[Charlie]

My interpretation of the 85% figure is that 85% of American households have at least one digital HDTV set. Perhaps I am wrong, but that's the idea i get from what they say.

If that's what their looking for before pulling the plug on analog signals, seems it would be a long time before the transition is completed. The prices of these new digital sets are going to have to come down quite a bit before the average person buys one.

The lower income class make up a very large percentage of our country. Most of them are not going to have the money to go buy a digital set. With that in mind, seems we would never reach 85% anytime real soon. Some of those lower income households might not even be able to afford the converter box to use with their old sets. It's already hard enough for a single mom with three kids to make ends meet... and now she has to go spend money on a new HDTV so the little ones can watch Sesame Street?