DTV SWITCH

It’s the biggest event to hit television since color.

All analog broadcast signals will be shut off Friday and only digital will remain.

For a year and a half, we’ve been showing you how to hook up digital converter boxes. We’ve introduced you to the new wide screen, High Definition televisions which, of course, work with the new digital signals.

But some people are still asking, what’s the point?

“For the most part, digital broadcasting provides better quality picture and sound and broadcasters can provide more channels in the space they used to provide one,” said FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein.

But it’s more than that. Right now, many TV signals are VHF. By going digital, most TV stations are moving over to UHF. Simply put, that frees up frequency space for other things like more police and fire channels and much more sophisticated cell phone capabilities.

“The government made billions auctioning off that VHF space. Some of that money paid for the $40 off converter box coupons,” said Adelstein.

But who will be left behind?

The City of Seattle is prepared for an onslaught of calls Friday from confused viewers, but they will not be staffed this weekend. The city has worked hard to get the word out, for example, publishing DTV information in languages from Chinese to Russian to Vietnamese to Tagala. 

“I’m expecting the city will get a lot of calls. We’re bracing for that. We have a script. All the customer service offices have some basic information and where to send people,” said Jill Novak of Seattle’s Department of Information Technology.

But if you wake up Friday and your TV isn’t working, please don’t call 911.

KING-TV in Seattle ended regular analog programming at 9 a.m. Friday. Other stations will turn off their analog transmitters at different times.