THE COUNTDOWN TO DTV TRANSITION HAS BEGUN

Leading up to the release of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Scholastic.com had a “countdown” clock with the days and hours left until fans could get their hands on the book. If you were one of those fans, to what are you counting down these days? If you’re familiar with the Mayan End Times Prophecy, you might be following the countdown to the “Age of Transition.” If you’re involved in the television industry, watch television or have a television — or live in the United States of America — you might be counting the days until February 17, 2007, when television goes digital.

Specifically, what that means is that the era of analog broadcast television in the United States will come to an end. That doesn’t mean the end of free broadcast television. You’ll still have your favorite broadcast programs and local stations (like NPT of course). How you get it, however, will change a bit. Those affected the most will be viewers who currently receive their television signal “over-the-air” or with an antenna. If that includes you, there’s nothing to get worried about. You will have to pay attention though, and take a few actions.

Fortunately, there’s an informative and easy-to-use web site by the DTV Transition Coalition at DTVtransition.org that will tell you everything you need to know and do when it comes to the DTV Transition. Plus, it has a handy script that counts down the days, hours, minutes (and seconds) until the transition.

When does the countdown to the new Harry Potter movie begin?