The transition to digital television could be a difficult one for senior citizens. If you don't understand why that's a big deal, you're not thinking like a congressman. AARP board member Nelda Barnett appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee this morning to warn them about the apocalypse that might arrive on February 18, 2009. "Consumers will be confused, frustrated, and angry that this important information and entertainment source in their household is no longer operational, through no fault of their own," she said. "Thousands of telephones will ring in communities around the country as well as right here in hundreds of congressional offices. Constituents will call their elected officials to complain and ask: 'What has happened to my television set?'"
So why will the switch to digital in 2009 hit seniors so hard? For one thing, they watch an awful lot of TV. According to the AARP, Americans over 50 watch the most TV of any demographic group—an average of 5.5 hours every single day. Those same people are also most likely to own sets without a digital tuner, and they're most likely to still receive over-the-air TV signals (20 million Americans currently do so). Couple that with the "potential difficulties in attaching the [digital] converter box to the back of their set" and "confusion regarding the transition itself," and you have the conditions for a perfect storm. Disgruntled seniors are unlikely to storm Washington with torches and pitchforks, but they are a powerful voting bloc.
Daniel Inouye (D-HI), who chairs the committee, warned that the government needs to act "before the digital transition devolves into digital disaster." Representatives from the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration were on hand to update senators about the work they are doing to prepare consumers for the transition.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...-disaster.html
Threaded Mode
