<s>
The	O
was	O
the	O
mandatory	O
switchover	O
from	O
analog	O
to	O
digital	B-Application
terrestrial	O
television	O
broadcasting	O
that	O
began	O
in	O
2008	O
and	O
continued	O
through	O
early	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
1	O
December	O
2003	O
,	O
the	O
five	O
major	O
television	O
stations	O
in	O
Tokyo	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
broadcasters	O
to	O
begin	O
broadcasting	O
in	O
digital	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
analog	O
television	O
(	O
which	O
used	O
NTSC-J	O
and	O
relied	O
mainly	O
on	O
VHF	B-Algorithm
signals	O
(	O
channels	O
1	O
–	O
12	O
)	O
in	O
large	O
markets	O
and	O
UHF	O
signals	O
(	O
channels	O
13	O
–	O
52	O
)	O
in	O
smaller	O
markets	O
)	O
,	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
(	O
which	O
uses	O
ISDB	B-Protocol
)	O
totally	O
relies	O
on	O
the	O
utilisation	O
of	O
UHF	O
signals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
reason	O
,	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
channels	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
amended	O
in	O
some	O
areas	O
of	O
the	O
country	O
so	O
that	O
they	O
do	O
not	O
coexist	O
with	O
the	O
then-existing	O
analog	O
channels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
not	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
that	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
began	O
appearing	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
NHK	O
's	O
Broadcasting	O
Satellite	O
services	O
began	O
broadcasting	O
in	O
digital	B-Application
in	O
December	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Those	O
services	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
were	O
open	O
only	O
to	O
those	O
with	O
digital	B-Application
satellite	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MUSE	O
Hi-Vision	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
began	O
broadcasting	O
in	O
1991	O
,	O
was	O
switched	O
off	O
permanently	O
on	O
30	O
September	O
2007	O
,	O
almost	O
four	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
first	O
digital	B-Application
terrestrial	O
broadcasts	O
began	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Televisions	O
without	O
digital	B-Application
receivers	O
required	O
ISDB-T	O
converter	B-Device
boxes	I-Device
or	O
DVD	O
recorders	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
convert	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
signal	O
into	O
a	O
receivable	O
analog	O
signal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
old	O
analog-era	O
devices	O
had	O
standard	O
image	O
quality	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
televisions	I-Application
and	O
tuners	O
that	O
were	O
distributed	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
few	O
years	O
of	O
digital	B-Application
terrestrial	O
broadcasts	O
were	O
only	O
usable	O
for	O
a	O
limited	O
amount	O
of	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
the	O
initial	O
cost	O
of	O
digital	B-Application
equipment	O
was	O
expensive	O
;	O
in	O
mid-2007	O
,	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Internal	O
Affairs	O
and	O
Communications	O
requested	O
television	O
manufacturers	O
to	O
release	O
specialized	O
digital	B-Application
tuners	O
for	O
around	O
¥	O
5,000	O
or	O
lower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
tuners	I-Application
became	O
widely	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
general	O
population	O
,	O
low	O
income	O
households	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
afford	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
the	O
tuners	O
themselves	O
,	O
even	O
after	O
the	O
prices	O
of	O
the	O
tuners	O
themselves	O
decreased	O
between	O
2008	O
and	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ministry	O
responded	O
by	O
distributing	O
tuners	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
to	O
all	O
low	O
income	O
households	O
;	O
this	O
prevented	O
a	O
situation	O
that	O
would	O
have	O
been	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
coupon-eligible	O
converter	B-Device
box	I-Device
program	O
during	O
the	O
2009	O
digital	B-Application
switchover	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
new	O
antenna	O
equipment	O
was	O
also	O
required	O
on	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
any	O
building	O
that	O
was	O
equipped	O
with	O
a	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
tuner	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	B-Application
broadcasts	O
could	O
be	O
received	O
with	O
little	O
or	O
no	O
issues	O
within	O
the	O
transmission	O
error	O
's	O
processing	O
capability	O
,	O
but	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
received	O
at	O
all	O
if	O
this	O
capability	O
is	O
exceeded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
confusion	O
that	O
was	O
arisen	O
with	O
regards	O
to	O
the	O
transmission	O
of	O
the	O
analog	O
and	O
digital	B-Application
broadcast	O
signals	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Internal	O
Affairs	O
and	O
Communications	O
implemented	O
several	O
measures	O
to	O
ease	O
confusion	O
in	O
the	O
time	O
leading	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
