Digital TV test offers some real-world lessons
The first major test of the switch to digital TV left many viewers in Wilmington, N.C., looking at blank screens and calling local TV stations, according to several news reports.
On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission conducted the first major real-world test of the switch to digital television. Wilmington, N.C., volunteered to be the guinea pig for the switch, agreeing to turn off its analog broadcast signals about six months before the rest of the country will do it.
At noon EDT Monday, broadcasters flipped the switch to all digital transmission. And almost immediately, TV broadcasters and the FCC hotline were inundated with phone calls from local residents in the area who weren't prepared for the transition or couldn't figure out how to use the converter boxes that should have allowed their older TVs to get the digital signal, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The test in Wilmington is key to minimizing mass chaos when the entire country makes the transition to all digital broadcasts on Feb. 17, 2009, a move mandated by Congress so that wireless spectrum could be used more efficiently. The agency has already auctioned off large chunks of the spectrum to be used for wireless broadband services.
For the majority of TV viewers across the country who own new digital-ready TVs or subscribe to cable or satellite TV, the switch is a non-issue. But for the millions of households that get free TV and own older TVs, they will need a digital converter box to be able to view TV on their older TVs.
The government and broadcast industry have spent millions of dollars over the past several months to educate the public about the transition. And the FCC has been offering vouchers to subsidize the cost of the digital converter boxes. But many in Congress worry that all the public service announcements and vouchers haven't been effective. And when the transition comes, people won't be prepared.
The test in Wilmington, where officials had made a concerted effort to get the word out about the switch, is a good indication that more education is needed. According to the Journal, by mid-afternoon roughly 74 calls had been placed to two TV stations, WSFX-TV, a Fox affiliate, and WECT-TV, an NBC affiliate. The newspaper also reported the FCC received about a hundred calls on its toll-free help line in the first few hours after local broadcasters shut off their analog signals. Most of the calls were from people who needed help programming the new digital converter boxes, the newspaper said.
Even though the switch to digital in Wilmington, N.C., wasn't as smooth as some might have hoped, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said it served its purpose, which was to provide valuable lessons for what needs to be done to make sure the nationwide transition goes smoothly.
"The measure of success here in Wilmington is not what happens today or tomorrow here, but it's what we learn from it," he told the Journal in an interview. "If no one called today, that wouldn't necessarily mean it's a success."
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
Seriously. It's common sense. Read the directions. We let these people vote?!
Ask any help desk worker - people with Master's Degrees & PhD's will call because "the little light won't come on when I try to turn on my (insert name of device here - laptop, PC, clock-radio, TiVo, DTV Converter Box)". After quite a few attempts to get them to check, with the caller claiming "I'm not stupid, can't you just fix the damn thing", to humor the Help Desk, they finally look, and I swear you can hear them blush over the phone as they say "Nevermind, it's on now..." and hang up.
Just because a few dozen people had trouble & needed tech support, doesn't make them "backwater hick"s. "Magic viewbox"? Wow, you must be SOOOO much better than those of us who breathe the clean air and enjoy these tree things away from cities.
When the DTV broadcast signal is weak, the picture breaks up into blocks, and the audio goes off/on, off/on, off/on.
You're describing pixelation. Yes, which occurs as a digital signal becomes too weak to receive - instead of that delight known as "snow" in the analog TV world.
Where I live, on Analog, I can pick up all 4 networks over the air just fine. Occasionally a speck or two of static, and CBS has slight ghosting. On Digital, even though they're broadcasting just as strong of a signal, the picture is horrible, because those few missed dots translate into huge pixellated areas, and the audio is pretty much either off or on as described above - instead of maybe getting a hiss or a pop now and then.
I wonder where the reporter is pulling this statistic from. Last I checked, here in the USA, the majority of people are low and middle class workers. Of these, I highly doubt that the majority of them have had the money to go out and buy a new HDTV with a digital tuner, or fork out the big bucks for digital cable or satellite service. The majority of people I know don't (but we wish we did). I think this statistic is way too optimistic (if this stat were true, this article wouldn't be talking about the problems dealt with in the switch).
I will confirm the number of HD-ready TV sets in the US passed 50% in December of 2006. It wasn't long after that TV manufacturers virtually halted offering CRT sets in the States. Though it's taken a while to run out the stream.
However, I'm not taking the time to wander back and locate the exact transition for you.
