SHERMAN--The end of an era is just hours away. At two o'clock Saturday morning, we here at KXII will be turning off our analog transmitter for good. From that point on, we will be transmitting our signal exclusively in a digital format.

Just like 8-track tapes, turn-crank car engines and typwriters, analog television transmission is about to be obsolete. In just under 4 hours from now, KXII will never again broadcast an analog television signal.

In 1956, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, KVSO, Channel 12 began transmitting for the first time. In late 1958, the station was sold, and the call letters changed to roman numeral 12, KXII. Then in 1959, the station moved its transmitter to a site near Madill, Oklahoma where it's been broadcasting ever since, until tonight.

At 2 o'clock Saturday morning, our analog transmitter will be turned off, forever.

"That transmitter is actually going to be turned off. We will be taking that transmitter and shipping it to another TV station that is in need of a transmitter. So, that transmitter isn't even going to be in this market any longer," said Bryan Norman, Production Manager for KXII-TV.

That means that KXII will be delivered to you, the viewer, in an all new digital format from our digital transmitter. It'll look better, sound better and will be a more powerful signal.

"Around February 15th, 16th or 17th, the FCC will actually bring our digital transmitter up to full power. It will increase our current power output by 2 and a half times," Norman said.

There's been a barrage of advertising designed to make sure that everyone knows about the transition, and we, at KXII, think that that message has been received.

"We think that our market, by and large, is ready to go," said Rick Dean, General Manager of KXII-TV. "During our last soft test, which was a couple of weeks ago, we had only about a half a dozen phone calls from people who weren't ready. Obviously if you've got cable, or you've got satellite, you won't be impacted by this. It's only those people who receive their television signal over the air."

The first ever television was invented in 1884. Since then, we've improved to black-and-white, to color, to portable, to satellite. And, just a few hours from now, here at KXII, we'll move into the next era of TV, 100% digital transmission.