All over the TV, and even in one of the newscasts tonight (Chicago Tonight), appears "Midnight February 17, 2009." It is the time and day that all TV signals in the US will go digital. If you have cable or satellite, no problem. I guess even if you have a digital tuner connected to your TV, it's not big deal. Old TVs though, will stop working without the tuner. A year from now, every old TV will no longer work in the US unless a special appliance is added to it. You can get the special appliance by using a the two $40 coupons that the US government will offer every household in the US to go out and buy the tuner. The whole broadcast sounded like a bunch of double-talk. It was so unclear and seemed really pretty deceptive. At different times, something along to the lines of each of these things were said: 1. No one has to get a new TV, 2. Really no one is going to be affected by this, 3. The people with tin foil and rabbit ears out there are going to be the only ones really affected. 4. Most people will have no trouble, the only trouble will come if you live in an outlying area where there is poor cable or satellite service. Do you also get the feeling that they had no idea what they were talking about? The reasons given for this change - 1. The government will be able to sell off all the analogue frequencies. 2. First responders will now be able to use these frequencies. Wow, all the old TV stations in the US are going to now become obsolete for national security purposes. Would anyone have imagined that argument 7 years ago? Now, this whole story, coming from a news broadcast that I usually trust, sounds pretty fishy to me. Does anyone have a better explanation for me? Please. Thank you.
Allan in Blue Island, IL
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