If you're a TV viewer grown sick of reruns and incessant political ads, look on the bright side. At least your TV still works.
Millions of older TV sets will turn into giant, glowing paperweights a little over a year from now, unless their owners get busy. The nation's broadcasters and the federal government have just launched a massive advertising campaign to inform owners of these sets about the biggest change in television technology since the 1940s: the switch to all-digital broadcasting.
The transition will be complete by Feb. 17 of next year and will free up a large swath of broadcast frequencies to be used for wireless phone networks. If all goes according to plan, Americans will get clearer, sharper TV images, along with more advanced cellphone services.
The majority of TV viewers, who subscribe to cable or satellite services, won't see any difference. But those with older TVs and rooftop or "rabbit-ear" antennas could lose TV service altogether unless they buy converter boxes to keep their old TVs working or purchase new sets.
"I think it will cause some discomfort for people who don't have cable," said Mike Lynch, director of Boston's office of cable communications. Lynch estimates that up to 40 percent of Boston households rely on over-the-air broadcasting, and could be affected by the transition.
Sharon Gillett, Massachusetts' commissioner of telecommunications and cable, said that about 20 percent of the state's households lack cable or satellite service.
And the Nielsen Co. estimates about 14 million US households, or 13 percent, lack connections to cable or satellite services.
But many viewers have no idea that their TV sets could stop working.
A November study by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing found that fewer than one-third of over-the-air TV viewers knew about the digital transition.
Gillett said her agency has received only about 10 phone calls from Massachusetts residents seeking information about the change. "There hasn't been a lot of federal outreach on this issue," she said.
Now the federal government has launched a $1.5 billion program to help consumers. Those with older TV sets will be urged to sign up for coupons good for $40 off the cost of a digital converter box. The boxes go on sale later this year and will cost $50 to $70.
But critics like Democratic US Representative Ed Markey of Malden say the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Commerce have not done enough to ease the transition. Markey points to a November report by the Government Accountability Office, which found that the two agencies lack a coherent plan for managing the switch to digital television.
"The benefits will be great, if we can transition without any harm to TV viewers," Markey said. "But it's going to require a cop on the beat."
Markey, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, said he will hold hearings this spring to goad federal regulators into improving the process.
Markey said he's particularly concerned about poor people, minorities, and the elderly, because fewer people in these groups have cable or satellite service. "As recently as last year, up to 30 percent of Hispanics in America had only free over-the-air television," Markey said.
Jim Dau, a spokesman for AARP, said monitoring the changeover will be a priority for his group this year. "Many of our members are more dependent on their televisions to keep them connected to their communities," said Dau. "Americans age 50 and above watch the greatest amount of television, almost 5 1/2 hours a day."
Megan Pollock, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Electronics Association, said industry and government delayed public education campaigns until 2008, so that companies could manufacture the needed converter boxes. "Now is the perfect time to begin this," said Pollock. "It's not too early; it's not too late."
Not everyone with over-the-air TV service needs an adapter box. Most American TV stations already broadcast a digital as well as an analog signal, and many TV sets made since 2004 already include digital tuners, which are now mandatory on all TVs made since March 2007.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, Americans bought 28.5 million TV sets last year, and all but 1.4 million of them were digital.
Unfortunately, it's not easy to tell whether a TV has a digital tuner; some display a label like "Integrated Digital Tuner," but others do not.
People who aren't sure should find the TV's model number - usually on the back of the set - and contact the manufacturer.
Those with analog sets can attach a converter box which will act like the set-top box used by cable TV subscribers. Each converter box will add features not found on some older sets, such as a remote control for changing channels, a parental control feature for locking out unwelcome TV shows, and on-screen captioning for the hard of hearing.
Congress set aside up to $1.5 billion to subsidize the price of the boxes. Each household can apply for up to two coupons, each worth $40 off the cost of a converter box. Officials at the Department of Commerce expect to issue up to 33.5 million coupons.
Consumers can sign up for the program at www.dtv2009.gov or by dialing 1-888-DTV-2009.
Meanwhile, the FCC is preparing for a Jan. 24 auction to dispose of the broadcast frequencies that will be freed up by next year's transition. It will be one of the biggest sell-offs of broadcast rights ever held, and could raise as much as $15 billion for the US Treasury.
The public should benefit through better wireless communication services. For instance, a sizable chunk of bandwidth will be set aside for improved networks for police, fire, and other emergency workers. In addition, the FCC ordered that some of the bandwidth be used to create "open" cellphone networks, which will allow consumers to use whatever phones and software they choose. That's a major change from today's systems, in which cellphone companies set strict limits on customer choices.
The FCC's announcement of the open network plan has already begun to reshape the wireless phone industry. Internet search titan Google Inc. plans to bid for a share of the wireless bandwidth, in hopes of launching a new open phone network. And in November, Verizon Wireless, one of the biggest cellphone operators, said it would begin opening its existing network to provide consumers with a better selection of phones and services.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.
