tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-244006152024-03-01T13:58:18.318-05:00Switchover Scenarios: Tracking The DTV TransitionJune 12 has come and gone, and we are now in the post-analog era. This blog reported the developments in this story from March 2006 onward, and is being kept online as a historical record.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-79755568066948440052009-09-17T11:39:00.005-04:002009-09-17T13:37:09.230-04:00This May Be The Last PostI last posted here on July 30, promising an update on ongoing DTV reception problems "in the near future". So I'm a bit behind on that.<br /><br />One reason I've been holding off is that I've been waiting for more follow-up stories. These have dried up dramatically in the last few weeks, at least as far as the news sources I've been following (<I>Multichannel News, Broadcast & Cable, TV Week</i> and a few others) are concerned. In fact, the last local newspaper story my sources pointed me to was dated August 17, and dealt with <a href="http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2009/08/digital_television_passing_ove.html">problems in New Jersey</a>. As for the national situation, <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/327845-FCC_Still_Clearing_Up_DTV_Reception.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">this August 18 article</a> describes the FCC as continuing to work with two or three dozen stations (mostly rural) on reception issues, employing methods such as moving stations from VHF to UHF, boosting power and even moving from one VHF channel to another. What has been cleaned up in the month since I can't honestly say. You still see threads in AVS Forum's <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=25">HDTV Technical forum</a> regarding the problems individual posters are having - these are usually ascribed to something getting in the way of the signal or bad antenna placement, issues which are more important in DTV than analog, and which are sure to continue causing grief to OTA viewers going forward. <br /><br />But whatever is still going on out there, it doesn't seem to be attracting much journalistic attention. For instance, the last update that I was aware of from Nielsen concerning DTV stragglers (those who had not yet converted) was on July 29th (98.9% adoption rate at that time). The <a href="http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/dtv-adoption-now-above-99-in-u-s/">September 4 follow-up</a> - which updates that percentage to 99.4% - wasn't reported on (I just found it a couple of minutes ago). Of course, with those kinds of numbers, that pretty much is the end of that story.<br /><br />Which means I really don't have much to report on these days. I will keep looking, and if I find a story that provides a significant update (or an interesting piece of analysis dealing with how DTV has changed TV viewing), I'll post it here - but I have no idea how often (or even if) that will happen. If you know of ongoing problems or other developments in your area, please leave a comment on this post.<br /><br />I do intend to keep this site up as a historical record. For almost three years (starting in March 2006) I produced a monthly update showing how this story evolved over time, and it may be of some interest to researchers. For most of that time, those monthly updates also chronicled the rise of HDTV, so that material may of some interest as well. Other than that (and the possible occasional post as I mentioned above), my work is done here. <br /><br />Thanks for dropping by, it's been fun!Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-58150930686103663652009-07-30T13:25:00.002-04:002009-07-30T13:47:01.293-04:00One More MilestoneWith the Nielsen people saying that DTV-unready homes are <a href="http://televisionbroadcast.com/article/84568">down to 1.1%</a> of the total, we have now cut the number in half from the one that was reported two days after the transition.<br /><br />However, that remaining 1.1% is about to lose out on one important transition tool - the converter box coupon <a href="http://televisionbroadcast.com/article/84568">ends tomorrow,</a> (7/31/09 at midnight) so if anyone has been holding off, now's the time to <a href="https://www.dtv2009.gov/">make the application.</a><br /><br />Of course, if you've been living without broadcast TV for more than a month already (and with the analog "nightlights" having gone out weeks ago) perhaps you've discovered that you just don't need it. <br /><br />This leaves reception problems as the largest remaining issue. I'll update that situation in the near future.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-31201490676321566892009-06-28T17:37:00.003-04:002009-06-28T17:41:58.145-04:00The Unfinished Work of the DTV TransitionIf you go by the mass media, the story of the DTV transition has been told. I'll be surprised if I see another story on its aftermath on network news. Perhaps there'll be a small bit in the Business/Tech section of the newspaper (by and large, the story <i>never</i> graduated from there to the front page).<br /><br />And yet there is still work to be done.<br /><br />The two most obvious areas involve hooking up the stragglers and restoring lost reception. The stragglers issue will probably resolve itself fairly soon. Already we have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/technology/18digital.html?_r=1">gone from 2.5 million non-DTV households</a> on June 14 to <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/295702-Nielsen_2_1_Million_Homes_Still_Unready_After_DTV_Transition.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">2.1million on June 21,</a> a gain of 400,000 households in a week. Luckily for the remainder, <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279396-Locke_Coupons_Still_Available.php">coupons are still available</a> until July 31.<br /><br />Loss of reception may take somewhat longer, even though we <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/03/03/daily.2/">had</a> <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101541768">plenty of</a> <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/04/30/daily.7/">advance</a> <a href="http://www.modsci.com/wordpress/?p=11">warning</a> from the experience of all those stations that transitioned between Feb 17 and June 12.<br /><br />From everything I've read, it is clear that there is one major source of reception problems - stations <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/26/daily.4/">going back to VHF</a> from their original DTV assignments in the UHF spectrum. On the surface, this was an attractive idea for stations - VHF signals take a lot less power (thus, a lot less money) to go the same distance as UHF - but they are also far more subject to interference. <br /><br />This has been causing unhappiness all over the place - just check out the comments attached to <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/18/daily.5/">this TVNewsday story</a>. "All over the place" definitely includes <i>my</i> place (the Boston area), as shown by <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/06/17/signal_glitch_weakens_whdh_tvs_digital_strength/">the problems afflicting WHDH,</a> our NBC affiliate. In this case, the station has actually had to reactivate their UHF signal and simulcast it with the VHF.<br /><br />Elsewhere, the situation <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-dtv-transition-fcc-jun16,0,3170193.story">in Chigago</a> <a href="http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/homepage/20090617_FCC_steps_in_to_fix_Phila__digital_TV_problems.html">and Philadelphia</a> was bad enough for the FCC to send staffers to look at "all available options" to resolve things. I'm not sure what all those options are, but one thing that was done in Philly was to allow station WPVI to <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/295493-WPVI_Gets_Power_Boost_From_FCC.php">boost power</a> to the maximum (30.6 kW) allowed in that region. How effective power boosts will be nationwide remains to be seen. If that doesn't fix it, what will? Perhaps <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/231907-FCC_Provides_Rules_For_DTV_Fill_Ins.php">more translators?