Americans get 4 more months to switch to digital TV

The U.S. Congress has decided to give Americans four more months to prepare for the transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting.

The House voted Wednesday to postpone the end of transmission of analog TV signals until June 12. The move is meant to address concerns that more than 6.5 million Americans with older TVs would not be ready by Feb. 17, the originally mandated deadline.

The House took up the question last week but under a special procedure that required a two-thirds majority, which it did not get. This time, the proposal went through a normal vote.

The Senate passed the measure unanimously last week and the bill now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature. Obama's spokesman has said the president will sign it.