Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – It’s coming.
On Feb. 17, 2009, federal law requires that all full-power television broadcast stations stop broadcasting in analog format and broadcast only in digital format. According to the Federal Communications Commission Web site, Congress mandated the conversion to all-digital television broadcasting, also known as the digital television (DTV) transition, because all-digital broadcasting will free up frequencies for public safety communications such as police, fire, and emergency rescue.
“Also, digital is a more efficient transmission technology that allows broadcast stations to offer improved picture and sound quality, as well as offer more programming options for consumers through multiple broadcast streams (multicasting),” read the Web site. “In addition, some of the freed up frequencies will be used for advanced commercial wireless services for consumers.”
What television owners need to do to be ready for the conversion depends on the source of their television programming.
If customers receive only free over-the-air television programming, the type of TV they own, either a digital TV or an analog TV, is very important. Consumers who receive free over-the-air television may view digital programming through a TV set with a built-in digital tuner (integrated DTV) or a digital-ready monitor with a separate digital tuner set-top box. The only additional equipment required to view over-the-air digital programming with a DTV is a regular antenna, either on your roof or a smaller version on your TV such as “rabbit ears.”
For consumers who have an analog television, they will have to purchase a digital-to-analog set-top converter box to attach to their TV set to be able to view over-the-air digital programming.
Gordon Wark, president and general manager of WAGM, said Congress has “set the stage and made it fairly easy for folks” by establishing a coupon program.
After Feb. 17, 2009, residents will be able to receive and view over-the-air digital programming with an analog TV only by purchasing a digital-to-analog set-top converter box. Between Jan. 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009, all U.S. households will be able to request up to two coupons, worth $40 each, to be used toward the future purchase of eligible digital-to-analog converter boxes. Eligible converter boxes are for the conversion of over-the-air digital television signals, and therefore are not intended for analog TVs connected to a paid provider such as cable or satellite TV service.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is administering the coupon program.
“Right now there are close to 40 models of digital converters available,” said Wark. “They all do about the same thing except for four of them which are set up to do what’s called ‘analog pass through’ which would allow people to be able to still tune in what analog stations are left. Basically the way the box is constructed, it just simply goes between the person’s antenna and their television set.
“The digital converters I’ve seen are about as simple as you can humanly ask for. They come with a remote and they are able to search and find the digital channels that are available in the area. They line them up and program the box so it recognizes just those channels so you don’t have keep searching every time you turn one on,” he said. “For WAGM, it would give you 8.1 which is our FOX station, and 8.2 which is our CBS high definition station. It would also give you MPBN’s 10.1 which is their standard definition signal, and 10.2 which is their high definition signal.”
Wark said if consumers take advantage of the coupon program, the conversion likely won’t cost them a dime.
“By going ahead and getting one of these converter boxes, basically using a coupon for it, they can end up pretty much a wash as far as money goes,” he said. “I’ve seen one converter box for $39.95, so you pay the tax – after the coupon – and you’ve got a box.
“It’s a one-time purchase,” said Wark. “There are no fees involved.”
Wark encourages those who more technically savvy to help those who aren’t.
“Some people are afraid of making connections on their television sets, and some people may not understand how to do it” he said. “It’s relatively simple to do, but some people are kind of overpowered by the concept of technology.
“I would encourage anybody who is knowledgeable to help somebody else out,” said Wark. “If you have an elder parent who is perhaps a little afraid of the whole concept, and a son or daughter who is technologically inclined could help them hook up, that would be fantastic, or vice versa. Maybe there’s an older person who’s extremely comfortable because they’ve used the antennas, maybe they’d want to help another person who is less comfortable with it.”
While Feb. 17, 2009 is the magic date in the United States, Wark said other countries have already made the leap.
“This transition already occurred two years ago in Great Britain, and has occurred in Germany and France,” he said. “I believe Australia is in the process of going through it now, while in Canada, the start-up date is Aug. 31, 2011.”
Wark called the digital format a “much more efficient use of the spectrum that’s available to us.”
“This will free up a very large chunk of spectrum on the upper part of the TV dial,” said Wark. “The FCC has since auctioned that part of the spectrum off, and I think they’re up to $20 billion. They’ll be able to recover funds and put those into the federal coffers.”
The FCC Web site said while picture quality will vary according to whether you watch digital programming in high definition (HDTV) or standard definition (SDTV) format, “over-the-air digital programming provides a better viewing experience than over-the-air analog programming, as long as you have good quality reception through your antenna.”
WAGM will shut down its analog stream Feb. 17, 2009, and will sign back on with a digital stream on Channel 8 Feb. 18.
“We’ve been on the air with a digital signal since 2003 on Channel 16 and MPBN because we were mandated by Congress to put a digital signal on,” said Wark. “It’s all gone very smoothly, and we continue to move full speed ahead.
“Once people get a digital converter and have it hooked up correctly, they shouldn’t experience any difficulty,” said Wark, noting that customers may want to consider putting a digital signal booster in. “They’re relatively inexpensive and it increases the quality of the signal. What you’re doing is increasing the headroom on the signal. The beauty of digital is the pictures are absolutely superb, the audio’s superb, and there is no degradation as you move away from the transmission point. You avoid all the ghosting that we have nowadays, and the marginal signals where you have feeding in and out. The downside is if the signal is poor, it stops. It’s either on or it’s off.”
For more information about the DTV transition, log onto www.dtv.gov, which also provides links to several other informative Web sites, or contact the FCC’s Consumer Center by e-mailing dtvinfo@fcc.gov or calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322).
For additional information about the coupon program, log onto www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-388-2009.
