"Will stores trick [consumers] into buying equipment they don't need?" Markey asked. "In February 2009, will they see their screens summarily turn as black as a Halloween cat? Will they long for their old analog signal, even with its friendly ghosting?"

Michael Willner, chief executive officer of the cable firm Insight Communications, assured lawmakers that the industry is "ready, willing and able" to meet the 2009 deadline. But he also questioned the legality of an FCC requirement that cable operators carry broadcast stations in both analog and digital formats.

"The FCC order is clearly deficient," Willner said. He said the FCC should provide an exemption for small cable companies, though his company would be too large to qualify.

Patrick Knorr, president and general manager of Sunflower Broadband, agreed, He said some small cable operators do not have the revenue or bandwidth to broadcast each station twice.

"If operators can't afford the equipment, what makes the FCC think they can hire a lawyer?" Knorr asked.

Broadcasters used the hearing to argue against requirements to air public service announcements in order to alert customers about the transition.

David Barrett, president of Hearst-Argyle Television, said such announcements are not necessary because broadcasters plan to provide 98 billion advertising messages. In addition to TV ads, he said stations' Web sites will have information, stations will run crawls with a 100-day countdown, and the news media already have run 5,000 stories on the transition.

"No set will go dark for lack of information," Barrett said.

The hearing was the third to update Congress on the progress of the transition, and eight witnesses crowded around the table to testify. Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton, R-Texas, joked that if Markey continued to have hearings, "we won't have to have an education campaign as everyone in the country will have testified."

Lawmakers expressed concern about $40 coupons the government will issue so that consumers who don't want to buy new TV sets can buy $60 boxes to convert digital signals to analog.

Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said he wants to ensure that customers can use the coupons even if a store runs out of converter boxes. Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., pressed a Best Buy representative about offering free shipping to customers if they come in to buy converters and none are available at the time.

The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that 22 million to 28 million boxes could be needed, but others estimate that just 8 million may be needed if more consumers buy new TVs.