Gizmodo: analog tv

DIY List Breathes New Life Into Discarded Analog TVs

Jack Loftus — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:30:00 EDT

In the wake of the digital TV transition that happened earlier this month, Lifehacker has posited upon us a cool roundup of DIY projects that make use of all those abandoned TVs. [Lifehacker]

The Price is Right Will Lose 3.5M Viewers Come DTV Switch

Andi Wang — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:00:00 EDT

Out of the 300 million Americans in the United states, 3.5 million are still not ready for the DTV switch come June 12. Is that 3.5 million people or households? Either way, 3.5 million is quite a lot, considering my non-english speaking nanny is already all over her digital converter. Get with it, people. [Switched]

Digital TV Converter Coupon Program Active Again

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:26:00 EST

Rejoice! If you are one of the two million still waiting for your Digital TV upgrade coupon, the government has put more money into it. Now you have plenty of time before the shutdown [AP]

First Wave of the Digital TV Switch Hits Today

John Herrman — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:58:25 EST

By the end of today—the original, pre-delay shutoff deadline—641 TV (mostly small-market) stations across the country will cease analog broadcast. Panic! [Yahoo]

House Defeats Bill To Delay Analog TV Transition

Sean Fallon — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:25:00 EST

House Republicans have defeated the bill to extend the DTV switch by a vote of 258-168 (less than two-thirds). In their view, a delay would confuse customers and financially burden television stations.

So, for now, end game is still happening on February 17th and not June 12th as the Obama administration had hoped. With the coupon program broke and an estimated 6.5 million US homes still running analog, it seems that no matter when this goes down, chaos is unavoidable. [Physorg and Getty Images Photo ]

Digital TV Transition Starts Today in Wilmington, NC: Let's See Who Freaks Out

Sean Fallon — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:45:00 EDT

As most of you know, commercial analog TV in this country will become all but extinct on February 17th 2009. However, the digital revolution begins today in Wilmington NC. Basically, the town and its 197,760 TV-watching households will serve as guinea pigs for the nationwide rollout. The town has been bombarded with information about the switch, but the powers that be will be watching closely to see what unfolds. Will throngs of old people run screaming into the streets when Wheel of Fortune goes black? We will just have to wait and find out. [TVWeek]

Three Top DTV Converter Boxes Go Head to Head For Your Digital Dollar

Sean Fallon — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:20:00 EDT

Somehow I doubt that many Gizmodo readers are concerned about getting a DTV converter before the February 2009 cutoff date—but then again, I've been surprised before. If you or someone you know falls into this category, Sound & Vision has taken the liberty of pitting the top three DTV converter boxes against one another to find out which one will be worth dropping your voucher on. These three boxes include: the Digital Stream DTX9900, the RCA DTA800, and the Zenith DTT900.

In the end, Sound & Vision found that all three boxes worked well, but the RCA's comfy remote, "On Next" feature and decent audio performance gave it a slight edge. Currently, the box will run you about $50 or $10 after you cash in your voucher—which is chump change compared to what you get with a digital upgrade. However, if you are still hoping for a $40 "freebie" like the EchoStar TR-40, keep in mind that Sound & Vision believes that the EchoStar is a "dicey buy" given the fact that it has no front panel controls. In this case, it still might be a good idea to hold onto that voucher for a little while longer to see what comes available. [Sound & Vision; NOTE: S&V Having Broken Link Issue]