Just four months away from the nationwide shift to digital TV, 9.6 million U.S. households are still not ready for the transition, media research firm Nielsen said in a report on Wednesday.
Effective February 17, 2009, all U.S. television stations are required to discontinue use of their analog signals and operate a digital-only environment.
The transition ordered by Congress is meant to free up analog frequencies for public safety communications, while enabling improved television picture and sound quality.
If the transition occurred today, those 9.6 million homes would be unable to receive any television programming, while another 12.6 million households would have at least one television set that would no longer work, said the report.
Minorities and low-income households make up the bulk of the 9.6 million homes.
“Those whose total annual household income is less than $25,000 per year are five times more likely to be unprepared than households earning more than $75,000,” said the media measurement company, adding that “thirteen percent of Hispanic households remain completely unready for the transition, as do 12.5 percent of African American households.”
According to the FCC’s web site, the Government established the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program to help consumers with the Digital TV transition. Every U.S. household is eligible to receive up to two coupons, worth $40 each, toward the purchase of eligible digital-to-analog converter boxes.
One converter box, which cost between $40 and $70, is enough to allow one single analog TV to receive digital programming.
Consumer advocate groups have been critical of some aspects of the process, including the 90-day expiration dates on coupons and the inaccessibility of digital stations in some areas.
In a survey released on Wednesday, the Consumers Union, a non-profit publisher of consumers reports, also said that many consumers didn’t know how to get ready for the transition.
"Millions of consumers remain confused about how to prepare," read the statement.
But on February 17, the confused ones, still left with converter-free Analog TV sets will simply not receive any TV programming.
The number of fully unprepared homes decreased 1.4 percentage points from May 1 to September 1, 2008, leaving 8.4 precent of all U.S. households still completely unready today.
Among those who are trying to get ready, and bought converter boxes, difficulties subsist, especially if they leave in remote areas and need an antenna to receive signals.
In the forum “How to use a converter box and antenna to get DTV,” frustration is high:
“ I will not be receiving any watchable broadcast television signal after February 2009,” a member of the forum wrote, “I've purchased the converter box, which produces nothing but pixelated garbage, and even spent an extra fifty dollars on a new antenna, which improved the analog signal but did nothing for the digital signal. I’ve gone from about twelve watchable channels to one with only infomercials.
For them the only hope is to trust the FCC when it says that digital transmission will be way improved when the switch takes place.