Crossing the digital divide
TV signal switchover is big turnoff to some
Ready or not, the end of analog TV — and the switch to an all-digital broadcast signal — is coming next month.
On Feb. 17, TV stations will stop broadcasting in the older analog signal and switch to the newer, higher-quality digital signal, and the vast majority of TV watchers are ready.
But even after years of planning and testing, extensive announcements and the offer of aid for people who need to buy a converter box, a small share of the public isn’t prepared.
“I’m completely in denial over the whole thing in February,” said Katie Reimers, a South Wales resident and East Aurora High School teacher who has an old, secondhand TV with a rabbit- ear antenna and hasn’t yet bought a converter.
The change to digital TV doesn’t affect people who have a cable connection, satellite service or an over-the-air signal that comes through newer TVs with built-in digital tuners.
Still, as the digital TV conversion approaches, more than seven million households — including about 40,000 in this market — that get TV through an antenna on an older set might not get a signal on Feb. 18.
Critics say the conversion is confusing and rife with problems, and President- elect Barack Obama last week joined consumer advocates in calling for the changeover to be delayed.
The criticism comes as the federal coupon program meant to lower the cost of a conversion box has run out of money, and people seeking coupons now are being put on a waiting list.
And, some experts note, even people who bought a converter box may not be able to pull in certain digital channels, depending on where they live and what type of antenna they have.
In this region, residents of rural and hilly areas, notably in the Southern Tier, who now receive an analog TV signal may not get the same channels after the conversion takes place.
“There could be some problems. There’s no panacea. But I don’t think the world’s going to end” when the conversion occurs, said Joe Reilly, president of the New York State Broadcasters Association.
Most TV stations already transmit in both digital and analog signals, but Congress passed legislation that mandated that stations stop broadcasting analog signals and set the February deadline for the switch.
Several reasons are cited for the change, starting with the fact the digital signal is a clearer and higher-quality signal than the analog signal. And many stations that under the analog spectrum could only broadcast one channel now can offer multiple channels over the more efficient digital spectrum.
Frees up bandwidth
Also, shifting all television broadcasting to the digital spectrum frees up a good chunk of the analog spectrum for use by public-safety personnel and emergency responders.
Further, the changeover leaves more bandwidth for future wireless innovations such as broadcasting TV to cell phones and other mobile devices.
“As far as an idea, this was a good idea,” said David Klein, an executive vice president with Centris, a media research firm based in suburban Philadelphia, who has followed the conversion to digital TV. “It’s the execution. It’s always the execution.”
Only people who have older, analog TV sets and who watch them through set-top or rooftop antennas need to act.
For some, the decision to watch TV over the air is a matter of the cost of cable or satellite TV. For others, it’s a matter of choice.
“I don’t watch a lot of TV. I try to keep myself busy. I go to the gym a lot,” said Linda Wutz, of Williamsville.
Wutz’s husband watches a lot of televised sports through a satellite connection, but she has a TV of her own that gets Channels 2, 4, 7, 17 and 29 through rabbit ears.
Wutz and others affected by the changeover can buy a new TV with a built-in digital tuner, order cable or satellite service or buy a device that converts a digital signal into a format that can be displayed by an analog set.
The converters cost between $40 and $80 and are available through most electronics retailers.
The federal government set a $1.34 billion cap on a program that provides $40 coupons to people who buy the converters.
Coupons are limited to two per household, and as of Wednesday, about 18.8 million coupons have been redeemed, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration reported. More than 384,000 coupons were redeemed in this area, according to an administration list broken down by ZIP code.
The converter coupon program has had problems, though.
The coupons must be used within 90 days, so a number of people ended up ordering them but not using them in time.
As demand for the coupons increased in recent weeks, the coupon program ran out of money last weekend.
As of last Sunday, everyone ordering a converter coupon was put on a waiting list.
Lawmakers could raise the $1.34 billion cap on the program, with the knowledge that many of the coupons in the hands of consumers right now won’t be redeemed anyway.
Or they could eliminate the expiration date on previously issued but unredeemed coupons.
Consumers Union and other groups contend that the problems with the coupon program are so severe that a delay in the Feb. 17 changeover date is needed.
A top official on Obama’s transition team wrote to key lawmakers last week to argue for postponement.
Federal Communications Commission spokeswoman Mary Diamond declined to comment, except to say the FCC must adhere to the deadline.
Critics say the conversion hasn’t been managed well and the government set aside a relatively small amount of money for educational efforts.
In contrast, the federal government will reap $19 billion from the auction of the analog spectrum, a Consumers Union policy analyst said in a statement.
As of last month, 6.3 percent of the 631,000 TV households in Western New York still hadn’t prepared themselves for the switch, a rate that is slightly better than the 6.8 percent national rate, according to Nielsen, the media research company.
Spreading the word
Experts say the people least likely to be prepared include the elderly, rural and lower-income residents, members of minority groups and people with disabilities.
“These are our key populations that we’re trying to target,” Linda Yun, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Broadcasters.
The FCC has worked with community groups, churches and other organizations to spread the word about the conversion.
A number of stations around the country have conducted their own “soft” tests to prepare local viewers for the conversion.
The Dec. 15 test went well locally, according to Dennis Majewicz, WIVB-TV’s director of engineering.
“People are finally starting to do something about it because we’re getting close,” Majewicz said. Another soft test in the market is scheduled for 7:58 p. m. Thursday.
FCC maps show that a small number of viewers in the Southern Tier and in rural counties east of Buffalo who now receive Channels 2, 4 and 49 over the air won’t be able to get them when the stations stop broadcasting in analog.
There’s another issue with the converter boxes that people in this area must keep in mind.
Canadian TV stations aren’t switching to an all-digital signal until 2011, so viewers here may still need to watch them over an analog signal until then.
Unless viewers are willing to detach a standard converter box every time they watch one of those stations, they’ll want to get a converter box that allows for analog pass-through, Majewicz of WIVB said.
Conversely, viewers in Ontario who now watch Buffalo TV stations on an analog signal will have to get a converter to continue receiving the channels on a digital signal.
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