When Canada pulls the plug on analog signals in 2011, viewers who still rely on antenna will be forced to shell out for new technology or see their broadcasts fade to black.It seems we're not alone, about three million Canadians still use rabbit ears or antennas for their TV signals. And that raises the spectre of a huge problem for the Canadian television indistry.
Analog TV owners will need to replace their televisions with sets capable of receiving high-definition signals, or install converters that now cost $200 U.S.
Canada is scrambling to end over-the-air analog TV signals to minimize repercussions from the U.S. shutdown in 2009. With nothing but high-definition TV signals coming from American broadcasters in 2009, the CRTC expressed concerns that Canadians may migrate to free U.S. stations for their TV -- especially in border towns such as Windsor, where at least 25 per cent of residents use antenna.Anybody else out there still living in the past?
A similar problem occurred in the 1950s and '60s when American broadcasters began sending out TV signals in colour.
Canada's colour broadcasts lagged by about five years, and many people chose to watch U.S. channels on their new colour televisions.
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