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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: digital television

digital television stories: 19 news summaries

(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... More »

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television • FCC • digital television • digital broadcasting • digital converter box • digital transition

TV Stations Complete Shift to Digital

Millions of American viewers could lose signal today

Jun 12, 09 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - As the US completes the shift to digital TV today, viewers in more than 2 million households will see nothing but static, according to Nielsen and broadcasters’ estimates. Those without signals are likely to be from poorer, rural, and older demographics, the Wall Street Journal reports—though Nielsen research finds... More »

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television • Comcast • cable TV • digital television • cable industry • TV antenna • digital converter box

(Newser) - Millions of Americans, particularly in urban and rural areas, will see their televisions go black when broadcasters switch to digital transmission next week, the New York Times reports. A Nielsen survey indicates that more than 10% of the 114 million homes with sets are partially or completely unprepared for... More »

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television • HDTV • broadcasting • digital television • consumer electronics • digital converter box • digital transition

(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... More »

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television • FCC • digital television • digital converter box • coupons

 House Rejects Digital TV Delay 

Republicans argue deferral will cost broadcasters

Jan 28, 09 2:07 PM CST
(Newser) - The House defeated a bill today to delay the switch to all-digital television, the Washington Post reports. The vote comes two days after the Senate approved extending the deadline to June 12 from Feb. 17, and is a defeat for congressional Democrats and the Obama administration, who want to give... More »

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television • Congress • digital television • analog networks • House Republicans • analog • Obama administration

(AP) - People who have not gotten their TV sets ready for the changeover to digital signals could earn a 4-month reprieve under a bill making its way through Congress, the AP reports. The Senate voted today to delay until June 12 the deadline for the changeover from analog to digital television... More »

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digital television • digital transition

 Digital Switch Hits Glitches 

Ahead of transition, viewers struggle to receive digital signals

Jan 21, 09 5:26 AM CST
(Newser) - The big switch to digital TV may be less than a month away but many viewers are finding the transition anything but smooth, the Washington Post reports. Consumers are discovering that getting a converter box for older analog sets or buying a new digital TV doesn't always guarantee good reception.... More »

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television • digital television • TV antenna • transmission • analog • digital converter box • digital transition

Obama Wants
to Delay Digital TV Switch

Too many people unprepared, he tells Congress in letter

Jan 8, 09 7:32 PM CST
(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... More »

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television • FCC • digital television • analog • digital converter box • President Obama

 DTV Date Switch Gains 
 Momentum in DC 

Fund to aid consumers' conversion has run dry; June 1 may be alternative

Jan 8, 09 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Pressure from an influential consumer group and a change in attitudes on Capitol Hill may push back the mandated switch to digital television, Broadcasting & Cable reports. A letter from the Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, to key lawmakers and the Bush and Obama administrations urges them to reconsider... More »

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Bush administration • Congress • HDTV • digital television • vouchers • Obama administration • President Obama • digital transition • Consumers Union

Google Readies for Spectrum Showdown

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

Aug 19, 08 9:49 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Google • FCC • airwaves • broadcasting • digital television • unused spectrum

Feds Warn of Scam on
'Free' Digital Converter Box

Better Business Bureau warns consumers on Miracle ClearView offer for analog TVs

Jun 24, 08 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Consumers beware: “Free” digital converter boxes for analog TVs, advertised in newspapers across the country, could run you $100—some $80 more than just buying a box using a government coupon. The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about the ad from Universal TechTronics, designed to look like... More »

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television • scam • digital television • analog • digital converter box • Universal TechTronics • Better Business Bureau

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

70M sets could be affected in digital move; half of owners won't know what to do

Jun 11, 08 4:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Roughly half of Americans who still own analog TVs aren’t ready for February's switch to digital broadcasting, a government report concludes. Consumers are confused about what to do, and will go dark if they fail to buy a converter box, buy a digital TV or sign up for satellite... More »

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FCC • GAO • digital television

 Digital Switch May KO Ratings 

9.4% of US households are 'completely unready' for death of analog TV

May 27, 08 3:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Almost 25 million US homes own at least one set that will go dark when broadcast TV switches to digital next year—which could wreak havoc on ratings, the New York Times reports. Roughly 17% of network prime-time viewers are using unprepared TVs, according to Nielsen. Secondary TVs, like... More »

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Nielsen • TV ratings • digital television • digital broadcasting • network television • TV advertising

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

Wilmington will be
feds' guinea pig
to phase out analog

May 7, 08 8:26 PM CDT
(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... More »

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television • FCC • North Carolina • digital television • analog networks • Wilmington

LG Develops Way to Send TV
to Cell Phones

Technology needs only inexpensive upgrades

Jan 6, 08 3:11 PM CST
(Newser) - LG has developed a new, low-cost means of wirelessly transmitting digital television signals to portable devices such as mobile phones, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new technology, called “MPH"—short for mobile-portable-handheld—requires an inexpensive augmentation to TV broadcasting equipment, and new receiver chips in future portable... More »

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cell phones • digital television • LG

Feds Ease TV Switch With Coupons

Money will help those who still use antennas upgrade to digital before '09

Jan 2, 08 3:13 PM CST
(Newser) - For the estimated 14.3 million households still getting their TV via antenna, there’s hope: The federal government yesterday began handing out $40 coupons to help buy converters ahead of the 2009 digital cutoff, the AP reports. The problem, Congress says, is that few know about the $1.5... More »

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FCC • Government Accountability Office • digital television • digital broadcasting • TV antenna

Half of US Owns a Digital TV

... And the rest need to get one, fast.

Dec 29, 07 4:56 PM CST
(Newser) - Digital TVs now grace 57 million US households—more than half the country—according to the Consumer Electronics Association. For glass-half-empty types, that means much of the country still isn’t ready for 2009, when TV will be digital only, Engadget reports. But the optimistic CEA is predicting big sales... More »

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HDTV • digital television

UN Agreement May Boost US Spectrum Bids

Google, Yahoo, Apple all seen jumping into Jan. 700 Mhz auction

Nov 19, 07 2:24 PM CST
(Newser) - Thanks to an agreement at a month-long UN telecom conference in Geneva, the cost for rights to use new US wireless spectrum going on the block in January may have just increased. Google, Yahoo and Apple are among the companies expected to a battle for licenses to the 700 Mhz... More »

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United Nations • Google • satellite radio • FCC • wireless frequencies • digital television • World Radiocommunication Conference • wireless licenses • spectrum auction

Getting the Word Out
on Digital TV

Broadcasters kick off $697 million campaign

Oct 16, 07 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - What's on TV? Soon, it will be an unprecedented $697 million campaign to get the word out on the upcoming switch to digital broadcasting. Starting February 18, 2009, viewers without a digital set or special converter box won't be able to watch TV. The upcoming educational campaign "may be... More »

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television • satellite TV • digital television

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