Analog Broadcast Shutdown
 

It seems odd to me that there's no mention of the analog broadcast shutdown tomorrow (in the US).

We'll probably here about a little chaos and confusion among folks that find themselves without any television reception.

I was planning on throwing a "Good Bye to Analog TV" party back in Feb. but then Washington DC started worrying about all those lazy Americans and the TV they were about to lose because they didn't know how to follow direction.

I would be trying to throw a party tomorrow night except I've been pretty busy lately & I have to be at the airport first thing on Saturday.

I think I'll at least try to stay up at midnight & watch a count down to the video turning to snow on as many TVs I can fit into one room.

The last station still broadcasting analog in Lexington went dark at midnight, and since I rent (no arial antennas allowed) and live in downtown (too many buildings cutting signals down) I get very few channels...guess i will be getting cable after all...(grrrr)

Good bye analog TV. It was a fun ride.

Hard to beleive a country the size of the us shuts analogue in one go,this little place here is shutting down region by region, it would probobly have been best to do it all over the same here.

We ended up spreading it out. There was a test city. There were a few stations that requested to switch off analog early. Hawaii switched off analog early due to the nesting season of birds near the TV towers (seriously.)

We had the original hard date of Feb 17th, 2009. That was immediately after the new administration took office and had their hands full. The date was delayed until June 12th, but some stations switched off in Feb as scheduled, and some others switched off between the two dates.

So, in effect, it's been a phased transition with digital migrating in over a decade or so, and analog shutting off within well under a year.

Well, analog broadcasts should all be shutdown by now. The world didn't end, so I guess all is well.

I wonder if there are any analog transmitters on eBay yet...

Well, it might have, but I can't get my local news station so I'm not sure....

We have one channel still broadcasting in analog with NO digital alternative for that channel. Wonder how long it will be before they get shut down...

Our local ABC channel is now broadcasting a "you need to buy a converter" message on analog.

LPs--Low Power stations including translators are not included in the DTV fiasco. Dunno if that's the case here.

It's definitely possible that it could be a LP station. It's 3ABN which, I believe, is typically satellite based. The home base for the station just happens to be local to me so it's quite possible it's broadcasting low power.

It's probably to aid those that still weren't aware or that are having a hard time receiving a digital signal. The ABC and CBS affiliates in my area are running 24hr. PSAs similar to those for 30 days and then they're shutting down completely.



Just to add my two cents, using the above as part of an example, the major problem I've been hearing about is not that all people left in the dark procrastinated, but that they got carried away with the never ending PSAs of the overly excited people plugging in their old rabbit ears into the converter boxes and getting a crystal clear signal...where in most rural and metro areas that is not the case due to distance and obstructions like tall buildings.

That is very much the case with my family. We are in a ground level property close to downtown Lexington sandwiched between the University of Kentucky (lots of multi-level structures) and the only skyscrapers in the area. I had my converter box since Nov of last year and have tried 6 different antennas of varying size, type, and style. The only option left is an aerial antenna, which are not permitted because I rent. So in order for me to get public access programming for myself and my 6 yr old to enjoy, I have to pay for cable. Something there just doesn't seem right...

Have you tried an RF amplifier?