By KIRK BAIRD, THE TOLEDO BLADE STAFF WRITER
After much discussion, debate, and worry for more than a decade, the age of digital television begins in the wee hours Friday morning.
For Toledo-area residents who subscribe to a cable or satellite provider, own a digital TV, or bought digital converter boxes for their analog sets, Friday won't be different from any other day.
But for those who haven't prepared for the digital transition of television broadcasts, the future-is-now era will start as a snowy screen.
Exactly how many people will find themselves without local and network TV programming is unknown.
The National Association of Broadcasters estimates about 2.1 million households nationwide - or 1.9 percent of the population - are completely unprepared, meaning they will not receive any television programming.
In a Nielsen survey conducted earlier this year in Ohio metered markets - Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Dayton - 4 percent of state residents were considered completely unprepared for digital TV, compared to 6 percent nationwide.
Among that group are those who have bought a digital converter box and not set it up or those who have not used their $40 Federal Communications Commission coupons to purchase a digital converter.
Because of such concerns, and to funnel additional money into the FCC budget to create more coupons, Congress pushed back the original DTV transition date from Feb. 17 to Friday. The hope was that the nearly four additional months would allow those who were unprepared to get ready.
While there are no figures available for the Toledo market, estimates suggest that 4 percent to 8 percent of TV owners are not ready for DTV.
"It's hard to know. Estimates are all over the place," Bob Chirdon, vice president and general manager of WTOL-TV, Channel 11, said.
He said his station receives a handful of calls daily from viewers who are confused by the transition or are having difficulties with their converter boxes.
"In many cases it's simple stuff," he said. "We've done everything we possibly can. I just don't know what else we could do at this point."
In fact, all the local affiliates are ready for the transition, having broadcast a digital signal for several years. It's the unprepared residents who represent the unknown.
David Zamichow, president and general manager of WTVG-TV, Channel 13, said that based on the type of calls his station receives, the DTV delay helped.
"We're getting fewer phone calls about coupons and more phone calls about problems hooking up the converter boxes," he said. "I think more people are close to being ready, which is heartening."
On Feb. 17, WGTE-TV, Channel 30, like most PBS affiliates, dropped its analog signal, becoming the first area station to go all-digital. The station reported a hundred or so calls the next few days after the switch, before trickling down to one or two a day.
In fact, the biggest concern for two network affiliates is not people who don't have the converter boxes and digital TVs, but those who do.
If viewers have been using that equipment, they'll have to make yet another change.
WTOL has been using Channel 17 for its digital station; WTVG has been using Channel 19.
On Friday, the two stations will drop those channels and move their digital signals to channels 11 and 13, respectively, while WNWO-TV, Channel 24, and WUPW-TV, Channel 36, will remain on their current channels.
Those who have been using digital converter boxes or digital TVs and are not hooked up to cable or satellite will need to rescan for the new WTOL and WTVG digital signals.
"A lot of people won't do that. That'll be a lot of the problems we'll have," Mr. Chirdon said.
Meanwhile, Buckeye CableSystem has experienced an increase in subscribers as the June 12 deadline draws near. Florence Buchanan, vice president of sales and marketing with Buckeye, said the company's subscriber base has grown in the past year.
"That seems to be … the case across the country. Most cable operations and satellite providers are seeing an increase in subscriber growth due to DTV," she said.
Buckeye CableSystem is owned by Block Communications Inc., parent company of The Blade.
For those who are waiting until the last minute to hook up their converter boxes, WTOL, WTVG, WNWO, and WUPW will have phone banks open that morning and throughout the day to take phone calls from viewers having difficulties with the transition.
What happens Friday, though, remains anyone's guess.
"I've heard everything from horror stories to it's going to go great," Mr. Chirdon said. "So what does that tell you?"
Contact Kirk Baird at:
kbaird@theblade.com
or 419-724-6734.
WLIO is a subsidiary of Block Communications, The Toledo Blade.
original story in RELATED below.
