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The switch from analog to digital TV in the U.S. took place on June 12, 2009, and continues to get high marks. At a House Communications Subcommittee hearing on reauthorization of a satellite compulsory license bill, ranking Republican Cliff Stearns said that the transition had gone smoothly " 'by most reports.' " He conceded there were still some issues with re-scanning boxes and stations that would need to boost power, but that, in general, it had gone well.
A Senator from Minnesota who had long expressed concerns about her heavily-analog state even had praise for the digital switchover. In January, Senator Amy Klobuchar backed moving the DTV date. She pointed out, " 'in Minnesota, more than 21 percent of our households depend exclusively on over-the-air broadcast TV.' " She added, " 'unless we get this right, millions could be without television on February 18, the day after the transition.' "
The June date appeared to be a different story. " 'The DTV transition is going better than we thought,' " Klobuchar said. " 'A lot of our fears were unfounded,' " though she added there were still " 'problems and glitches' " that had to be fixed.
New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenburg also said he was pleased with, " 'how successful the transition was' " after its initial " 'slow start and delays.' " He praised the leadership of acting Chairman Michael Copps, and also said he was glad for the improved signals to New Jersey.
In addition to some issues with converter boxes, there have been some reception problems as well. ABC is working with the FCC to try and fix the reception issues at WPVI Philadelphia and WLS Chicago. Both stations have been experiencing reception problems following the shutoff of analog broadcasts on June 12. WLS was having difficulty reaching high-rise and downtown buildings, while Philadelphia viewers complained they couldn't find WPVI's new digital VHF signal.
Source: Broadcasting & Cable (June 13-16, 2009)
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