The US Congress is set to mandate that broadcasters switch to a digital television signal in 2008.
That means that if you don't have cable, or a digital TV, your set could go black on that day.
New Hampshire Congressman Charlie Bass is on the Committee handling the bill.
NHPR Correspondent Julie Donnelly reports from Washington.
It's a rare day when you can't find a seat - or even standing room - at a hearing of the house Energy and Commerce Committee.
But Wednesday was different - Americans' right to watch their televisions was at stake.
The Senate has already passed a bill - and the House will soon - that will make a date certain for conversion to digital broadcasting.
Congressman Charlie Bass says Congress has to step in because the broadcast industry keeps putting it off.
He says the biggest reason for the switch is improving public safety communications.
" now since nine eleven this has become more important becasue the fire and police couldn't talk to each other and when there were the shootings in coos county the canadian mounties and the town couldn't communicate and they need the resources for the chrystals for their radios so that everyone can communicate with everybody else"
Agencies have difficulty communicating with each other now because Broadcast television is taking up all the channels.
Freeing up those channels - or spectrum - should pave the way for all kinds of new technology.
For the first time, law enforcement officials will be able to beam pictures of abducted children, buildings on fire or surveillance video to one another.
And that's one reason the hearing room was packed - with lobbyists from the telecommunications industry.
They stand to make a lot of money from cities and towns buying up their technology to equip fire and police departments.
Bill Anaya from Motorola is happy that the broadcast industry will be forced to switch over to digital.
But he and other lobbyists are hoping that Congress will add some money to the bill to help fund the actual walkie talkies and other communications devices.
"the equipment without the spectrum is useless and the spectrum without the equipment doesn't do anyone any good either. So it's important that congress do both"
Democrats wanted to amend the bill to add money to pay for equipment - but those proposals failed.
Other democrats on the committee wanted to increase the money available to help Americans keep their TV sets on.
There are projected to be 80 million TVs that will go black the day of the digital conversion.
The money would provide converter boxes for people who don't have cable, satellite, or digital televisions.
Republicans say their plan to provide almost a billion dollars for vouchers to buy converter boxes is adequate.
But Jeeanine Kenney from the consumers union says it's not enough.
" what congress is essentially doing is taking 80 million perfectly good television sets and making them useless overnight unless consumers buy 60 to 70 dollar converter boxes that will allow the televisions to accept the new digital signal"
She says the federal government stands to make more than 10 billion dollars from auctioning off the frequencies - whether it's to law enforcement agencies or to private companies.
And that Congress has a responsibility to compensate consumers for the added cost.
What's more, Kenney says consumers are confused about the conversion, and that the five million dollars set aside for education is just a drop in the bucket.
Congressman Charlie Bass offered an amendment to allow some of that money to be used for outreach to public television viewers.
"their is a different group that watches public television stations and i think it's improtant for their viers to have the opportunity to know what's going on during the implementation of this issue"
Consumers will have a couple of years to get up to speed on the digital conversion.
The consumers union says their most important advice is this- don't let retailers rip you off.
You don't need to buy a new, expensive high definition television.
You can buy what's called a standard digital televison, which is cheaper.
Or you can buy a converter box for under a hundred dollars.
And if you have cable or satellite - you don't need to buy anything at all.
For NHPR News, I'm Julie Donnelly in Washington.
