DTV transition "Soft test" on 11-20-08 in Chicago

[stereocuuple]

I live near kansas city and tonight one of our local stations did a "DTV home test"

There was a big production where one of the anchors was in the control booth and explained to listeners that "the change is coming soon." She told everyone that she would be pushing a certain button, and that if reception was dropped, that you would be needing to buy a converter box or a TV with a digital tuner.
When she pushed the button, our picture remained clear,as we have a digital TV.
Just for kicks, we tuned in to the analog channel of the same station just to see what would appear to those without one.

Well, I guess you could say that "broadcasting" ended, except for the message accross the screen that said, "your TV signal will no longer be available after February 2009, call 1800 blah blah blah for your coupon.

Picture a screen full of static, with perfectly clear, advertisement-style wording in the middle of the picture.

Seems pretty weird to me....

Erin