Washington — President George W. Bush signed a budget package on Wednesday that included establishment of a Feb. 17, 2009, hard date to transition the nation’s television broadcasts to 100 percent digital transmissions.
The date will require US broadcasters to end transmissions of analog television signals.
A consumer education program was included to alert consumers about the approaching switch over to digital TV broadcasting and instruct them on how to acquire digital-to-analog converter boxes to continue receiving free over-the-air broadcasts on their current analog television sets.