Portable analog TVs may be lost in Digital Transition

Come February, hand-held TVs will face a permanent outage. Almost all the battery-powered televisions stashed in drawers, closets and garages in case of emergency will be rendered useless when broadcasters switch to digital-only signals. And right now, there aren't many options for replacing them. No one manufactures a battery-powered converter box. And the few battery-powered digital TV models on the market start at about $200 -- a costly option for replacing portable sets that have become increasingly inexpensive in recent years. The loss of all those analog portable TVs removes an important way to communicate with the public during an emergency, said Keith Harrison, assistant administrator of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-portabletv7-2008jul07...
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