RSSSome analog TV stations have already thrown the switch
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published February 17, 2009, 6:50 PM
It was supposed to be a day of reduced confusion, but in many places around the US today, some major affiliate stations have gone dark on their old analog frequencies...while others go on.
Back in 1953, a family whose name would come to be synonymous in Oklahoma with two things -- broadcasting and waffle syrup -- launched a cottage television institution in what was surprisingly one of the most competitive markets in the country. For most of the time from then until now, it has been the standard-bearer for weather alerts, even to the point where its over-the-top advertising was parodied by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart. Still owned by the Griffin family today, KWTV in my old hometown of Oklahoma City has already said goodbye to Channel 9 -- what we Okies might call, "the lady that brung you."
In so doing, KWTV puts to the test the theory posited in Congress two weeks ago that viewers relying on analog television for emergency news and weather information will become confused. During last week's debate on the House floor -- after which the DTV Delay Act passed -- Rep. Virginia Foxx (R - N.C.) warned fellow lawmakers, "We have a potential for harming the very people that we're purporting to help," by effectively scattering the sources for news and critical information around multiple sources.
Down the street from Channel 9 (CBS), Channel 4 (NBC) probably doesn't mind it at all. It won't be making the switch today, although its parent company did have plans to turn off analog for KAUT Channel 43. Fox affiliate KOKH Channel 25 also had plans to turn off its analog signal today.
Oklahoma City is just big enough, the Federal Communications Commission apparently concluded, for its residents to have been adequately informed about the ongoing DTV transition. Nearly 400 stations nationwide will be discontinuing their analog transmissions today, with an estimated 200 already having done so at the time of this writing. Last week, the FCC denied 191 requests from stations that were generally in lesser markets, although last-minute maneuvering apparently enabled all four major affiliate stations in Madison, Wisconsin to make the switch today despite the initial denial. NBC affiliate WMTV 15 reports already having switched over at midnight.
PBS member stations rank highly among those making the switch today. But throughout the country, there are markets that are about OKC-sized -- bigger than Waco, smaller than Buffalo -- where a few of the major affiliates will have switched and others will remain on until as late as June 12, including: Monterey, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Ft. Myers, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Savannah, Geo.; Ft. Wayne, Ind.; Lexington, Ky.; Monroe, La.; Portland, Maine; Rochester, Minn.; Great Falls, Mt.; Reno, Nev.; Binghamton, N.Y.; Bismarck, N.D.; Tulsa, Okla.; Eugene, Ore.; Johnstown, Penn.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Nashville, Tenn.; San Angelo, Tex.; and Spokane, Wash.
So when the decades-long voice of Channel 9, Gary England, repeats the station's trademark, "Stay with TV 9, we'll keep you advised," the challenge now will be to see whether viewers find the new Channel 9 or stay stuck with analog for the next four months -- all through Oklahoma's notorious tornado season.
That is great.. don't these companies make money based on peopel that watch there channel?? less people to watch.. refund should be in order...
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|Oh, so THAT explains why certain areas of the map have disappeared from Google Maps and World...
"Oklahoma City is just big enough, the Federal Communications Commission apparently concluded, for its residents to have been adequately informed about the ongoing DTV transition."
LOL!
Hey dimwits at the FCC. The US is 'just big enough'!
After all, if TEN YEARS advance notice is insufficient for preparation, I fail to see how 4 months is going to make a difference.
Where did these FCC idiots intern? In the DHS disaster response offices after Katrina???
But then, after all, the criminals in Congress (Stevens - literally a criminal!) made us painfully aware that 'them' "Internet pipes" just 'ain't' big enough for the US to be adequately informed! LOL!
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|Once again, the FCCs logic is as flawed as the idiot who put most of them in power (W). In Los Angeles, the message has been so screwed up that many don't have a clue - not because of stupidity, but because of mixed messages.
None of our stations are moving early, because only recently did the commercials and informative ads in mid-program speak about the need for a new antenna, the lowered power, or the possible movement of some channels back to VHF.
The entire idea was a bad one, using flawed technology, from a longtime purveyor of same (LG), then moved on by a Congress whose combined SCIENCE IQ is probably 54, and informed by an FCC whose leaders are as intellictually challenged as Homer Simpson.
It's a good thing that the change did not take place yesterday, as the inclement weather has pointed out the fact that lowered power, bad technology, and UHF propagation were all working to stymie any continuous digital reception. I'm not sure the outrage and questioning call influx could have been handled. At least on June 12, the weather will (hopefully) cooperate.
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|The lowered power of the transmissions seems to be a problem.
http://news.cincinnati.c.../20090217/ENT/902170319
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|PatrynXX- did you rescan the channels ? - after they convert, generally they go to a stronger- all digital broadcast, which requires it. We're going full digital, tomorrow & it will be interesting to see if there's any increase in analog signals we'll be able to receive from the Canadian side, due to our location.
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|The problem I discovered is many Antenna's recieve UHF. Even if they say UHF/VHF ready, they really only get UHF. The channels here have chosen three items. Channel 2 (KGAN) has chosen to remain at 51 UHF with PPoE coming at 2. Channel 9 (KCRG) has opted to delay the switch to VHF. (counter to what wikipedia is stating. I went to fix that. The problem with KWWL channel 7 might be the fact that they became one of the 9 % of the 400 some channels to switch to the VHF band. And many antenna's can't pick that up. (2-13 frequency bands)
One expert I've chatted with says the best option for my area is a rooftop antenna. Who can afford to install one of those? All the other channels just fine. So as long as it's not VHF, one should be okay.
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|That sucks. Unfortunate, but informative. As expected, the Canadian analog channels, which were near the same band width as-- our local station, which shut off- after going digital--now have better image quality on our set. However, I hoped the "side channels" of the main local would be upgraded to 1080i/p, but they remain at 480i...which is a hassle, because I use wide view on a 16:9 for our satellite receiver & I have to manually reset our view for the 480i channels...& other people here aren't so ummm able to figure out how to do that.
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|Local channel is primarily now recommending we all get rooftop antenna's. Little late to be saying that isn't it? Or place the antenna near a window aimed at the direction of the antenna. as if we all can rearrange a room on a dime. So if the 99 % who claimed they were ready locallly wonder how many have indoor antennas. araghhhhh Better yet, just stay on UHF!!
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|Oddly one of the local channels flipped the switch and even with a DTV box, we can't get the local channel anymore. We used to be able to get the channel in DTV, but the moment they moved the DTV channel to another frequency, the box some people have, no longer recieves it. Everything else much farther away comes in fine.
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|Tv stations had commercials about the conversion over a year, which is more than enough time. You could delay it another 10 years, and there would still be many losers that still wouldn't get off their fat a** to convert. The only thing that will motivate some people is when they finally lose their tv picture.
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|Exactly.
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|Thank god im Canadian. Even though our igloos might look cold, we've had digital cable long enough that this isnt a problem. Hell, my grandmother has had digital cable for over 8 years! Jeeze!
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|You miss the point - the US has beaucoup digital cable and satellite! - they aren't affected!
Its those who have FREE OFF AIR reception who are affected.
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