Springs TV stations will stay with June date for switch
The world isn't ending this morning, and neither is analog television.
Feb. 17 was supposed to be the day that television stations across the country turned off their analog transmitters and anyone not hooked up to cable or satellite television would need a digital tuner or digital converter box to pull in the new, all-digital TV signals.
Despite more than a decade of preparation, however, the transition wasn't going smoothly and Congress pushed the date back to June 12 to give TV viewers as much time as possible to get ready.
"This is the way they should have done it to begin with," said Tim Larson, general manager for KRDO/Channel 13, explaining that viewership is lower in the summer months, so the changeover should be less disruptive.
All TV stations in Colorado Springs plan to wait until June 12, although station managers are grumbling about the expense of keeping their analog transmitters going four months longer than planned. For instance, KRDO's analog transmitter malfunctioned for several hours Monday, although the digital transmitter kept running. The timing would have been nearly perfect, if Congress hadn't moved the date.
"It's almost humorous," Larson said. "It's a little weird that it happened here a day before (the original switchover date)."
Just the electricity to keep the transmitters running gets pricey.
"It costs several thousands of dollars a month to run these analog transmitters," said Ethan Beute, creative services director for KOAA/Channels 5&30. "It's not back-breaking, but this isn't a great time to incur expenses you didn't expect."
Elsewhere in the country, many TV stations are throwing their hands up on analog. About 400 stations nationwide plan to go ahead and switch to digital today, while others - including the state of Hawaii - already made the switch. Still other stations may switch sometime between today and June 12.
That potentially confusing mishmash of dates makes it important for stations to keep up the educational campaign, said Tim Merritt, general manager at KKTV/Channel 11, including digital-preparedness tests, explanatory commercials and segments during the news.
"We will continue that education," Merritt said. "I think that's kind of the point of them pushing (the date)."
The federal government provided two $40 coupons toward purchasing digital converter boxes to every household that applied. The money ran out early this year, but the new stimulus bill will provide another $650 million (boxes cost about $50 and are available at major retailers and many electronics stores).
About 63 percent of Colorado Springs households that rely on an antenna to receive television applied for coupons, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversaw the coupon program. That means there are thousands of local households that still need a converter box.
Simply delaying the inevitable may not be enough to reach all of those viewers, said Shannon Dunham, an attorney in St. Louis for Denver-based Sherman and Howard who works on telecommunications issues.
"I don't know that it will substantially increase the number of people who are ready," she said. "There's still going to be millions of people who just aren't going to be ready because they didn't take the steps to get ready."
Cable and satellite TV companies are hoping the transition will send more business their way, if consumers prefer to sign up instead of messing with a converter box. Comcast, for instance, is offering free basic cable for a year to customers who also sign up for either voice or Internet service, or $10 a month on its own.
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Are you ready?
The digital television transition was moved to June 12, but if you haven't prepared yet, here's what you need to know:
• If your TV is connected to cable or a satellite dish, you're fine.
• If you have a digital television connected to an antenna, you're fine.
• If you have an older television connected to a converter box, you're fine.
• If you have an older television connected to an antenna, you need to upgrade.
Digital dilemma
Answers to a common questions about the DTV transition:
What's the digital difference?
On June 12, TV stations will shut down their analog transmitters and rely solely on their digital signals. Older, analog TV's can't process those signals unless they're hooked up to a digital converter box, cable or satellite television. Because digital signals are more efficient than analog, it's possible for broadcasters to send higher quality pictures, such as high definition television, and to layer additional channels, called subchannels, alongside to their main transmission.
How do I get a converter box?
Congress originally set aside $1.34 billion to provide two, $40 coupons to be used toward digital converter boxes to each household that applied. That money ran out earlier this year, but the stimulus bill would provide another $650 million for coupons. You can apply at www.dtv2009.gov or by calling 1-888-DTV-2009. Converter boxes cost about $50 and are available at most major retailers (such as Wal-Mart or Target) and at most electronics stores (such as Best Buy and Radio Shack).
