February 17 Archive
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It’s official: DTV “hard date” moved to June 12
Posted on February 4, 2009 | No CommentsFiled under: Regulatory, OTA
After much wrangling, the DTV Delay Act has worked its way through the House of Representatives and will certainly be signed by President Obama, changing the cutoff date for analog broadcasts from February 17 to June 12. Don't expect this to bring a sudden end to digital TV confusion, since stations can switch prior to that date, and according to the FCC up to 61% will be able to. Since simply powering analog equipment costs thousands of dollars a month, OTA TV watchers will want to check their local broadcaster's plans as more than a few will be going ahead with the original date for better or worse. Got an unused, expired coupon? No need to head to Retrevo just yet, since you'll now be able to reapply to the again-funded coupon program. Of course, the FCC still has to figure out how to implement the new law, with only a few days to prepare, tomorrow's open meeting on the subject should be very interesting.
It's official: DTV "hard date" moved to June 12 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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