DTV Transition: No Surprises

For the majority of broadcast television stations across the nation, the digital TV transition took place last Friday, June 12, without major difficulty.

Most broadcast stations did not receive the flood of calls they had expected, a sign that the transition was smoother than predicted.

As anticipated, the FCC’s call center was inundated on Friday with 317,000 calls, but Saturday saw a drop-off to just north of 145,000 calls, and 63,000 calls were reported on Sunday. The most common questions were about the coupon program (which continues through July 31) and box installations. Many of the calls concerned the rescanning of TV sets. The FCC says that over-the-air viewers must rescan their sets to pick up the new digital signals that were powered on throughout the day on Friday. In fact, the commission is suggesting that consumers now perform a “double-re-scan.” The process ensures that consumers clear out their boxes’ memories before re-scanning.

Some viewers in rural areas said they could see fewer stations than before, due to a host of reception issues inherent in the digital format. Digital signals are more apt to be affected by interference, including topography issues. Digital signals also suffer from the “cliff effect”; with digital TV you can either see the signal or not, as opposed to analog transmission where a user at the far limits of the signal area, or even beyond the area, might have been able to receive a snowy signal.

Two big-city stations, ABC affiliates, reported significant reception problems. WLS Chicago reported difficulty reaching high-rise and downtown buildings, while WPVI Philadelphia viewers complained they couldn’t find WPVI’s new digital VHF signal.

The FCC says that 971 stations ended analog broadcasts June 12; another 220 stations ended analog broadcasts before the original February 17 hard date, which they were allowed to do with prior approval from the commission; 421 stations pulled the plug on February 17, the original DTV deadline; and 161 stations transitioned between February 17 and June 12.

Also of note, 118 stations in 85 markets have volunteered to continue “nightlight service,” broadcasting an analog signal with only emergency and DTV transition information for up to 30 days after June 12.

For more information, visit www.dtv.gov or www.fcc.gov.
Broadcasting & Cable has complete DTV coverage.

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