The United States was preparing for full transition to digital television, an event that was supposed to occur sometime next month. This measure is seen as the biggest step in television since black-and-white was replaced by colored picture.

 

However, this sudden transition might leave millions of viewers in the United States without any picture at all, as many of them do not have the necessary equipment to switch to digital television.

 

Concerned about the situation, the President-elect, Barack Obama, asked the Congress on Thursday to postpone switch to digital television – DTV – which was federally mandate. In Obama’s opinion, February 19^th is too early a date for a switch, as a big percentage of the population will be negatively affected.

 

The delay suggested by Barack Obama is supposed to give the government enough time to put the consumer help program back on its feet, after it had ran out of funding a while back. However, if Obama’s suggestion is taken into consideration and applied, it would imply a delay on a measure that has been promised for quite some time. Digital television entails a sharper picture and a wide array of free channels.

 

Also, digital television will free up a series of airwaves, which is very important for public safety, and it will also allow a wider availability of wireless Internet access.