The invitable digital

You are going digital whether you want to or not.

Most consumers are completely unaware of the fact that “big brother” has determined by the year 2009 that all broadcasts will be digital. What does this mean for the average television watcher? It means no more TV.

For middle and lower America, that’s homes with incomes less than $90,000 per year, the HDTV market hasn’t been a place they are willing to venture. The cost has been too high and the benefits just too small to justify the sacrifice purchasing one of the sets would mean. Even with the prices dropping in the HDTV and LCD markets and with mass marketers promoting the technology, the lower income households seem reluctant to come on board.

That will have to change by 2009. Every consumer that wants access to the airwaves must have a television set that reads the high definition broadcasts. The only other option is to purchase a converter box for their existing sets.

The government originally set the transfer time limit to just two months but has since pushed it back to 2009. If consumers knew of the impending change, they would have time to convert. The forced move to digital is not making front page news in most communities, however.

All of this holds promise for first time buyers of HDTV. The more merchants getting into the field and the broader range of products mean a less expensive television for those being dragged into the digital age.