DTV Storm Coming?

Feb. 7, 2009— -- As a meteorologist and storm expert who flies into hurricanes, Paul Flaherty knows how important it is to prepare for a disaster.

But as he looked over some of the emergency supplies in his closet a couple of weeks ago, he realized that one important item on his checklist is going to be useless in the next hurricane: his portable analog television.

It's one of the potential problems for people living in a hurricane zone, or any potential disaster area, as television stations make the government-mandated switch from traditional analog broadcasts to ones that are all digital.

When the power goes out in a hurricane, untold thousands of residents will find that their battery-powered analog TVs, which provide vital information including where a storm is headed and when the worst of it has passed, will no longer be compatible with the digital broadcasts.

"I don't think anybody has really thought about an emergency situation like a hurricane, where you're going to lose that," said Flaherty, a flight director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aircraft Operations Center in Tampa, Fla.

The digital TV transition deadline was originally set for Feb. 17 but has now been delayed until June 12, giving residents in hurricane zones more time to prepare.

But even then, technology watchers say consumers may not want to upgrade because of the price. There are few portable digital TV choices on the market, costing $200 to $300, compared with around $20 for a portable analog set.

CNET.com Editor-At-Large Brian Cooley points out that new industry standards for portable DTV transmission may not be finalized until late this year, and that has kept major manufacturers from jumping into the portable DTV market, for now.

"I expect to see a flood of them late this year and really on the market in 2010," Cooley said.