</a>The FCC does report some success with its recommended technique of <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279392-FCC_Pushing_Double_Re_scan_.php">double re-scanning</a> (where you clear out the box by unplugging the antenna, re-scanning, unplugging the box itself, re-connting everything and then doing a second re-scan). This part of the story is not nearly over.<br /><br />There are other issues as well. A small number of stations are actually not ready to transmit digitally and have gone dark (most are owned by one company in bankruptcy). The <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/277999-FCC_Says_35_Stations_To_Go_Dark_June_12.php">original Broadcasting & Cable article</a> listed 35 stations, but four stations <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/278577-FCC_Cuts_Four_Stations_From_June_12_Dark_List.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">were later cut</a> from the list. The FCC says it expects the stations not in bankruptcy to return to the air by the end of this year.<br /><br />Challenges for some bring opportunities to others. In this case, the problems facing stations in getting their over-the-signal out to their usual OTA audience is creating an opportunity for cable, as <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/278382-DTV_Transition_Has_Driven_5_Of_TV_Households_To_Pay_Service_Survey.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">a recent survey</a> shows that 5% of US television households have already switched because of the transition, a number we can expect to rise if the current problems are not addressed soon.<br /><br />Then we have the issue of DTV and portable devices that have previously received analog transmissions (different from "mobile DTV" that's been designed from scratch for handheld devices) . While I am just now beginning to see ads for DTV-enabled portable TVs (there was a $99 set advertised in today's CVS flyer), the installed base of portable TVs (long popular amongst campers and tailgators) has a problem - you need a battery-operated box that is small enough not to negate the advantages of portability. And if you're a camper who has installed your TV in your RV, you have <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/12/daily.12/">your own set of issues.</a> Then there are even smaller devices - radios that receive the audio portion of TV broadcasts. To illustrate, <a href="http://blog.broadcastengineering.com/brad/2009/06/22/analog-died-while-i-was-running/">here's a story</a> from someone who thought he was completely prepared for the transition, only to find something missing the first time (after June 12) he took his clip-on radio with him while running.<br /><br />It should also be remembered that there is, in fact, still some analog broadcasting left, namely the low power stations. These have small audiences that have just gotten smaller, what with many converter boxes not having analog pass-through circuitry and with cable (which doesn't have to carry LP stations) nibbling away at the OTA audience. Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps has just <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/210478-Copps_Seeks_Money_for_Next_DTV_Transition.php">requested $1 million</a> in part to prepare for these stations' transition (and the timetable for that is something I need to do more research on). <br /><br />So, in fact, the story is not quite over yet, and there are still things to talk about. I don't have any regular publishing schedule in mind, but as significant events occur in the "wrapping up" of the above stories, I will come on from time to time to update their status. Thanks for reading!Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-66510039562991684892009-06-17T00:07:00.001-04:002009-06-17T00:10:17.288-04:00News From All OverFirst, a couple of updates. The "truly huge number" I was expecting from the main FCC call center in fact turned out to be pretty big (317,450) but actually only about twice as big as the previous day's record (based on reports as of 2 PM, I had expected it to be three times as big or greater).<br /><br />One thing I left off the "signoffs" post was the most impressive production of them all, yet not tied to any particular station. I'm talking about <b>Univision's</b> <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/279175-Univision_Counts_Down_DTV_Transition_In_Times_Square.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">half-hour DTV countdown special</a> from 11:30 to midnight from Times Square. This featured a Spanish-language countdown screen on the same building that counts down New Year's Eve, plus extensive reports on DTV mixed in with some of their regular news. I'm going to save this one in hopes that someday I'll know enough Spanish to translate it for myself.<br /><br />As far as the rest of the news goes, rather than trying to weave a narrative around many overlapping accounts, I'm just going to give you a list of stories I haven't used yet from Friday and Saturday. Here it is:<br /><br />A story on businesses that will <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/12/daily.1/">benefit from the transition</a>.<br /><br />A report of the <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279248-First_NYC_Stations_Sign_Off.php">first NYC stations</a> to go off the air Friday.<br /><br />What happened when <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279263-Raycom_Completes_Digital_Switch.php">Raycom's 44 stations</a> left the air.<br /><br />Various Friday reactions, <a href="http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/stations-turn-off-analog-signals-as-digital-tv-deadline-arrives/?hpw">covered by the New York Times</a> <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279278-Viewers_DTV_Reaction_Muted_to_Noisy.php">and Broadcasting & Cable</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/13/daily.1/">FCC Reaction.</a><br /><br />NAB comments about <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279321-NAB_DTV_Call_Volume_Low_to_Moderate.php">call volume to stations</a> (as of 8 PM)<br /><br />Saturday overviews from <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/12/AR2009061203831.html">the Washington Post</a>, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124480704993709781.html">Wall Street Journa</a>l, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/13/digital.TV/index.html">CNN</a> and <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10264369-94.html">CNET</a>.<br /><br />A <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/12/daily.7/">TVNEWSDAY editorial</a> commending broadcasters and government on a job well done.<br /><br />Another <b>New York Times</b> story covering the author's <a href="http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/a-small-victory-over-the-digital-tv-gremlins/">efforts to get better reception</a>.<br /><br />And that's how things went. My next post will deal with the unfinished work of the transition (restoring lost reception, et al) and talk about the kinds of stories I'll still be looking to tell here. That could be this weekend, but more likely sometime later.