TV Switch Will Catch Some Off-Guard, No Matter What

(NEWSER) - The digital TV switch took place Friday, and you’d be forgiven for missing it. The FCC is patting itself on the back, USA Today reports, because the long-planned, long-delayed switch went off without any major hiccups. By Saturday, the FCC had fielded 315,000 calls from consumers, but that died down to 60,000 by yesterday afternoon, and most were about run-of-the-mill issues. More»

(AP) - The agency that mails out coupons for digital TV converter boxes expects to eliminate its wait list in 2½ weeks, an official said today. Helped by $650 million from the economic stimulus package, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has started to mail out coupons to the 2.3 million households on the wait list. More»

Too many people unprepared, he tells Congress in letter

(NEWSER) - The push to delay pulling the plug on analog television gained an important convert today: Barack Obama. The president-elect's transition team sent a letter to Congress urging it to push back the Feb. 17 conversion date to all-digital TV, the Los Angeles Times reports. It cited in particular the Commerce Department's announcement that it has no more money left to provide $40 coupons to help people buy converter boxes. More»

As TV goes digital, tech giants, broadcasters vie for unused space

(NEWSER) - Google has launched an aggressive campaign to free up the soon-to-be-emptied "white spaces" of the TV spectrum for Internet devices and broadband access, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The spaces will open up when TV switches entirely to digital in February. Google and other tech giants are hotly disputing use of the spaces with broadcasters. More»

Wilmington will be feds' guinea pig to phase out analog

(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. More»