switchover	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
July	O
2008	O
–	O
early	O
2009	O
:	O
Analog	O
and	O
digital	B-Application
transmissions	O
would	O
look	O
the	O
same	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
the	O
permanent	O
DOG	O
indicating	O
the	O
analog	O
broadcast	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
October	O
2008	O
and	O
February	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
ministry	O
opened	O
up	O
the	O
local	O
service	O
in	O
all	O
47	O
prefectures	O
of	O
Japan	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
serve	O
customers	O
who	O
had	O
inquiries	O
about	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
transition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
6	O
April	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
northeastern	O
portion	O
of	O
Ishikawa	O
Prefecture	O
(	O
corresponding	O
to	O
the	O
cities	O
of	O
Suzu	O
and	O
Noto	O
)	O
was	O
chosen	O
by	O
the	O
ministry	O
as	O
the	O
test	O
market	O
for	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
transition	O
;	O
other	O
areas	O
of	O
the	O
country	O
were	O
expected	O
to	O
conduct	O
similar	O
tests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Delivery	O
of	O
all	O
digital	B-Application
tuners	O
to	O
the	O
mentioned	O
areas	O
of	O
northeastern	O
Ishikawa	O
was	O
expected	O
to	O
be	O
completed	O
by	O
30	O
November	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
on	O
22	O
January	O
2010	O
,	O
analog	O
broadcasts	O
of	O
all	O
commercial	O
television	O
stations	O
in	O
the	O
northeastern	O
part	O
of	O
Ishikawa	O
Prefecture	O
were	O
suspended	O
for	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
48	O
hours	O
;	O
KTK	O
,	O
HAB	O
,	O
MRO	O
,	O
and	O
ITC	O
participated	O
in	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
transition	O
test	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
24	O
July	O
2010	O
at	O
noon	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
phase	O
of	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
switchover	O
began	O
in	O
the	O
northeastern	O
part	O
of	O
Ishikawa	O
Prefecture	O
(	O
which	O
served	O
approximately	O
8,800	O
households	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
digitalization	O
)	O
;	O
the	O
auxiliary	O
transmitters	O
of	O
all	O
five	O
television	O
stations	O
serving	O
the	O
area	O
were	O
immediately	O
switched	O
off	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Beginning	O
in	O
September	O
2010	O
,	O
all	O
television	O
stations	O
were	O
required	O
to	O
display	O
information	O
about	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
transition	O
in	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
the	O
analog	O
television	O
broadcast	O
that	O
is	O
covered	O
by	O
the	O
letterboxes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
continued	O
until	O
just	O
before	O
noon	O
on	O
the	O
day	O
of	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
switchover	O
,	O
albeit	O
with	O
minor	O
updates	O
being	O
inserted	O
periodically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seventeen	O
days	O
later	O
,	O
the	O
ministry	O
's	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
call	O
center	O
hours	O
were	O
temporarily	O
extended	O
to	O
accommodate	O
additional	O
inquiries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
which	O
was	O
aired	O
on	O
Fuji	O
Television	O
)	O
and	O
other	O
variety	O
shows	O
covering	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
transition	O
were	O
aired	O
by	O
other	O
television	O
stations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
stroke	O
of	O
noon	O
,	O
all	O
programming	O
on	O
the	O
analog	O
signal	O
was	O
replaced	O
with	O
a	O
white-on-blue	O
warning	O
message	O
signifying	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
regular	O
programming	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
phone	O
numbers	O
of	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
call	O
center	O
and	O
the	O
television	O
station	O
's	O
inquiry	O
helpline	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2012	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
consolidation	O
of	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
call	O
centers	O
in	O
areas	O
where	O
the	O
switchover	O
was	O
already	O
completed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
the	O
earlier	O
shutdown	O
,	O
the	O
business	O
hours	O
of	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
television	I-Application
call	O
centers	O
in	O
all	O
three	O
prefectures	O
were	O
temporarily	O
extended	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
midnight	O
that	O
same	O
day	O
,	O
the	O
analog	O
transmitters	O
themselves	O
switched	O
off	O
,	O
marking	O
the	O
completion	O
of	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
switchover	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cable	O
television	O
providers	O
across	O
Japan	O
were	O
not	O
initially	O
affected	O
by	O
the	O
digital	B-Application
switchover	O
,	O
as	O
analog	O
cable	O
services	O
were	O
expected	O
to	O
continue	O
for	O
a	O
short	O
amount	O
of	O
time	O
after	O
the	O
transmitters	O
themselves	O
ceased	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
