Spots nail digital change
'House' stars inform public on switch
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The Emmy-winning show's host Kevin O'Connor and master carpenter Norm Abram will appear in educational spots, to begin airing next month, intended to get word out about the coming transition to all-digital TV in February 2009.
Spots will offer "clear, uncomplicated information about the switchover" and will form the core of a two-part educational campaign, PBS said Monday.
"From March to October, PBS' consumer awareness campaign will focus on raising awareness of the shut-off date and outline the basics of viewers' options for making the conversion," the org said. "Then, from October through the analog shutoff date in February 2009, PBS will provide detailed information about the specific steps viewers can take to prepare for the end of analog broadcasting."
The feds have mandated the return of all analog spectrum that broadcasters have been using for decades and a total switch to digital transmission, to be completed before Feb. 18, 2009.
Analog TVs that are hooked to cable or satellite systems will not be affected, but those that depend on over-the-air transmission will go dark unless attached to a digital-to-analog signal converter box, expected to cost $50-$70. The government is helping to defray the cost by offering $40 coupons that can be applied to the purchase of a box.
Critics have said the government -- in particular, the Federal Communications Commission -- has not been doing enough to alert and inform viewers about the impending transition. FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin recently told Congress he believes the transition is on track and will go smoothly.
