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December 3, 2008 2:52:25 AM CST

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FCC to Test TV's Digital Era in N. Carolina

Posted May 7, 08 8:26 PM CDT in Technology 

(Newser) – Wilmington, NC, will be a test market for the switchover to all-digital television, the Wall Street Journal reports. The US as a whole is to change from analog signals by Feb. 17, but Wilmington could flip by Sept. 8 as broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commissions worry over how the process will play out.

The US seems to be adopting a model similar to that used by the UK, the Journal notes, which is making the switch to digital over four years. Subscribers to cable and satellite TV won't have to do anything, but those who use older TVs and an antenna will have to buy a converter to decode the new signals.

Source Wall Street Journal

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A cable box is seen on top of a television in Philadelphia in this May 30, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin speaks during the CITA wireless show at the Hilton convention center in Las Vegas on Monday, April 1, 2008.   (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin takes part in an industry insider session at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in this Jan. 8. 2008 file photo.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
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