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-45713971205460312982009-06-14T15:31:00.007-04:002009-06-14T18:57:19.710-04:00Some Station Sign-OffsHere in Boston, everything just blinked out without fanfare, but thanks to the diligent posters at AVS Forum's <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1154832">Stories of the Digital Transition</a> thread, I now have a nice little collection of station sign-off ceremonies to share with you. Here's the list:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm0vhW8lT-g&NR=1">Twin Cities Public Television</a> Hosted by the first person seen on KTCA in St. Paul, Minn. back in 1957.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ9KCQtWF-c">KCPQ 13 (Seattle, WA)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVeTB5tkGrM">KSTW 11 (Seattle, WA)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.wyff4.com/video/19734011/index.html">WYFF 4 (Columbia, SC)</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.myfoxcharlotte.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=8449915&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1">WCCB 18 (usually referred to as FOX Charlotte, Charlotte, NC)</a> Features Paul Stanley from KISS flipping the switch!<br /><br /><a href="http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/TV/images/WLTX-shutdown.mp4">WLTX 19 (Columbia, SC)</a> Picture fades to an LP analog station's very fuzzy signal.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/47915287.html?video=YHI&t=a">WTMJ 4 (Milwaukee, WI)</a> Switch thrown by the second engineer hired back in 1947.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fox6now.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3859878">WITI, FOX 6 (Milwaukee, WI)</a> Features the national anthem over a station-history montage.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wisn.com/video/19738428/index.html">WISN 12 (Milwaukee, WI)</a> Features footage from previously-aired station-history documentary, plus an old test pattern.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHnz7tlgEpE">WMVS 10/WMVT 26 (Milwaukee, WI)</a> Features 1957 first-day signon, national anthem over scenic montage, old test pattern and comments by station manager.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-video-stan-flips-swtich,0,6539098.worldnowvideo">KTLA 5 (Los Angeles, CA)</a> Another station vet throws the switch. Reporter incorrectly states that TVs with converter boxes will receive HD!<br /><br />In addition, you can find lots of videos (from Feb. 17 to now) by going to YouTube and searching on "analog shutdown".<br /><br />My next post will be in the next few days and consist of another link list of stories generated since Friday. The one after that will deal with the problems some people are having (such as reception). After that? We'll see...Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-2216781806509638132009-06-14T00:30:00.003-04:002009-06-14T00:36:39.395-04:00Just like Y2K???So America woke up to no analog (full-power analog, that is) this morning (it's still Saturday as I write this, although it will be past midnight when I post it) . How smoothly did that go? Well, of the three major network newscasts, only <b>CBS</b> even bothered to run a story about it today. Mostly it was about how people who had waited to the last minute to act were now rushing around buying boxes and such, although it also made a slight mention of reception problems and showed Americorps volunteers coming to the aid of a grateful senior citizen. <b>ABC</b> and <b>NBC</b> didn't even consider it worth their while.<br /><br />Part of the CBS story had <b>FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein</b> saying that the transition had come out more like Y2K than the Bay of Pigs, and I've already seen "Y2K" linked to the transition in that they were both "non-events".<br /><br />And there is one way in which that's true. In my programming days, I worked on a Y2K project (for a large insurance company), and lemme tell ya - the general public has <i>absolutely no idea</i> of the enormous amount of time and effort that went into making Y2K a non-event. That's what we got for succeeding - no one thinks we actually accomplished anything.<br /><br />So I wouldn't be completely shocked if history remembers this the same way, and future generations wonder why we "wasted" so much money on coupon programs, PSAs and so forth. Trust me, if we hadn't they'd be wondering <i>why</i> we hadn't taken action.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-16802671818250108242009-06-13T00:48:00.001-04:002009-06-13T00:49:54.493-04:00Early ReturnsBy the time I finish this post, the analog age will be over. But for now, I'll just deal with the information I have so far, and deal with the rest later.<br /><br />In general, the terminations we've seen today seem to be going the way of earlier terminations - lots of calls, but mostly from people who need help with the process, not people who have been taken by surprise. As anyone familiar with human nature would guess, there've been plenty of procrastinators, with <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279210-NTIA_319_990_Coupon_Requests_Thursday.php">almost 320,000 coupon requests</a> coming through on Thursday (that's a week or so without TV right there). Call volume to the FCC has been furious, with <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279280-FCC_Gets_Earful_On_DTV.php">over 120,000 calls</a> logged by 2 PM (the day before, there had been 37,187 calls by that time, but 149,206 for the whole day, which suggests a truly huge final number for Friday). In fact, they had to <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279276-FCC_Adds_1_200_More_Operators.php">add another 1,200 operators</a> after FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell tested the system and couldn't get through for 20 minutes.<br /><br />But both at the FCC and at <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/12/daily.10/">this No. Carolina call center,</a> the calls were far more about rescanning, hookup problems and so forth. As stated above, a very small percentage of the callers were unaware of what was going on.<br /><br />While I'm still curious to see what tomorrow brings (many stations waited until 11:59 to switch off), especially in Los Angeles <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dtv-unprepared11-2009jun11,0,3448247.story">with its 250,000 unprepared</a> households, so far people appear to be taking this in stride.<br /><br />More info tomorrow, including a special post collecting some sign-off ceremonies (although sadly none from Boston - I'm disappointed in us).Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-14750889070720278272009-06-12T09:41:00.005-04:002009-06-12T10:29:40.982-04:00Today's The Day - Sources (and One Answer)Going through my visitor logs (biggest day yet, as you can imagine), I find the most common search query leading people here is "what time is this happening?". The simple answer is that it varies by station, and some have undoubtably happened already. From what I've seen, there should be a lot of turnoffs around lunchtime, dinnertime and finally at 11:59 tonight. There's been a certain amount of confusion as to what all the coverage referencing "midnight" referred to. It's the one that comes between Friday and Saturday, not Thursday and Friday.<br /><br />There are two places I would keep checking today and over the next few days. One is the <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1105820">AVS Forum transition thread</a> [now LOCKED, see update below] I mentioned in my last post. I expect that people will be contributing local reactions from all over the country there. Another is the AVS Forum "OTA" (for Over The Air) thread for your area (not all areas have one). Go to the <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=453241">thread index</a> to have a look (if there's no "OTA" thread for your area, check the "HDTV" thread instead). <br /><br />That's all for the moment!