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Circuit City Stores, Inc. announced it will enhance its efforts to help ensure that American television viewers are aware of the upcoming Digital Television (DTV) Transition.
"TV is our most important business," said Philip J. Schoonover, Circuit City's Chairman, President, and CEO. "We know the DTVTransition will affect millions of homes that rely on over-the-air reception and we are ready to do our part, along with manufacturers, broadcasters, and regulators, to inform and educate the public about this important technology advance."
U.S. television stations will cease transmitting analog signals on Feb. 17, 2009, meaning that consumers with older sets with analog-only tuners who rely on over-the-air signals will need to take steps in order to be able to watch TV. TVs connected to satellite or cable providers will not be immediately affected by the DTV Transition. The switch to digital TV not only will free up parts of the broadcast spectrum for emergency services, the new signals also bring major improvements in video and audio quality.
Some of the following steps already are in process at Circuit City; some will be phased in during the coming months:
- Provide additional educational pamphlets related to the DTV Transition in its stores nationwide
- Provide DTV Transition advisory information in its advertising supplements
- Incorporate DTV Transition reminders and messages into the closed circuit videos that run on TVs in Circuit City stores nationwide
- Conduct additional training for store personnel related to the DTV Transition, and also related to the government program that will provide discount coupons to help consumers purchase set-top tuner boxes to convert digital broadcast signals for analog-only TV sets.
Circuit City said it intends to participate in the voluntary tuner box coupon program run by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), pending the resolution of a number of technical and regulatory questions.
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