Given the partisan politics of this FCC, the fact that Martin didn't reject the proposal outright shows how scary this issue is for everyone involved. In fact, Martin said he'd have the FCC look into the possibility.
And he should be scared. Never before has the government, by fiat, declared obsolete a perfectly good, working technology that's almost universally available and so critical to public safety. And with so little real-world testing of its replacement.
Millions of Americans will have to buy unfamiliar equipment that is only partly covered by the two $40 coupons the FCC will provide for each household.
Many will have to install costly outside antennas or sign up for expensive cable service just to get the news, weather and other programs they get now free.
Most of these non-cable folks fall into two categories: the poor and the elderly - who are least capable of dealing with the change - and with those who just don't want cable or satellite service because they don't think it's worth the cost. The elderly and don't-wants include a disproportionate number of active voters who can and should show no mercy at the polls if they think they've been ripped off.
While the industry and FCC squabble over how many public service ads broadcasters have to run alerting viewers to the change, smart buyers are already shopping for converters. That's because knowing about the switch-over doesn't guarantee you'll have a picture once it happens.
One issue is the very nature of a digital signal. Under an analog system, you can receive a snowy, but still watchable, broadcast from a station with a weak signal in your area. Not so with digital TV. You get a great picture - better than you have now - or none at all.
So if you're a Baltimorean who's also accustomed to getting Washington stations that aren't perfect, you may find those D.C. broadcasts have disappeared altogether.
Worse yet, digital signals don't behave exactly like analog transmissions, which broadcasters have had half a century to tweak. So some local channels you get now may not be available, particularly if you use a rabbit-ears antenna.
That was the case at my home just outside the Baltimore Beltway, where I tried a power-boosted RCA antenna designed for digital TV with two sets: an RCA Standard Definition Digital Television and my superb Pioneer plasma HD set (normally hooked to cable). No matter how I adjusted the gain knob or tweaked the rabbit ears, there was no one place I could put the antenna that would pull in all of Baltimore's stations - on either TV.