<br /><br />UPDATE: The AVS transition thread mentioned above has been LOCKED. Two new threads have been started for news starting today - <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1154832">Stories of the DTV Transition</a> for first-person accounts and <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1154822">A Day of Reckoning</a> for general discussion. Check them out!Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-73199074466152888522009-06-11T21:00:00.005-04:002009-06-11T21:09:11.326-04:00One Day Out - Final PreparationsTomorrow is the day when analog TV broadcasting ceases. During these last few days of the analog era, everyone involved has been making their final preparations. What have they been up to?<br /><br />The FCC certainly has been busy fulfilling its oversight role in the process. They recently <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/278114-FCC_Gets_10_Million_More_For_Call_Centers.php">got an additional $10 million</a> to fund their call center (the one that got 55,000 calls during the national soft test on May 21) at full strength (4,000 operators) beyond June 16 (on the grounds that it's better to be overprepared than underprepared). They also held a <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/278041-FCC_Hosts_Final_DTV_Meeting.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">final status meeting</a> on June 3. At that meeting, officials stated that were sufficient coupon funds and dealer inventory to satisfy consumer demand for converter boxes. Concerns were also raised, among them seasonal interference effects (acting chairman <b>Michael Copps's</b> own box started having problems after the leaves began showing up on the trees in springtime). There was also a plea for more stations to "nightlight" (use the analog signal for DTV education rather than simply switch off) for up to 30 days after tomorrow (here in the Boston DMA, the <b>PBS, CBS</b> and <b>ABC</b> affiliates will be nightlighting).<br /><br />The FCC has also been issuing final instructions to TV stations, <a href="http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2009/06/articles/digital-television/fcc-clarifies-commencement-of-dtv-on-june-12th/">clarifying the conditions</a> under which they can do their 6/12 shutdown <i>before</i> midnight, letting them know that they can <a href="http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2009/06/articles/digital-television/fcc-provides-guidance-on-dtv-call-signs/">choose between the "-TV" and "-DT" suffix</a> for their channel name and <a href="http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2009/06/articles/digital-television/fcc-reminds-stations-of-obligation-to-man-the-phones-and-assist-viewers/">reminding them of their responsibilities</a> to assist viewers during the transition.<br /><br />They've also partnered with vendors, stations, libraries and consumer groups to set up a large network of walk-in help centers (vendors will also be providing installation assistance). You can check what's available in your area by <a href="http://www.dtv.gov/map.htm?l=EN">going here</a> and doing a zip-code search. In addition, they've <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/03/27/daily.6/">partnered with AmeriCorps</a> (a national service program for people between the ages of 18 and 24) to provide assistance for groups such as low-income individuals, minority and rural communities and others.<br /><br />Assistance is coming from other areas as well, such as Boston's <b>Commision on Affairs of the Elderly</b> (<a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/06/11/making_the_signal_switch_without_much_static/">this Boston Globe article</a> details a visit from one of the installers).<br /><br />In my last post, I pointed out that one reason the June 12 date held was that no one in Congress would support a further delay. That doesn't mean that no one is worried, 'tho. <b>Sen. Jay Rockefeller</b> (the main architect of the original delay) is still <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/278533-Rockefeller_Urges_Government_To_Help_Consumers_With_DTV_Transition.php">urging the various parties</a> to do more for the consumer, raising the issue of in-home assistance with the FCC, possible converter box shortages with the <b>NTIA (National Telecommunications & Information Administration</b>, the overseers of the coupon box program) and asking the <b>NAB (National Association of Broadcasters</b>) to urge that at least one station in all 202 eligible markets to remain on in "nightlight" mode (that's twice as many as actually are doing so at the moment).<br /><br />Speaking of broadcasters, they've been busy as well. The NAB <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/279093-NAB_1_75_Million_Unready_for_DTV_Transition.php">held its own press conference</a> today, and produced a figure of 1.75 million unready, much lower than <b>Nielsen's</b> final figure of 2.8 million (they did this by taking <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/06/11/daily.8/">another survey's</a> 2.2 million and deducting 440,000 households that were in the process of getting ready. <br /><br />Broadcasters have also been informing their audiences over the air. I checked out today's late-afternoon newscasts to see how my local stations were doing. <b>WBZ 4</b> had the best report, including mentions of possible reception problems and a list of local walk-in centers. They also were the only ones to mention their own shutoff time (12:30 PM). <b>WCVB 5</b> also had a pretty good report. <b>WHDH 7</b> had a shorter report, and if you relied on it you would think that the entire country was "switching to digital" at exactly midnight tomorrow (no mention that digital broadcasting exists today, or that other stations had transitioned months ago). I didn't see <b>FOX 25's</b> entire newscast, so perhaps I missed their story (I'll check their late news), or perhaps the fact that they themselves transitioned earlier makes this a less important story for them.<br /><br />All of this activity, of course, is to deal with the remaining population of unready viewers. The <a href="http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/media-alert-dtv-june-10-2009.pdf">final Neilsen numbers</a> (2.8 million households, as mentioned above) include a breakdown of unreadiness by area, and you can see that the Los Angeles area clearly has the most, with over 250,000 (almost a tenth of the total). Perhaps that's why acting FCC chair Copps <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/278919-Copps_Heads_To_L_A_To_Promote_DTV_Transition.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">made a special visit</a> there on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm proud to say that Boston/Manchester fares much better with 27,704 (1.15%), although the Centris study I've mentioned a number of times indicates that our reception problems may be worse than most.<br /><br />There's one more player in this game, one that stands to benefit from issues such as poor reception - cable & satellite. For cable's part, <b>Kyle McSlarrow</b> of the <b>NCTA (National Cable Television Association</b>) <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/278556-Cable_We_re_DTV_Switch_Ready.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">assured a "rapid response"</a> to any issues that arise concerning operators' coverage of digital broadcast signals (he also had some things to say about allegations that the cheap basic service they are offering to broadcast refugees was being used as a hook to upsell new customers on more-expensive services).<br /><br />And that's how things look right now, with the beginning of The Day coming in less than three hours. Tomorrow and the days immediately after should be interesting! I'll be passing on what I see as often as I can.