Stations switch to DTV, find viewers not ready
- From: David <dimlan17@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:13:22 -0500
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118000232.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
25% of analog TV signals cut off
Many homes not prepared for digital switch
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK ? About a quarter of the nation's TV stations cut off their
analog signals Tuesday, causing sets to go dark in households that
were not prepared for digital television despite two years of warnings
about the transition.
Though most viewers were ready ? and people with cable or satellite
service were unaffected ? some stations and call centers reported a
steady stream of questions from frustrated callers. Many wondered how
to get coupons for converter boxes that translate digital signals for
older TVs ? or how to get the devices working.
"It's kind of an irritation, but I understand that everyone will have
a much better picture. As far as I was concerned, they could have left
things the way they were," said Dorothy Delegard, 67, of Minneapolis,
who bought a converter box because a friend gave her a coupon that
expires Tuesday.
Phones were ringing off the hook at a walk-in information center set
up by stations in Providence, R.I.
A volunteer at the center, Jeremy Taylor, said he tried to calm
agitated callers and explain the reasons for the disappearance of
analog signals, which have remained largely unchanged since the 1950s.
"I try to explain that the digital switch is not something we're doing
to extort them of money," Taylor said.
The federal government mandated the end of analog broadcasts to make
room on those frequencies for wireless Internet service, emergency
radio traffic and other uses. Digital TV broadcasts, which began
several years ago, take up much less of the wireless spectrum.
Originally, all U.S. stations were to cut their analog signals on
Tuesday, but at the urging of the Obama administration, Congress voted
this month to give broadcasters more time.
Most stations, particularly those in big cities, accepted the offer to
wait until June 12. Others wanted to stick to Feb. 17, a date they had
spent much airtime advertising. Many of them had also booked
engineering work on their antennas for that day.
The Federal Communications Commission, which wanted to ensure that no
one would be entirely deprived of analog signals, cleared 421 stations
to go all-digital this week. Another 220 stations have already made
the switch, including all stations in Hawaii.
The most populous places where many or all major-network stations are
cutting analog this week include San Diego and Santa Barbara, Calif.;
La Crosse and Madison, Wis.; Rockford and Peoria, Ill.; Sioux City,
Iowa; Waco, Texas; Macon, Ga.; Scranton, Pa.; Rhode Island and
Vermont.
In most cases, one station in each of those markets will continue
sending analog signals until June or will offer a so-called "analog
nightlight" for a few months, with limited local news and emergency
broadcasts, as well as information about the digital TV transition.
The back-and-forth over the cutoff date threw both TV stations and
viewers for a loop.
Jeff Long, manager of WHKY-TV, an independent station in Hickory,
N.C., said the company's analog shutdown went smoothly on Saturday,
but some viewers complained that they thought it had been postponed
until June 12.
RadioShack Corp. circulars in newspapers this weekend had the opposite
message, saying Feb. 17 was still the date for the end of analog TV.
Spokeswoman Mary Delagarza said the fliers had been prepared two
months in advance and could not be pulled.
Congress delayed the cutoff in large part because the fund that pays
for $40 converter-box coupons had reached its spending limit. Coupons
are now being issued only as fast as old ones expire unused.
The stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday contains
$650 million in additional funding. Once that money becomes available,
it can clear the backlog of 4 million coupons in a few weeks. Without
a coupon, a converter box costs $45 to $80.
Joe Glynn, vice president of engineering at PBS affiliate WVIA-TV near
Scranton, Pa., said the station got a dozen calls in the past two days
about its planned changeover at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. The converter
boxes have been a frequent subject.
"Unfortunately, some of them have asked how you get the coupons for
the converter box. Some of them have called asking us if we sell
converter boxes. Others are calling and saying 'I got the converter,
but I'm not getting anything on it' ? I'm assuming because they don't
have it hooked up right," he said.
He said most callers acknowledge that they only have themselves to
blame for procrastinating.
"Everybody admits it's their fault. They knew it was coming," he said.
"Some people seemed to be mad at themselves for not doing something
sooner."
Even converter boxes that are correctly installed may drop some
channels. That's because apart from killing analog, many stations are
also changing to new digital frequencies. Viewers who were already
watching the digital signal, either through a converter box or a
digital TV set, will lose the channel until they force the device to
"rescan" the airwaves.
In addition, many households will find that they need new antennas.
Digital signals generally come in better than analog ones, but they
are not received well by some older antennas. Spokeswoman Lea Sloan at
PBS said that a rising number of calls to member stations are from
people who are getting digital signals, but not all the ones they
want.
.
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