchover is complete.â¦
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The U.S. Federal Communications   Commission on Tuesday set a roadmap for making airwaves between   television channels available for other services by early 2009,   when broadcasters are due to switch to digital signals.
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Competition alone can't fix problems with broadband speed and cost in the U.S
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It may seem like stating the obvious, and maybe it is, but one of the great things about digital cable television is getting to choose from a wider variety of channels.  This is particularly true with regard to religious programming.
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The switch that controls the television business is expected to be flicked on all the way early this week.
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Most consumers would end up paying more for cable and satellite television if they were allowed to pick only the channels they wanted to watch instead of being forced to buy large packages
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By BENJAMIN J. ROMANO, THE SEATTLE TIMES  It's getting harder to tell the difference between a television and a computer.  You might have read something like that in the mid-1990s, but never before have both platforms shared so many capabilities.
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The TV networks have begun to put programs on the Web. The selections are crisp, clear, legal and free. But there arenât many choices, and they donât stay on the Web long enough.
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By TOBY STERLING  AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The Netherlands ended transmission of "free to air" analog television Monday, becoming the first nation to switch completely to digital signals.  Few Dutch consumers noticed, because the overwhelming majority get TV via cable.
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All U.S. households with televisions that use analog technology will be eligible for $40 discount coupons to buy digital converter boxes, the Commerce Department said on Monday.