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( 2.9 / 96 )And here is what is happening in Denver CO today. Click on RELATED LINK for the original story.
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( 3 / 93 )This was sent to me by one of our web site readers.
Topeka, KS Analog Shutdown
Click RELATED LINK below for original story.
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( 3 / 90 )From the Toledo Blade newspaper. Click RELATED LINK to get the original story from The Blade
Public TV's Channel 30 drops analog broadcasting Tuesday night
The Toledo Blade - February 17, 2009
WGTE-TV, Channel 30, at 11:59 Tuesday night becomes the first Toledo-based television station to pull the plug on its analog signal.
The PBS affiliate joins a select few other stations nationwide that, with the blessings of the Federal Communications Commission, are sticking to the original digital-TV transition date of today, which was recently pushed back to June 12 over concern that consumers still weren't ready to lose analog signals.
The loss of WGTE's analog signal will affect only those viewers with analog TVs that receive over-the-air signals through antennas and do not have a digital converter box.
Marlon Kiser, president and chief executive of WGTE Public Media, said the station had adequately prepared its audience for the conversion through "frequent and relentless" messaging the last six months.
He said the decision to go all-digital is an economic one: WGTE is unable to shoulder the expense of carrying simultaneous analog and digital signals.
"The fiscal year 2009 budget approved by our community board of directors allocated funding to pay for electricity to power the analog transmitter through Feb. 17. It would cost WGTE about $30,000 to power the transmitter until June 12," Mr. Kiser said.
"This is money that was not budgeted, and money we do not have as we lose revenue during the economic downturn."
Today, WGTE will air only DTV transition programming on its analog channel, including a phone number to call with questions. WGTE employees will staff a call center to give viewers specific information, including converter box set-up, reception issues, channel scanning, and the U.S. government coupon program.
Beginning tonight, WGTE will broadcast three digital channels: WGTE HD at 30.1, WGTE Family at 30.2, and WGTE Create at 30.3. These channels are available over the air and on area cable systems.
No other Toledo network affiliates have announced intentions so far to broadcast only digital signals before the June 12 deadline. Bowling Green PBS affiliate WBGU-TV was the first area station to make the switch to an all-digital format, dropping its analog broadcast in December.
Patrick Fitzgerald, general manager of WBGU, said his station received "a lot of phone calls" the first day of its nonanalog transmission.
"The majority of calls tended to be problems with their converter boxes and [digital] tuners, and not the TV sets or antennas," he said.
WBGU was using channel 56 for its digital signal and channel 27 for its analog signal.
With the DTV transition, WBGU moved its digital signal to channel 27, and eliminated its channel 56 digital signal and channel 27 analog signal.
The digital convertor boxes and TV sets with digital tuners built in, though, still looked for the station's digital signal at channel 56, so callers were advised to rescan their convertor boxes or digital TVs and, if necessary, delete channel 56 from the channel bank.
"That was a technical problem that we didn't think we were going to run into," Mr. Fitzgerald said.
"Over the immediate week, the calls slowed down significantly. We still get calls occasionally from people just getting around to hooking up a second set or another set" without cable, he said.
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( 3 / 99 )Digital television has what is called PSIP, or Program and System Information Protocol. PSIP defines virtual channels and content ratings, as well as electronic program guides with titles and (optionally) descriptions to be decoded and displayed by the ATSC tuner. It also sends the exact time referenced to UTC and GPS time and the the call letters of the station.
PSIP has rendered some of the older written publications, such as TV GUIDE moot. However, if you're like me, you probably enjoy picking up the book and going through the listings.
The RELATED LINK below has some "blasts from the past".
When you view this page, see if you remember some of the shows from our past.
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( 3 / 128 )Only in California can you have a funeral for TV.
Join author Bruce Sterling, technology pundit Paul Saffo, and other special guests on the UC Berkeley campus to mourn the loss of our long time acquaintance, the Analog Television Signal.
Born in the 1920's in San Francisco, the signal has been an integral part of all our lives, bringing us news of the rich, the famous, the politicians, the wars, the Apollo landings, the thrills of victory, and the agonies of defeat.
While Analog Television has not been a good friend to us all, it has been important to each and every one of us. Analog Television is survived by its wife Digital Television, and its second cousin Internet Television.
