After having established Feb. 17 as the date for the digital television transition, the Senate and House passed a vote to postpone the transition to June 12, in fear that not enough Americans are currently ready for it. Now the bill goes to President Obama, one of the supporters originally asking for the delay.
  The Feb. 17 date for the switch had been established for nearly a decade prior to the vote attempting to change it. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, Woodland High students have been ready for the transition for a long time.
  "I've had a TV that will work after the switch for as long as I can remember," said junior Andrew Chik. "I think mainly older people have not switched over yet because they are just too used to their TVs with bunny ears. But even by now, I think many of them have been able to convert."
  According to Nielsen Media Research estimation, more than 6.5 million United States households are not prepared for the transition. Their analog televisions have not yet been converted to pick up the new signal despite the relentless campaign by local news sations nationwide to make people aware of the imminent transition. Junior Grayson Morris is anxious for the siwtch simply because he is tired of all the ads.
  "Hearing about the DTV transition on all the main stations is starting to get on my nerves," said Morris. "I'm just looking forward to it all going down so that we can watch shows on all the main stations without hearing about the switchover."
  The defeat of the bill is one of the first setbacks for President Barack Obama's administration. The administration wanted the transition date postponed after a $1.34 billion funding limit was reached earlier this month. The money was being used as vouchers for families to get their digital TV converter boxes if they were not already prepared. Democrats in the House saw the postponement as necessary in order to get more people prepared for the transition. On the other hand, House Republicans saw the delay as a strain on wireless companies awaiting the space that over-the-air analog TV signals take up. They saw the postponement as added costs for television stations that would have to continue broadcasting analog signals for four more months. Whether Democrats or Republicans were right on this decision, it is being focused on a bit too much for junior Don Le.
  "I think the whole DTV switch isn't as big of a deal as people seem to be making it," Le said. "President Obama has bigger fish to fry right now and shouldn't be worrying too much about digital television."
  The switch from analog television to digital television will make room for other wireless signals sent by public service agencies and cell phone companies.
  "With the way a lot of technology now-a-days is wireless, it makes sense that we would need space for the wirelss signals of new technologies," said Wil Perea, a junior.
  As Obama's presidency gets underway, the switch from analog to digital television will be an item he can check off his list of to-do's. As for the students of Woodland High, the transition will be something that has finally come and gone.