Starting on May 25th of this year, retailers will be required to display prominently a warning that that analog TVs on their shelves will not receive over-the-air broadcasts after February 2009 without a converter. The FCC-mandated warning, released earlier this month, reads as follows:
"CONSUMER ALERT - This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation’s transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. For more information, call the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commission’s digital television website at: www.dtv.gov."

Aldo Cugnini
Analyst

According to the FCC rule, the requirements apply to "all responsible parties and any person that displays or offers for sale or rent television receiving equipment that is not capable of receiving, decoding and tuning digital signals." As such, the rule also applies to VCRs and similar devices that contain an analog TV tuner. The rule also states that the sign shall be placed "conspicuously and in close proximity to such television broadcast receivers…" Although placement on the device itself is described in the FCC document, use of this feature appears to remain an option, not a requirement.

Where did this come from? In January, House Republicans drafted a bill requiring, among other things, warning labeling and signs on and near analog sets at the retail point. The new FCC rule essentially makes that element law, which also follows from a similarly worded Consumer Advisory Label recommended by CEA in March of last year.

Will the label have its desired effect? Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men… well, you know the rest. Human nature being what it is, things can and will go wrong, as evidenced at a local Wal-Mart I visited recently. To their credit, the chain has already been posting these labels - voluntarily - for several months now. Unfortunately, the labels have been placed at random on shelves - even though the text specifically states "This television receiver." It would appear that, at least in this location, personnel are being told to post the signs, but are given no instruction as to WHERE to put the signs. Thus, the hapless consumer may in fact get a "false positive," the label telling him that he will have to buy a converter for his otherwise digital set. At worst, he may think he doesn’t need a converter. In any event, he’s likely to be angry when he finds out - the hard way - that he bought the wrong product.

When questioned about the labels, sales help at this store got it about ½ right - about as expected. Although one shelf had about a 50-50 mix of analog-only and digital sets, the clerk said the sign - which was placed in front of a digital set - pertained to ALL of the sets. (Remember that the sign specifically says "This television…"). He also said that a converter would be needed eventually with any of the sets on the shelf. When it was pointed out to him that several sets said "receives digital broadcasts," the clerk went into "hand waiving" mode, uttered some gibberish about "everything’s digital," and then finally admitted he wasn’t sure. He did point out, however, that with cable or satellite, all of the sets would be fine, which is correct.

As for motivation, is this another important public education component in the FCC’s DTV transition plan, or is it part of a response to recent criticism by public interest groups that the Commission has been falling down on its public interest obligations? Yes, it continues to be a difficult message to get out, due to many complications. And more information should be better - but only if the accompanying educational process is well thought out. The NAB, CEA, NTIA, and other groups have embarked on a public education campaign to address this issue. Advance information provided by them indicates a vast effort, styled after a political campaign, will be rolled out later this year, which will include mainstream newspapers, trade publications, business journals, television news media, as well as various other grassroots efforts. Let’s hope they get it right. It remains to be seen whether the new FCC rule will carry with it more specific instructions for retailers to instruct their staff on the desired method of displaying the warnings. If not, caveat emptor! -AC

Footnote: For your own edification, point your browser to any of the following:
www.dtv.gov
www.ntia.doc.gov
www.dtvtransition.org
www.ce.org/hdtv
www.ceknowhow.com
www.CheckHD.com
www.myceknowhow.com
www.antennaweb.org