Dutch pull plug on analog TV
AP reports that the Netherlands has become the first country to switch to all-digital TV, ending free over-the-air broadcasting last night. Unlike the U.S., where the planned tranisition to DTV is sure to raise heated legal battles before its planned 2009 tranisition date, the Dutch switchover was orderly, perhaps because there were only 74,000 users of analog broadcasts, according to the story.
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This is indeed not such a big deal. As indicated in the article only 74k users were impacted. The vast majority in the Netherlands watch TV via the cable.
Impact may have been the biggest in some areas in the Netherlands were watching TV is frowned upon from a religious stand point. If there’s no terrestrial DTV (DVB-T) or cable (typically rural area), the only alternative is a satellite dish which is a bit more difficult to hide from your neighbors than a small in-house antenna.