1. Cost: Viewers have to pay about $55-65 for a digital converter box, or more for a new TV. Some people who primarily view broadcast television have received a subsidy from the government (for $40), which taxpayers have to fund. Many will also have to purchase better TV antennas and/or adapters needed to attach the converter boxes to their TVs. State governments have had to spend millions of dollars helping public TV stations purchase digital broadcasting equipment.

2. Energy: Using digital TV converter boxes will increase power consumption, both when they are operating and when they are just plugged in. According to energystar.gov, the EPA has estimated that they may require over three billion kWh of electrical power per year, at a yearly cost of $270 million dollars worth of electricity. Some entire countries do not consume this much power in a year. This will promote the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and increase pollution.

3. Portability: A large number of portable TV sets exist (some of them still being sold) which lack the appropriate jacks for connecting a converter box, especially pocket TVs. It will also no longer be possible to use portable radios which are equipped with TV audio bands. This will reduce the availability of information during natural disasters and other emergencies.

4. Reception: Many people in rural areas receive few or no digital stations with their existing antennas, even if they normally pick up several channels. Unlike analog TV, digital television reception must be perfect or it becomes impossible to see or listen to. This will also reduce the ability to receive television in moving vehicles or when there are poor weather conditions.

5. Waste: The end of analog broadcasting is likely to cause a large number of people to discard sets (especially portable or older units) and antennas which still work in favor of new digital-capable models. This will rapidly release large quantities of lead and other hazardous materials into the environment, while consuming massive amounts of natural resources to manufacture and transport the new TV sets and converter boxes.

6. Precedent: If the government is to be allowed to require a transition to one type of new technology, it may see fit to enforce such changes in other fields. It also intends to sell public property (the analog broadcast TV frequencies) to private businesses without any approval from the public. The media and government provided very little information to the people about these decisions while they were being made.

At present, most stations are broadcasting digital and analog television at the same time. There is no reason the FCC cannot allow this to continue, thus enabling viewers to decide which type of broadcast they want to receive. Please enter your name and zip code below (no other information or registration is required, names will not appear publicly) if you'd like to support our petition to keep analog TV broadcasting in place...