Vegas over-the-air TV viewers ace analog shutoff test

Surveys say many U.S. couch potatoes are still clueless about next year's looming analog-to-digital transition, but if a recent dry run by a local TV station is any indication, viewers in Sin City are on the ball.

Broadcast & Cable (via Engadget Mobile) reports that KVBC channel 3 in Las Vegas tried a little experiment earlier this month—it interrupted some of its daily newscasts with brief clips of static, simulating what'll happen on February 17, 2009, the day that U.S. TV stations stop broadcasting analog signals.

Here's how the test worked: First, viewers saw footage of a cable getting pulled at the station. Then, KVBC interrupted its over-the-air broadcast feed with a brief clip of static, followed by phone numbers and URLs for more information about the analog-to-digital transition (888-DTV-2009, or DTVanswers.com).

For viewers watching KVBC over cable or satellite, nothing happened—appropriate, of course, since the analog shutoff will only affect those who get their TV signals from a standard over-the-air antenna.

KVBC staffers doubtless braced themselves for a flood of callers complaining about the static, but according to B&C, only one viewer called in.

Clever idea—and indeed, it looks like word of the DTV transition is finally starting to spread. I'm seeing more and more public service announcements about the impending analog shutdown, and—hold on to your hats—I even saw an analog-to-digital converter box on a store shelf the other day.
 
So, are you all set for the analog shutoff? Know anyone out there with an over-the-air TV antenna who's still shaky about the DTV transition details?

Related:
This Is Only a Test: Vegas Station Simulates Analog Shutoff [Broadcast & Cable, via Engadget Mobile]