I wonder where the reporter is pulling this statistic from. Last I checked, here in the USA, the majority of people are low and middle class workers. Of these, I highly doubt that the majority of them have had the money to go out and buy a new HDTV with a digital tuner, or fork out the big bucks for digital cable or satellite service. The majority of people I know don't (but we wish we did). I think this statistic is way too optimistic (if this stat were true, this article wouldn't be talking about the problems dealt with in the switch). "
You're not too bright then, are you? They didn't say people had "a new HDTV with a digital tuner", nor did they say they had "digital cable or satellite service".
ANYONE with ANY KIND OF CABLE is OK. Even if you DON'T pay for "DIGITAL CABLE" packages, even if you only have the basic 4 or 5 channel service alot of areas offer, you're OK.
ONLY if you have NO CABLE do you need to worry about the DTV. Even then, many TVs that are several years old are DTV ready - the majority of them were in 2002! Older TVs need the converter box - which, in Pittsburgh area at least, can be purchased for about 3$ over the coupon.
So far, 1 person is recorded as having been unaware of the change. The rest were as inept with the conversion box as Americans usually have been with VCRs. Unable to understand that the TV had to be set to channel 3 or 4.
That's all of it, folks.
Frankly, I find your lead paragraph misleading, a paucity of content in the rest of the article. Since I'll be posting on a couple of blogs about the changeover, I stopped by CNET hoping to find something more up-to-date.
Guess I'll have to stick with the Wilmington Star-News.
I bought a digital tuner for my computer, and except for a weak channel, the digital picture is 1000x better than any OTA analog. All I ever got from OTA analog signals was mostly snow with a little picture coming through. It was so bad, I totally gave up watching OTA analog TV, and set about buying videos on DVD. With OTA digital signal, I get better images than when I had analog cable hooked up to my TV, no kidding. Maybe it's the digital tuner I bought, which has made all the difference in quality of signal translation?
But let me tell you, the images and sound (double emphasis on sound because no one really talks about how good the sound is - and it's extremely impressive) from the digital signal makes analog look 20th century. The picture is so clear and sharp, it's just beyond my expectations of the $75 I spent on this tuner for my computer.
:-( ** Sometimes a little snow is better ! ! !
I amazed people with my on screen guide via antenna (thanks ATSC) and my crystal clear HD football games (thanks ATSC) and my surround sound (thanks ATSC)... now i just wait for 2009 when the affiliates flip the ATSC broadcast from their relatively low power secondary broadcast antennas to their high powered mains.
- by tvtooner September 23, 2008 1:03 PM PDT
- Your degree of success with DTV or HDTV is dependent upon a lot of factors beyond your own "readiness" with hardware...something some of the posters on this thread don't seem to get. I grew up in a TV shop back in the days of toobs when even a ratty outdoor antenna could get viewable analog reception out in the rural countryside. No more with digital...you're either on or you're not.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
-
- by archaicforest September 25, 2008 7:27 AM PDT
- Careful aiming of the antenna depends on rather you can actually move your antenna. As posted above, I only get 2 and have to be in that 10° window or I get no channels. (I don't have a rotater, as I didn't need one prior to the digital signal. On analog, I "set it and forgot it". On digital, I would physically have to go move my television to the window, go outside, turn the antenna, look to see if the tv works, and go back inside. If I notice blocking and audio drops, back out to the antenna I have to go. On Analog, good picture was generally good enough. This is not just a matter of watching American Idol or NBC Nightly News, this is a matter of "A Tornado watch has been issued for your area."
- Like this
-
(26 Comments)If you're in a rural or fringe signal area, a new $100 antenna, a new $85 rotator, a new $60 converter box and 25-30 feet of antenna height still might not get you all the channels you used to watch simply because some of these stations are broadcasting DTV over UHF. To get the same coverage area with UHF that analog VHF provided takes waaaay more input power (ooomph) to the transmitter.
Here in the Greenville / New Bern / Washington market of eastern NC, I'm about 43 mi from the NBC & CBS affiliates' tower; about 60 mi. from the ABC affiliate. The CBS station's DTV is still on VHF and totally knocking it out. The NBC DTV signal is now UHF and pretty good as long as you're careful about aiming the outdoor antenna to their tower (and they are pumping waaay more power in the transmitter). The ABC guys' DTV signal on UHF just doesn't get here. (Searching for signal...) I'm waiting for them to go back to VHF in February and hoping it goes well. The Fox DTV signal is occasional but I don't watch that one much anyway. UNC (PBS) provides VHF on the north side and UHF on the south side of me; both work okay most of the time with careful aiming.
People out here in the countryside who think they only have to buy and install a converter box are going to be really pissed come February.
TVTooner
(A licensed professional electrical engineer)