<br /><br />(NOTE: Thanks again to the posters of the <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1105820">AVS Forum transition thread</a>, who have uncovered a lot of great stuff, and the <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=28454&pp=30">Boston/OTA thread</a> as well.)Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-48411903816254905262009-06-05T20:56:00.003-04:002009-06-05T23:47:40.746-04:00One Week Out - Making It OfficialIf there was anyone left out there still harboring the hope (or illusion) that some mighty wail of anger and despair would rise up from the <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/05/28/daily.5/">still unprepared</a> and knock the transition off course again at the very last moment, those hopes have just been conclusively dashed <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/278388-President_Urges_DTV_Readiness_Before_It_s_Too_Late.php">by the President himself.</a><br /><br />Speaking of making things official, the FCC has clarified the fact that while stations have to cease analog transmissions at midnight on the 12th, they don't have to wait until then - they can quit <a href="http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/2009/06/articles/digital-television/fcc-clarifies-commencement-of-dtv-on-june-12th/">any time on the 12th,</a> unless the new digital assignment interferes with an analog neighbor which has not left the air yet (in which case they have to wait until that station vacates).<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/278483-Staggering_Toward_DTV_June_12_Cut_Offs_Vary.php">this Broadcasting & Cable article,</a> we'll be down to 447 analog stations by 6 PM next Friday. After midnight, 99 or so stations will run "nightlight" service (i.e. transition info only) for as long as 30 additional days. And then that will be it!Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-66640733298707511012009-05-26T00:24:00.002-04:002009-05-26T00:33:57.531-04:00Why June 12 Has HeldWith the only reported reaction to the <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/231465-FCC_Proposing_Multiple_National_Soft_Tests_May_21.php">May 21st national soft test</a> of unconverted stations having been <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/05/dtv_soft_test_results_in_recor.php">a one-day spike</a> in FCC hotline calls (between three and four times as many as on a usual day), it's pretty clear that there is just about zero chance of the analog shutdown being delayed past the current date of June 12. The inevitable confusion and anger over reception loss (which I think will be a bigger problem than any remaining lack of awareness) will just have to be lived through until technological fixes (signal repeaters, power boosts) come through and/or people make the necessary adjustments in their behavior (going cable/satellite, getting their shows online, investing in a better antenna, giving up TV altogether).<br /><br />When the original delay happened, I read many comments (both in board posts and in the comment sections attached to articles) from people who were convinced that we would have the same situation to deal with now that we did back in February. But things did not work out that way, and here are some reasons why.<br /><br /><b>1) INCREASED READINESS</b> - During the debate a few months ago over the original February-to-June delay, it was commonplace to hear people state that those who were not prepared after all this time would surely be just as unprepared on June 12. This struck me a strange argument at the time, seeing as how there were <i>several million</i> people on the waiting list for converter boxes at the time. These people had taken action, they were just a bit late. And in the last few months, the DTV-unreadiness figures being released on a regular basis by the <b>Neilsen</b> rating people have borne that out. As the waiting list has cleared out, the percentage of households deemed unready for the transition has dropped from <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/02/18/daily.19/">February's 5+ million</a> households to <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/05/dtvunready_households_down_to.php">the May 13 figure</a> of 3.3 million. However, as the figures in <a href="http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/nielsendtv050109.pdf">this Neilsen press release show</a>, progress has slowed recently and we appear to be getting down to the true hard core of unreachables who may not be willing to do anything until they absolutely have to. <br /><br /><b>2) LACK OF POLITICAL WILL</b> - Though there have never been any truly grass-roots organized protests against the transition, many in Congress have previously voiced concerns on their constituents' behalf, concerns which culminated in the February delay. However, that delay required bipartisan cooperation to pass the Senate, and the support of <b>Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson</b> was key. But Sen. Hutchinson <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/190278-DTV_Date_Not_Moving_Hutchison_Tells_Locke.php">made clear back in March</a> that once was enough and that she would not be on board this time. Perhaps that's one reason why no one else in Congress (at least that I've read about) is willing to entertain an idea that would be fairly certain to go down in flames.<br /><br /><b>3) EARLY TERMINATIONS</b> - One of the things that has helped lessen the fear of a total shutdown is the lack of any truly serious disruptions from the terminations we've already had, terminations which have already removed more than a third of American stations from the analog ranks. As I pointed out in <a href="http://dtvswitch.blogspot.com/2009/05/next-step.html">my last post</a> there have been a number of articles about large numbers of calls to various hotlines when stations transition, but little reporting about continuing problems in the weeks and months after. That's not to say that there aren't any, but apparently these don't rise to the level that would give serious pause to our lawmakers. <br /><br />So it appears that we will find out soon if the large urban centers (which have been mostly spared in the early-termination process) will present larger problems than we've seen so far.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-19510628086912384782009-05-14T00:05:00.004-04:002009-05-14T00:09:23.353-04:00The Next StepThis is just a quick post to take note of the next notable date in the transition - May 21, the date of the FCC's proposed <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/231465-FCC_Proposing_Multiple_National_Soft_Tests_May_21.php"> national soft test</a> of all unconverted stations. This story came out on May 5, and while it's important to note that this plan is entirely voluntary, as of two days ago the FCC and broadcasters appear to be <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/11/AR2009051103063.html">working together</a> on this. The plan appears to be for three five minute tests (7:30 AM, 12:30 PM and 6:30 PM). I've had my doubts about five-minute tests in the past, but if every station in town is running them at the same time, that should get some additional attention.<br /><br />As previously noted, the last notable date was April 16, when 75 stations transitioned. I was only able to find <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_12160682">this one story</a> regarding that, in which the <i>Denver Post</i> reports that the FCC hotline got a lot more calls than anticipated (and leads with an example of reception problems). We've seen these kinds of stories before. What we don't see are the follow-up stories that tell us how things are going a month or two later (which would give us a better idea of how things will go on and after June 12).