Please bring your Analog TV for display and recycling. We will stack the first 40 in memoriam to our life long friend and the remainder will be responsibly recycled. At the ceremony Paul Saffo will spell out the sordid history of the Analog TV Signal's life, the group Author & Punisher will perform the funeral dirge, and author Bruce Sterling will deliver the eulogy just before the analog signal winks out for the last time and the frequency wasteland is invaded by pirate TV artists. It's rare that the entire nation gets a specific date on which one major medium dies and is replaced by another.
This event will be a scholarly and artistic reflection on the passing of one of the dominant mediums and cultural influences of the late 20th century. Click on RELATED LINK below to see the original posting.
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( 3 / 110 )FCC ISSUES FIRST ORDER TO IMPLEMENT DTV DELAY ACT
"In this Report and Order, the first in response to the Congressional extension of the digital television (DTV) transition period, we extend the analog license terms and adjust the construction permits for the full power television stations subject to the DTV Delay Act that was enacted into law on February 11, 2009...." Full text:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 09-9A1.doc
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( 2.9 / 99 )FCC Targets TV Stations Ending Analog
Kim Hart at the Washington Post
The Federal Communications Commission has told the owners of 123 TV stations that had planned to go ahead with the switch to digital broadcasts next week that they cannot do so unless they can show that consumers in their viewing areas will not be left in the dark.
On Monday, nearly 500 TV stations told the FCC they intended to make the switch to digital broadcasts on Feb. 17, the deadline that had been mandated by the government. Congress postponed the deadline last week to June 12, citing concerns that many people were unprepared for the move to digital.
Broadcasters who spent years preparing for next week's deadline were given the option of moving ahead, but the FCC said it reserved the right to prevent stations from switching if it posed a public safety threat to particular markets.
Wednesday night, the FCC said that it would not allow 123 stations to switch next week, saying it was worried that in some markets all the major commercial stations or network affiliates were planning on turning off analog signals.
Consumers who aren't yet prepared or are still waiting for coupons to purchase converter boxes needed to receive digital signals on analog televisions would lose access to important public safety information and local news alerts. Washington area stations have said they intend to keep analog signals on the air until June.
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( 2.9 / 100 )500 TV Stations Still Plan to Make Digital Switch Next Week
from Peter Whoriskey and Kim Hart at the Washington Post
With millions of U.S. viewers still apparently unprepared for the nation's switch to digital TV, nearly 500 full-power television stations across the nation are preparing to move ahead with the transition and drop traditional over-the-air broadcasts next Tuesday. The loss of signals in those markets means that some viewers will no longer get television reception unless they have installed a digital converter box and, in some cases, purchased a new antenna.
Nielsen Co. has estimated that 6.5 million over-the-air households are unprepared for the "digital transition." Elderly, Latino and low-income households are believed to be most affected.
"If we have a serious natural disaster and folks don't have a TV on which to receive updates, that's a problem," said Christopher Murray, Consumers Union senior counsel.
None of Washington's stations asked to begin their transition next week, according to the Federal Communications Commission. In Baltimore, WBFF (Channel 45) and WNUV (Channel 54), have asked to make the switch.
Consumer advocates have warned for months that the sudden loss of television service poses a threat to public safety because so many people receive warnings by television.
Stations moving ahead with the digital transition were required to notify the FCC by this past Monday night. The agency must give its approval for stations to halt analog signals. Subscribers with cable or satellite TV service, who represent about 85 percent of households, or those with digital receivers are not expected to be significantly affected.
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( 2.9 / 107 )Released: 02/10/2009 6:15PM.
FCC RELEASES LISTS OF STATIONS WHOSE ANALOG OPERATIONS TERMINATE BEFORE FEBRUARY 17, 2009 OR THAT INTEND TO TERMINATE ANALOG OPERATIONS ON FEBRUARY 17, 2009 OR THAT INTEND TO TERMINATE ANALOG OPERATIONS ON FEBRUARY 17, 2009.
(FCC Document DA No. 09-221).
Contact: Barbara Kreisman at (202) 418-1600; email: Barbara.
Kreisman@fcc.gov
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A1.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A2.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A3.xls
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A4.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A5.xls
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A1.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A2.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A3.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A4.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A5.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A1.txt
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A2.txt
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A3.txt
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A4.txt
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -221A5.txt
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