Source : Ottawa Citizen

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.

Saying goodbye to rabbit-ear TV antennas could cost Canadians as much as $200 million.

Unlike the United States, which will subsidize the cost of set-top converters for older televisions when it drops analog TV signals in 2009, officials here say they have no similar plan for when Canada ends analog broadcasts in 2011.

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. -- though experts have forecast that the price could drop to $60 to $80. The converters incorporate antenna that can receive the new signals.

In May, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission set Aug. 31, 2011, as the final date for over-the-air analog signals. The high-definition signals that will replace them -- and which are already offered by some broadcasters -- offer far better picture and sound quality.

About three million Canadians still rely on rabbit ears or other antenna for their TV signals. Ian Morrison, a spokesman for the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, an industry watchdog group, said transferring all the older sets to the new system could cost $200 million.

"Who is going to pay for it?" said Mr. Morrison. "Right now, people are saying, 'It's four years away.' So no one is worried about it. When we get closer to it, all hell is going to break loose."

Canada's shutdown will come just a little more than two years after the end of analog broadcasting in the U.S., where the federal government has set aside $1.5 billion U.S. to buy the set-top boxes for Americans who get over-the-air signals and do not want to buy new TVs.

The CRTC would not comment on whether funding may be put aside to help Canadians with the changeover.

But a spokeswoman for the department of Canadian Heritage believes Canadians will buy new TVs before 2011 to keep receiving over-the-air broadcasts.

"At this stage there is no Canadian equivalent to the U.S. program for subsidizing digital set-top boxes. Market forces in Canada have already encouraged many Canadians to adopt the required technologies to make the transition," Josianne Jalbert said in an e-mail statement. "This number will only grow."

Meantime, brochures from Industry Canada outlining the changes are expected to be available at TV retailers by next month.

Vassilios Mimis, the department's director of broadcast technology policy and planning, said the brochures will warn consumers about buying analog televisions because of the 2011 switch. The brochures will also help clarify industry terms such as high definition.

Mr. Morrison expects the number of Canadians who rely on antenna to drop to between one and two million in the next four years.

He said the people who will be most affected by the 2011 change will be senior citizens.

"There are a lot of people who are light TV users and are not well off," he added. "They have old sets and they receive their TV over the air. They tend to be elderly pensioners on fixed incomes."

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.

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.

Analog television owners who subscribe to cable have no guarantee their televisions will still function without a set-top box.

The CRTC has said cable companies can end regular analog feeds once they have switched at least 85 per cent of customers to digital boxes.

At Rogers Cable, owned by Rogers Communications Inc., more than 50 per cent of subscribers already use digital boxes.

© Ottawa Citizen