<br /><br />So, can you fill in the gaps? Have you or anyone you know (friends, family, co-workers) lost your signal (caught by surprise or reception problems) in the ongoing transition? Was that situation resolved, and if so, how long did it take?Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-12739789771958656802009-04-12T16:01:00.001-04:002009-04-12T16:03:17.865-04:00More Early Analog Terminations ThursdayI still owe this blog my thoughts on whether the latest "hard" date for termination of analog broadcasting (June 12) is going to hold. That will be forthcoming sometime in the next few weeks.<br /><br />For now, I'd like to point out that we're within days of another batch of early terminations. Actually, as <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-589A3.pdf">this new FCC list</a> shows, a small group of stations (I count 13) transitioned on March 30 and 31, followed another eight in the first week of April. The rest of the list shows the 137 stations (158 minus 21) that will be transitioning before June 12. Of these 137, 75 will transition on April 16 (this coming Thursday), the first day allowed under the <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-19A1.pdf">latest FCC order</a> related to the transition (the small group of stations that transitioned at the end of March and first week of April were noncommercial/educational stations that were granted an exception for financial distress reasons). <br /><br />Looking at the whole list, you can see a strong tilt towards <b>PBS</b>, smaller networks such as <b>ION</b> and <b>TBN</b> (religious broadcaster <b>Trinity Broadcasting Network</b>) and independent stations. This is because the aforementioned FCC order specified that early terminators either had to not be Big Four affiliates or that after they terminated there would still be one Big Four affiliate available in analog in their market (these rules were behind their <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/196011-FCC_Denies_Nexstar_DTV_Hardship_Waivers.php">rejection of two early-termination requests</a>). The FCC is also <a href="http://www.broadcastlawblog.com/archives/digital-television-fcc-adds-more-dtv-consumer-education-requirements.html">imposing stiffer consumer education requirements</a> including the possibility of smaller reception areas or the need for a new antenna. Which is to say that April 16 should be pretty much of a non-event, reaction-wise.<br /><br />Among the remaining 900+ stations that are waiting for June 12 to leave the air are the kind of stations the FCC does <i>not</i> want to leave the air yet - the Big Four stations in our largest markets. I continue to believe that we would have a better idea of what June 12 will bring (assuming that it is the real end date) if at least one of these markets (like Boston or Detroit or Chicago) went all-digital before then, but that's clearly not going to happen, so whatever the FCC thinks we're still not prepared for, we'll have to deal with it all at once.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-43352024569405792892009-02-19T09:53:00.011-05:002009-02-19T18:12:35.647-05:00421 Stations Transition, A Nation YawnsSo far, so not all <i>that</i> bad.<br /><br />Reports are coming in from all over, and most of them are fairly positive. Many of them deal with a bunch of locations at once, so let me pull out a few interesting pieces of data from these <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/02/18/daily.2/">TV Newsday,</a> <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/174437-DTV_Switch_Reports_Indicate_Smooth_Early_Analog_Shutoff.php">Broadcasting & Cable,</a> <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/02/dtv_switch_early_reports_encou.php">TV Week</a> and <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100831113">NPR</a> articles.<br /><br />When it comes to large-scale turnoffs, we are not dealing for the most part with the biggest urban centers. We have Providence, but not Boston or New York. San Diego, but not Los Angeles. Scranton, but not Philadelphia. Overall, the FCC seems to want to give the biggest cities (which may have a larger concentration of poor and/or non-English-speaking residents) the most time to prepare. According to <i>TV Newsday</i>:<blockquote>The most populous places where many or all major-network stations are cutting analog this week include San Diego and Santa Barbara, Calif.; La Crosse and Madison, Wis.; Rockford and Peoria, Ill.; Sioux City, Iowa; Waco, Texas; Macon, Ga.; Scranton, Pa.; Rhode Island and Vermont.</blockquote><br />The news from San Diego sounds pretty good, according to both <i>Broadcasting & Cable</i> and <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-digitaltv19-2009feb19,0,5471875.story">this Los Angeles Times story,</a> with a modest amount of calls, mostly from people who already had boxes and just needed technical advice (such as the need to rescan), although there were antenna-related calls as well. This also seems to have been the case in Pennsylvania, according to a quote in the <i>B&C</i> article from an official in the <b>Pennsylvania Broadcasters Association.</b> Similar statements were made by officials from the <b>Michigan Association of Broadcasters,</b> the <b>Florida Association of Broadcasters</b> (whose CEO made a Y2K reference), the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, <b>Mark III Media</b> (operating out of Caspar, Wyoming) and <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/174406-NAB_Says_DTV_Calls_Aren_t_Flooding_Switchboards.php">the National Association of Broadcasters.</a> There were also articles taking encouragement from the experience of <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/02/dtv_switch_wrsp_hitches_minima.php">Springfield, IL,</a> <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/02/transition_running_smoothly_so.php">Fort Myers, FL</a> and <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090219/BUSINESS01/902190339/1003/NEWS">Nashville, TN</a><br /><br />Nationally, the FCC hotline <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/02/19/daily.18/">actually had fewer calls Wednesday</a> than <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/02/18/daily.21/">the day before.</a>Again, the failure of consumers to understand the need to re-scan for new channels was an issue, causing the FCC to <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/174450-FCC_Advises_On_Channel_Re_Scanning.php?nid=2226&source=link&rid=5926572">issue a consumer advisory</a> on the subject.<br /><br />It wasn't all roses, 'tho. President <b>Michelle Vetterkind</b> of the <b>Wisconsin Broadcasters Association</b> reported that stations have been getting calls "in the hundreds", but characterized the callers as frustrated rather than angry. Call volume was particularly heavy in Providence, with one call center worker telling <i>TV Newsday</i> that he kept having to explain to callers that the transition was not just a scheme to extort money out of them. The biggest issue for callers appeared to be antennas.<br /><br />Antennas were also an issue in Vermont, due to the hilly terrain (which I experienced from family visits growing up) causing difficulties in UHF reception (which is where several channels were moving to).<br /><br />There was a certain amount of date-related confusion reported (although <b>Lori Needham</b> of the <b>Rhode Island Broadcasters Association</b> said that this was not a problem in Rhode Island). The mass media just barely managed to cover the June delay in the first place, the fact that hundreds of stations were going ahead anyway got much less coverage than that (of the network news shows I've been watching, I saw one mention lasting about five seconds). And I haven't seen any TV news stories on the Feb 17 moves. Overall, this remains a story for the Business/Tech section of the newspaper.