Three more years of analog TV
Three more years of analog TV
David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials
- Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
Nobody really thought that Congress would end up enforcing the 2006 turn-off deadline for analog television broadcasts, but now it's semiofficial: , according to proposed legislation. At the end of 2008, so the story goes, all TV broadcasters will turn off their over-the-air analog transmissions and leave the spectrum free to be auctioned off--although a good portion will supposedly be used for emergency broadcasts and homeland security. The head of the National Association of Broadcasters is happy about the date, but issues remain. The biggest is that current analog TV receivers will require special converter boxes to receive the new digital broadcasts, and consumer groups are urging Uncle Sam to subsidize the boxes. Seeing that the government will net an estimated $10 billion from the spectrum auction, I don't think that's too much to ask.
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