Tim's Take: It's time for the Big Switch - WTOC-TV: Savannah, Beaufort, SC, News, Weather & Sports

Tim's Take: It's time for the Big Switch

By Tim Guidera - bio | email

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Having withstood the Big Buildup, the Big Wait and the Big Delay, we're about to see what the Big Deal is with the Big Switch tomorrow.

So just what are we going to see?

"Most people will see no difference at all," says Philip Perrie, owner of Audio Video Warehouse in Savannah.

Really? No difference? After all this talk about converter boxes and updated signals?

"The reality is unless you don't have cable and don't have satellite, you should see no difference," says Perrie.

That doesn't seem right.

Not after everything we've been told about and warned about for about two years. But it is right according to those who've gone through the Big Switch already, like Barry Wise of Tupelo, Mississippi.

"There was no change,'' Wise said of the day they switched his signal from analog to digital. "We didn't see any difference. We didn't even know it happened.''

But before you start calling conspiracy and comparing the Big Switch to the Big Unfounded Fear about Y2K or something, consider TV will look and sound different eventually.

"As they record in digital and not just convert, you will see a sharper picture,'' says Perrie. "There'll be more information, higher definition.''

We'll just have to wait for it, which we should be used to now.

But, even if it's just a first step, tomorrow should be a big leap when the arrival of the Big Switch replacing the countdown to it will be a big relief.

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