<br /><br />I also got the impression that converter-box sales have picked up dramatically in the affected areas.<br /><br />BTW, if you're a cable/satellite viewer like me and wonder what it was like to see an analog station to sign off, <a href="http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/what-the-end-of-analog-tv-looks-like/">here's a video</a> of three signoffs (from <i>The Orlando Sentinel</i> via <i>The New York Times).</i><br /><br />P.S. Thanks to <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=24400615&postID=482151168660828641">the commenters from the last post</a> for their field reports. How are people in your town reacting to all this?Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-4821511686608286412009-02-17T23:27:00.005-05:002009-02-18T00:03:41.299-05:00It's Feb. 18. Tell Your Analog Shutdown Stories Here.It's now Feb. 18 (despite what the date/time of the post says, that's when I <i>started</i> writing), what was supposed to be The Day After the digital TV transition, the first day of the post-analog era. That was until the DTV Delay Act pushed the transition back to June 12.<br /><br />But in many TV markets, a fair number of stations are now gone, thanks to the early termination procedures set down by the FCC. According to the <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-288530A1.pdf">final FCC count</a> released on the 16th, the number of stations that had dropped their regular analog programming before the 17th had risen to 220, supplemented by 421 yesterday, for a total of 641 (13 more than in my <a href="http://dtvswitch.blogspot.com/2009/02/ok-so-191-plus-491-minus-123-equals-559.html">previous post</a>).<br /><br />Please note that many of the 421 aren't going completely blank, but will be continuing in "nightlight" mode (broadcasting local news plus DTV education videos) for a period ranging between a couple of weeks and a couple of months. This should ease the confusion of people who might otherwise conclude that their TV was broken.<br /><br />What I would like to do is find out what the situation is in your area. How many stations have dropped analog altogether, how many are in "nightlight" mode and how many are unaffected so far? Has your local media run any stories on this? Do you know people who were caught off-guard (friends, family, co-workers)? Anyone you know (or you yourself) disappointed with your area's digital reception?<br /><br />I plan to do a follow-up post sometime Thursday trying to summarize what's known at that time, and will reflect your input as best I can. See you then!Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-57869455214431133392009-02-13T15:30:00.018-05:002009-02-15T14:52:50.055-05:00OK, So 190 Plus 491 Minus 123 Equals 558. Plus ???The count of stations that will be digital-only after midnight on Feb. 17 continues to change. After issuing their <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-6A1.pdf">initial list of regulations</a> for shutting analog on that date, they issued a <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A5.pdf">master list</a> of 1800 full-power stations, listing in red the 190 stations that are already digital-only and 491 new ones that were following the FCC's instructions (for a total of 681, or 37.8% of the total number full-power stations). However, the FCC also said that they could turn down some of those requests if public-interest considerations required it.<br /><br />They have now done so, issuing a <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-7A2.pdf">new list</a> of stations that are being challenged, and which will have to submit to additional regulations (spelled out in <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-7A1.pdf">their latest public notice),</a>and declare their willingness to do so by 6 PM today (Friday, Feb. 13). The list focuses on those areas where all (or at least the Big Four) stations in a market are terminating. The conditions are fairly daunting (among other things, providing educational assistance including consumer "walk-in" centers), and my gut feeling is that the FCC is trying to ensure that at least one station per DMA stays in analog until June 12 (the notice specifies that at least one station per DMA must commit to providing two months of "nightlite" service including demonstrations of how to install boxes etc.). Until we know how many stations are willing to comply, the count of stations that will be all-digital as of Feb. 18 is now 558 (just about 31% of the total). Still enough to make Feb. 17 a significant "dress rehearsal" for the overall transition.<br /><br />Monday is a holiday, so we may not have the final numbers until Tuesday (the 17th, yikes!) <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">UPDATE: SUN., FEB. 15</span> These aren't the <i>final</i> final figures, but pretty close. First of all, apparently there were only supposed to be 106 stations in the "challenged" list instead of the 123 originally listed (the differences attributed to unspecified technical considerations). The <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-245A1.pdf">FCC's notice of Feb. 13</a> announced that 53 (exactly half) of those 106 stations had agreed to the FCC's conditions (see above) and could go ahead and cease analog transmissions on Feb. 17; they are <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-245A2.pdf">listed here.</a> <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-245A4.pdf">Forty-three other stations</a> decided to continue in analog, while <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-245A3.pdf">ten others</a> would like to keep to Feb. 17 but could not meet all the conditions; the FCC will decide what to do with them shortly. So leaving those 10 out for the moment, we get 491 minus 53 for a total of 438 stations terminating analog service on Feb 17, joining 190 already in digital-only status for a total (so far) of 628 all-digital stations on Feb. 18, or just over 34.8% of total U.S. full-power stations.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">ADDL UPDATE/CORRECTION SUN., FEB. 15</span> At least some of these 438 will remain on the air as "nitelite" stations, broadcasting local news and transition info. An example (for Providence, RI) can be seen <a href="http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/02/only-two-tv-sta.html#447990">here.</a>Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-19800576440192892442009-02-08T12:37:00.019-05:002009-02-11T23:31:58.901-05:00What WILL Still Happen on Feb. 17?I was originally going to write something today about whether the recently passed DTV delay (to June 12) would be the <span style="font-style:italic;">final</span> delay, or whether the same drama would play out a few weeks before that date as well. That will be coming, but needs some more thought. What interests me the most at the moment is the question of how much analog is still going to be around by then.<br /><br />Officially, Feb. 17 no longer has the meaning it has had for the last few years, and given that that's the date on which U.S. auto makers are scheduled to report on their viability going forward, the transition might well have been a distinct also-ran in the news that night even if nothing had changed. But it still remains a landmark date for those paying attention, because many analog stations will still leave the air at that point.