Audio Video News

Not all owners of analog television sets are planning to make the transition to digital broadcasting, according to a survey by the Consumer Electronics Association. Twenty-two of them plan to just let their TVs go dark and find something else to do.

CEA asked consumers how they plan to handle the DTV transition. A third said they would take advantage of the federal coupon program which will provide up to two $40 coupons for the purchase of set-top digital-to-analog adapters. A new DTV is in the offing for 23 percent. And 22 percent say they would get cable or satellite service.

But another 22 percent said they'd do nothing at all. Among them were the parents of CEA's Julie Kearney, who revealed details of the survey at the Future of TV conference in New York. Multichannel News quoted this exchange:

"I asked my parents, who canceled their cable a few years ago, what they plan to do, and they said, 'Read magazines. And The New York Times'." As long as it's our magazine.

Of course, analog TVs needn't go completely dark as long as folks can rent DVDs.