By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 31, 2008; A01

Wallace Page, 87, begins and ends each day with his television. His tired legs don't let him get out much anymore, he doesn't own a computer and reading often strains his eyes. The TV set is sometimes his only connection to the outside world.

But the TV signals he's come to rely on will soon disappear. In February, traditional analog broadcasts will be shut off so the airwaves can be used for wireless phone services. And the transition to digital-only television -- the biggest change for the industry since color TV -- could leave some people in the dark.

The digital conversion presents a huge logistical and technical hurdle for the communities whose dependence on rabbit-ear-style analog TVs are high, but whose understanding of how to manage the change is low.

Many of the older TVs belong to seniors and low-income individuals -- populations that are typically harder to reach to educate about technical change. Yet these groups are also the people who most rely on their TVs for critical information such as news reports and public-service alerts. In nursing homes and retirement communities, where many sets need antennas to pick up signals, TVs could flicker out.

In the Washington region, 15 percent of TV viewers use analog signals, according to research firm Centris. In the District, nearly a fifth of the population relies on over-the-air broadcasts, the fourth highest in the nation behind Alabama, West Virginia and Kentucky, according to the company.

Nationwide, about 14 million households depend on analog TV signals, according to Nielsen Co. Centris puts that number closer to 20 million households -- about a sixth of which include people older than 65.

Page said his TV is often all that breaks the solitude of his days at Friendship Terrace Apartments, a retirement community in Northwest Washington.

"For people who are alone, the TV is the only voice you hear," said Page, who mostly watches news and documentary programs. He also recently got hooked on "That '70s Show" reruns, which remind him of a different time. "It's a little frightening to hear about such a vast change."

Americans' awareness of the digital transition is increasing, surveys show, but many people are still confused about steps they need to take to avoid losing TV when the older signals expire on Feb. 17, 2009.

Those with satellite and cable subscriptions, as well as those with newer digital TV sets, should not have to do anything to keep watching TV. But consumers with analog sets will likely have to buy a special converter box and, in some cases, a new antenna to receive digital signals.

Navigating these complexities hits the elderly harder because they're least likely to own a digital TV, according to recent surveys by Centris and Consumers Union. They also have less access to the Internet, which is a major source of information about the transition, said Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union.

"The elderly population is different in that they're less tech-savvy," Kelsey said. "Will they be able to move big TV sets, and will they know how to hook up the converter boxes?"

Margaret Pully, executive director of St. Mary's Court, a District community for low-income seniors, said she's looking into subsidizing cable service for the building but is concerned it would still be too expensive for most of the 150 residents, who live on an average of about $10,000 a year. She said she has also considered installing a new roof-top antenna to boost reception of digital signals, but that would cost about $14,000.

"TV is their lifeline to the world. Apparently it's not a free thing anymore," she said. "This is certainly an expense we weren't expecting."

A $1.5 billion federal program has been set up to provide $40 coupons to help pay for the converter boxes, which cost $60 to $120 at stores such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart. But 73 percent of older consumers don't know about the program, according to a Consumers Union survey of 1,013 people. And some living in larger communities or group homes many not be eligible because of the program's limit of two vouchers per household.

The District of Columbia Health Care Association, which oversees 16 nursing homes, is starting to evaluate the options for residents, many of whom use older TV sets in their rooms. Veronica Damesyn Sharp, the association's executive director, said some residents are too frail to go to the common room to watch the buildings' main TVs, which are hooked up to cable. And many cannot afford to buy a new TV or a converter box, let alone get cable service.

Sharp says she's worried some residents may not qualify for a coupon because they live at the same address. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the agency within the Commerce Department administering the coupon program, requested approval to change the eligibility rules, but the process could take up to three months.

The Federal Communications Commission, which is leading education efforts about the transition, has been sponsoring workshops geared toward specific demographics. Of the more than 4,000 presentations the staff has given around the country, about 3,000 of them have been at senior centers, FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said. He said the FCC is also working with the U.S. Administration on Aging to get the word out. Congress gave the agency about $2.5 million to fund education efforts, but Martin has requested an additional $20 million.

Broadcasters have committed about $1 billion to educating consumers about the transition, while the cable industry has said it will spend about $200 million over the next year.

But FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps is critical of the U.S. efforts, saying Britain has spent far more on door-to-door education during its own transition.

"We're lacking that general coordination and sense of purpose to get it done," he said. "People are going to start to get super-alarmed and panicked."

Debra Berlyn, a consultant for AARP, said there is also concern that older consumers might be vulnerable to sales pitches for new, expensive TVs instead of the cheaper converter-box option. AARP has reached out to organizations that make house calls such as Meals on Wheels to solicit volunteers to help seniors with the new equipment.

Sean Venable, 64, has already received his coupon for a converter box. But it expires after 90 days, and he's not sure if St. Mary's Court, his home, will have decided by then whether to hook up cable for the residents. "It's a catch-22," he said.

Tonie Navarin, 86, who lives alone in Arlington, ordered two coupons for converter boxes but is holding off on buying them.

"I may not even be alive by the time this thing happens!" Navarin said jokingly. "I hate to spend $800 on a new TV when these are perfectly good. I just don't think it's fair."