DIGITAL TELEVISION:  SOME STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT A CONFUSING SUBJECT By MIKE KOHL of GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Newspapers are finally publishing articles on the upcoming conversion of America's television stations to digital transmission.  Unless you have been under a rock in the past few months, you have no doubt seen headlines proclaiming that the skies are going dark on all of our existing television sets.  Sensational reporting such as this may get your attention, but it is often not accurate or even true.  Most consumers are probably very confused and even angry after reading this news, and this article will attempt to set the record straight. Confusing is a mild description, especially after government studies in late 2007 have reached the conclusion that nobody is really in charge of the conversion, with many fingers pointing blame at the Federal Communications Commission for creating the present mess.  And they would probably be correct, because the FCC is a politically charged agency whose commissioners are divided along party lines between business and consumers, with very mixed and sometimes ineffective results for our nation. Almost a decade ago, it was decided that our television stations needed to switch from analog transmission to digital.  Until the last year or so, progress has been very slow due to the chicken and the egg syndrome.  Broadcasters have been reluctant to spend the money needed to upgrade their facilities to digital until a sufficient number of consumers possessed digital televisions.  Mandates have been given setting the date for all full-powered broadcast stations to turn off their analog signals by February 18, 2009.  TV stations in the largest television markets (big cities) were forced by earlier deadlines to have major network affiliates transmitting digital signals.  Smaller market stations slowly followed, with all stations required to turn off their analog transmitters by the February 2009 deadline. The FCC issued each full power station a license to transmit on a separate digital channel simulcasting with the existing analog channel.  Many stations were given a temporary frequency, usually on the UHF band (channels 14 to 69), and some with a smaller coverage area than the analog signal.  A small number of stations have since already turned off their analog channel, but the majority will wait until that February 2009 date for technical and logistics reasons.  After that date, stations have been given the option of either permanently keeping their new digital channel, shifting digital transmissions to their old analog channel and then shutting off the temporary digital channel, or asking for another permanent channel assignment.  Complicating things even more has been a new law that will eliminate TV channels 52 to 69, further squeezing the number of frequencies available.  That spectrum, in the 700 to 800 MHz area, will be sold to other users such as mobile telephone companies, to enrich the Federal treasury.  The VHF low-band, from channels 2 through 6 will also be less congested, because stations have been encouraged to move elsewhere in the channel 7 to 51 range permanently.  Less than a hundred stations should remain on channels 2 to 6 after the conversion has been completed, which will allow the government to auction off use of some of that spectrum for other uses in certain areas.  Many stations temporarily transmitting digital on UHF channels have happily applied to use their old high band VHF (channel 7 to 13) frequency after the switch because of the better outlying coverage of VHF as compared to UHF frequencies. What does all of this mean to the average consumer?  Customers of IPTV, cable television, or satellite services DirecTV or DISH Network should see little or no effect.  Their television provider will take care of any necessary technical issues in getting new digital signals, so the customers simply do nothing.  Those using over-the-air television signals will be directly affected, however.  Once analog channels are shut off, existing analog-only tuners will pick nothing off the air, unless an appropriate digital converter is connected to those sets.  As of early 2007, all newly produced television sets were mandated to include a digital tuner.  One area of confusion has been with monitors.  They do not include a TV tuner, and many less than scrupulous merchandisers have in the past sold "HDTV compatible" monitors that will process a digital signal, but only if that digital signal is first picked up by a satellite, cable or off air digital tuner and then patched to the monitor.  The Federal Communications Commission has clamped down on merchants that do not fully disclose this situation, after many complaints from consumers that did not know they would need another box to get those digital signals. In early 2008, the federal government will start a coupon program to assist those without cable or satellite reception to receive digital TV signals on their analog sets.  A limited number of vouchers will be available to qualifying households, giving the user up to two coupons providing a $40 rebate on a basic off-air digital converter.  High Definition signals are now being transmitted by many stations, in addition to a number of new TV services available on extra "Multicast" channels.  When standard definition signals are being transmitted, there is room for up to 6 separate channels from a digital television station.  Public TV (PBS) stations have taken the lead in creating not only a national High Definition service, but new specialized channels such as PBS Kids, Create, and the Spanish V-ME service.  Many commercial stations are adding News and Weather channels, as well as new local affiliates for the CW (formerly Warner Brothers) and My Network TV (formerly UPN) networks.  Other unique channels for home shopping, religion, and entertainment are being created.  The basic converter will pick up all of these channels, but only in a standard definition format that is compatible with their old analog television set.  Misinformation has been presented leading some to believe that all analog signals will be converting to High Definition and that their old TV sets will go dark.  This is NOT TRUE.  While all existing analog channels will go away, they will be transmitted in digital, and that will require either a converter or digital TV.  Not all Digital signals are High Definition.  TV channels are NOT required to convert to High Definition format, and many new channels are being created to transmit in a Standard Definition format only.  High Definition is a sub-set of digital television.  Major networks have begun to transmit in High Definition, but most true HD programming is available only during prime-time hours.   Those with high definition sets are often fooled during other times, when the picture is actually a standard definition signal "stretched" into letter-box format.  Only so much original HDTV programming is available, and use of letter-box frames allows broadcasters to give the illusion of HDTV at all times. Antennas.  The words "digital" and "HDTV" are often added to labels to take advantage of confusion in the marketplace.  "HDTV capable antenna" may have special meaning to someone with a new digital television, but it may be an attractive set of rabbit-ear antennas in a clever package.  The reality is that rabbit-ear type antennas CAN work indoors within most metropolitan areas, but with great variations in signal quality.  UHF signals work best with bow-tie or loop antenna sections of these small antennas, with the longer elements needed in most cases for VHF (channels 2-13).  Placement of indoor antennas near a window, especially on the side of the house facing the transmitter site, will provide better reception.  Minor adjustments may be needed for acceptable reception of different stations, especially in communities that have multiple TV transmitter sites.  Those living in suburbs and outlying areas will usually need an outdoor antenna for reliable digital reception.  The good news is that in most situations, digital signals transmitted on UHF will be much more reliable than analog UHF signals, which are often quite weak, especially on higher channel numbers.  One characteristic of digital transmission is the "cliff effect".  This is an all or nothing situation, where those in hilly areas will find perfect reception on the high side of a hill facing a television transmitter.  Once you get below a certain point on the "back side" of a hill, there is simply no way to get a digital signal.  Whereas analog signals may experience various degrees of weak and ghosting signals, digital is muted below a certain signal level and you get no picture at all.  Signal is where you find it, and huge differences in reception can be found with minor changes in antenna direction.  You may need an antenna rotor, or multiple antennas, to have access to all available signals.  Bottom line is that every location will have a different set of antenna requirements which can best be determined by asking a local professional, or comparing notes with the neighbors. Translator and Low Power TV Stations.  No deadlines have yet been set for shutoff of Translator and LPTV stations, which will continue to run in Analog format for the immediate future.  Those using such stations will continue to have analog service on their old equipment.  A number of these stations have began converting to digital, and in many cases will do an instant switch that uses the same channel for digital transmission, while immediately shutting off the previous analog signal.  Reports from many having experienced the change to digital on these low power relays have often found an actual increase in the coverage area of the signal compared to previous analog service.  Digital TV should be embraced as a technology that improves the quality of your pictures, and allows transmission of high definition signals as well as new multicast channels.  If you have any questions about your local market's digital reception, please contact the author (Mike Kohl) by Email at globalcm@mhtc.net