[ add comment ] ( 3 views ) | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 127 )From CGC Communicator
GREAT DTV RECEIVING ANTENNAS
Two DTV receiving antennas that are highly recommended by Gary Stigall of San Diego SBE Chapter 36 are as follows. The story first appeared in our newsletter in CGC #894:
o For UHF (CHs-14 to 51), Gary says he's a real evangelist
for the "Terrestrial Digital 91XG." It has high gain AND
excellent front-to-back ratio (28 dB):
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display ... OD=TD-91XG
o For HI-BAND VHF (CHs-7 to 13), Gary recommends the
following Winegard:
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?prod=YA1713
[ 3 comments ] ( 29 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 122 )Free in-home installation available for consumers in some larger markets.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1227A1.pdf
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 110 )The FCC updates DTV coverage maps and list of stations with 2% or greater service loss:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1274A1.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1274A2.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1274A3.pdf
Also the 2% loss story from Broadcasting & Cable magazine. Click the RELATED link below.
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 107 )On June 12th at 6:59AM will will sign off WLIO analog.
during "First Edition" from 6AM to 7AM, we will be talking about the transition, and at the end of the news show we will press the button for the last time.
During the day, our technical staff will be disassembling the 1964 transmitter, which will be scrapped out.
In it's place a new IT center will be built.
BTW, In anticipation of the completion of the digital transition on June 12, 2009, the Media Bureau announces the procedures for full power television stations to secure their preferred station call sign" suffix, for example, KXYZ (no suffix), KXYZ-TV or KXYZ-DT. This Public Notice gives the details:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1253A1.pdf
This means that starting Saturday, June 13th, WLIO-DT Lima will become WLIO Lima.
[ 2 comments ] ( 34 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 123 )MAKE THE DTV SWITCH ANYTIME ON JUNE 12, EXCEPT...
If a TV station will be switching to a new DTV channel or using new facilities (e.g. a new transmitter location or antenna pattern), they may do so at any time on June 12 provided they coordinate with any other station/s they may clobber with interference. Any such station that is unable to successfully coordinate an early transition time on June 12 must wait until 11:59:59 PM local time to begin operations with their new facilities.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 9-47A1.pdf
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink | related link |
( 2.9 / 105 )FCC Says Full-Power Stations Will Cease Operation
John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 6/3/2009 8:15:36 AM MT
The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that 35 full-power TV station now broadcasting in analog indicated that they will cease operation entirely on June 12, when all full-power stations must transition to digital.
Of those, 18 are owned by Equity Media, and seven of the 35 stations are affiliates of a major network. A full list of the stations is available here. (PDF)
The FCC said it would try to reduce the number that would go dark, saying some would be available on the subchannel of another digital station.
That news came at the FCC's public meeting Wednesday on the status of the DTV transition.
In a press conference following the FCC's DTV briefing Wednesday where 35 stations were cited, all the commissioners weighed in.
"I am concerned whenever any broadcast station goes dark or shuts down its operation in terms of localism and diversity and competition, said FCC acting chairman Michael Copps. "In the face of a disappearance of another newsoom, that is a net loss for the American people."
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein called it "almost a perfect storm for the broadcasting industry," citing the unprecedented downturn in advertising, due to a variety of factors.
For his part, commissioner Robert McDowell said he hoped the agency would take broadcasters' "extreme economic duress" into account when it makes new policy.
---
Administrator's Note: None of the stations in the list are close to Lima.
[ add comment ] ( 3 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 103 )STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER JONATHAN S. ADELSTEIN, THE DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION by Statement.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1183A1.pdf
STATEMENT OF ACTING CHAIRMAN MICHAEL COPPS, OPEN COMMISSION MEETING ON THE DTV TRANSITION by Statement.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1196A1.pdf
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 95 )8 DAYS AND COUNTING TO DTV TRANSITION.
Free in-home installation available for consumers in many markets.
News Release. News Media Contact: Rick Kaplan at (202) 418-1728;
Email: rick.kaplan@fcc.gov or Mark Wigfield at (202) 418-0253; Email: mark.wigfield@fcc.gov CGB
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... 1227A1.pdf
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 100 )In February, about 1/3 of U.S. homes had at least one DTV.
The average household has 2.6 TV sets.
Link: http://tinyurl.com/plobx7
[ 1 comment ] ( 15 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 141 )
Random Entry
