June 12th is the 17th anniversary of one of the biggest changes to television in the history of the medium. It was on this day in 2009 that the last analogue TV signal went dark in the U.S., as the switch to HDTV became official. Canada would follow two years later, officially turning off the way people had watched over-the-air television since the medium first began. 

I well remember that day. If you weren't on cable - or if you were and still had an antenna, as well - you lost all the American channels and you either had to buy a converter or get a brand new set. I opted for the latter, although Canadian stations were still around in the old system. A few outlets even stayed on as a "night light," so people weren't completely cut off from all reception. 

We made the change on August 31, 2011, although some local analogue stations here were on the air for a very long time afterwards. And some had already gone HD long before that, with City TV being the pioneer, running a Hi-Def test channel as early as 2003. 

"The original 2006 deadline slipped repeatedly as Congress grappled with the complexity of the changeover. Roughly 15 percent of American households — around 20 million homes — still relied exclusively on over-the-air analog reception as the deadline approached, and lawmakers were rightly concerned about leaving those viewers without a signal. A $1.5 billion federal coupon program was established to help viewers obtain digital-to-analog converter boxes, which would allow older analog televisions to receive the new digital broadcasts."

17 Years Ago Today: The Plug Was Pulled on Free Analog OTA TV – Remembering the Day American TV Went Digital

Whenever it happened, it was a sea change for many. And it essentially marked the end of VHF DXing, which brought in some amazing stations for me over the years, including Denver, Florida, New York City and even Regina. I still miss those days. Now the picture is either perfect or non-existent. Back then, you could watch through the snow and interference. But at least it came in and you could I.D. it before it faded out for good.