FCC to warn TV viewers: 'This is only a test'

FCC to warn TV viewers: 'This is only a test'
To increase awareness, analog sets may go blank
By Wailin Wong Chicago Tribune reporter
August 19, 2008
If you watch an older TV hooked up to rabbit-ear antennas and your screen goes snowy for a moment this November, replaced by a message telling you to call a toll-free number, do not be alarmed. It's not Martians. It's just the government.Representatives of the Federal Communications Commission are scheduled to visit Chicago on Nov. 20 as part of a nationwide tour to regions that are considered at risk for missing the switch from analog to digital TV signals. While regulators haven't detailed their itinerary for Chicago, one of the options to test local households' readiness is what's known as a "soft test," or temporarily turning off analog signals.In a soft test, the signal is shut down for 30 to 60 seconds. Viewers who are watching an older TV with rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna will get a snowy screen and a message telling them to call a toll-free number or visit DTVanswers.com, a Web site run by the National Association of Broadcasters."We've found that's an effective way to get the message out," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said in a Monday press conference, during which he announced the agency's nationwide tour.