<br /><br />Just <i>how</i> many will do so is the question. Early on, there was a lot of discussion as to how the date change affected the rules for early sign-off, but that was <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/173682-FCC_Releases_Rules_For_Stations_Sticking_To_Feb_17_Date.php">settled by the FCC</a> on Thursday, Feb 5. Essentially, stations have until midnight this coming Monday (Feb 9) to let the FCC know if they would like to end broadcasting as originally scheduled on Feb 17 (previous declarations to this effect are no longer in force) and air at least 120 PSAs announcing the fact in those few remaining days. Beyond Feb 17, the early termination rules are based on the June 12 date, so that no stations can shut down between Feb 18 and March 13 due to the required notifications in advance of June 12. In addition, the FCC can deny requests if it feels that public safety is affected, as in cases where all stations in an area plan to shut down (and yes, they are looking at loss of <i>all</i> reception as a public safety problem). Another caveat is that stations shutting down on Feb 17 must remain on their temporary DTV assignment until June 12. The entire FCC ruling can be seen <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-6A1.pdf">here.</a><br /><br />So, how many stations will follow this procedure? I've seen a lot of announcements regarding this (from places like <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/02/04/daily.13/">Eastern Iowa,</a> <a href="http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_036223038.html">West Virginia,</a> <a href="http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/home/headlines/39111297.html">Charlottsville, VA,</a> Providence, RI <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/173716-More_Stations_Opt_for_Early_DTV_Switch.php">and</a> <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/02/06/daily.2/">others.</a> However, some of these may not have taken the new FCC rules into account, and the feeling I get from <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1105820">the AVS thread that is tracking all this</a> is that there may be some backtracking going on, so don't regard any of the above announcements as being set in stone. We know for a fact that many stations will be sticking it out until June 12 (unless their transmitter fails or something). This includes those stations that are <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/02/dtv_switch_many_stations_to_br.php">owned and operated by major networks</a> (the Big Four plus <b>Telemundo</b> - I haven't seen anything regarding the <b>CW</b>), plus many stations owned by station groups such as <b>Hearst-Argyle, Gannett</b> <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/173738-Meredith_Won_t_Pull_Plug_On_Analog.php">and Meredith Broadcasting.</a><br /><br />I suspect the number will still be pretty large. I'll put up a post on the morning of Feb. 18 which will be for the purpose of collecting reader reports as to what is happening in their area, and follow it late afternoon or early evening on Feb. 19 with a report on what we know at that point. Stay tuned!<br /><br /><b>UPDATE: WED. FEB 11 - </b> Thanks to the anonymous commenter for posting the URL of the FCC's master list of 1800 full-power stations (including the 491 stations that plan to go all-digital on Feb. 17th, joining the 190 who already are for a total or 681, or just over 37% of the total number of full-power stations). The list is <a href="http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A5.pdf">here</a> (the now or soon to be all-digital stations are listed in red). One caveat; as <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/02/10/daily.11/">this TV Newsday article</a> mentions, the FCC may still deny some of these 491 if they find that to be in the public interest. It's an interesting list, with some large markets like Boston staying with June 12 (for the big stations), while nearby Providence will have very little analog left after Feb. 17.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-53625369430692425062009-02-04T16:44:00.005-05:002009-02-04T18:50:31.440-05:00House Passes DTV Delay - June 12th It IsHere's the story <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/02/house_approves_dtv_delay_sends.php">from TV Week.</a><br /><br />Not much to say at this point. I'll post something regarding the chances for this to be the final delay sometime this weekend (probably Sunday). As stated previously, I don't know what my publication schedule is going forward just yet.<br /><br />UPDATE: And here's <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/173637-House_Passes_Bill_Pushing_DTV_Transition_Date_To_June_12.php">Multichannel News' take.</a>Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-4357327710831078582009-01-27T00:42:00.006-05:002009-01-28T20:20:45.612-05:00All Aboard For June 12th [NOT SO FAST!!]Well, with the <span style="font-style:italic;">unanimous</span> passage in the Senate of the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28863961/">DTV delay bill,</a> it doesn't look as though much can get in its way once it's taken up by the House. The old countdown is just about dead.<br /><br />I'll have more in the next few days on June 12th's chances for being the real,no fooling end to this process.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">UPDATE (WED, 1/28)</span>: Well, I guess I shouldn't assume. The House <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162898-DTV_Delay_Bill_Fails_To_Pass_In_House.php">has just defeated</a> the attempt to pass the delay bill "on suspension" (an expedited process that requires a 2/3rds vote). The vote totals (258 for delay to 168 against) show that the bill would pass easily if it went through the usual (i.e. full debate, amendments, etc.) process. The question is, will delay proponents reintroduce the measure with time running out? I have already seen one local station that had dropped its crawl start it up again.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-27133874769765555872009-01-25T11:34:00.004-05:002009-01-25T11:54:50.674-05:00One Month (???) and Counting: Will We or Won't We?Once again, the 17th has come and gone, and it's now less than one month until the date (2/17/09) on which analog broadcasting is scheduled to cease - but suddenly all of that is in doubt, with the "date certain" now anything but. This was supposed to be the 34th and last monthly recap of developments affecting the various players in this story (with more frequent updates leading up to The Day). However, 12 days ago I wrote a post describing <a href="http://dtvswitch.blogspot.com/2009/01/voices-in-opposition.html">how we got here</a> (followed by one on <a href="http://dtvswitch.blogspot.com/2009/01/in-hawaii-transition-goes-off-on.html">the Hawai'i transition</a>), so instead of trying to recap the whole last month I will just bring you up to speed on the various aspects of this story. Many of these links come courtesy of <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1105820">this AVS thread</a> that has been tracking the evolving situation - my thanks to all the posters who put them up originally.<br /><br />New voices were heard from on both sides of the delay debate. Current FCC Commissioners <b>Jonathan Adelstein</b> and <b>Michael Copps</b> joined the two former FCC Chairs <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162272-Commission_Dems_Say_DTV_Prep_Inadequate_Across_the_Board.php">in the pro-delay camp</a> (though fellow Commissioner <b>Robert McDowell</b> still believes the date can be saved, but only if the FCC itself is better able to handle the <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162185-FCC_s_McDowell_DTV_Phone_Prep_Inadequate_.php">avalanche of calls</a> that will be coming in). And <b>Verizon</b>, <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/162058-Obama_DTV_Plan_Splits_AT_T_Verizon.php">once opposed</a> to the switch, <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/162373-Verizon_Flip_Flops_On_DTV_Delay.php?nid=2226&rid=5926572&source=link">now has joined</a> fellow telco <b>AT&T</b> in support provided the delay is only for a few months.<br /><br />Those who want to keep the date as is include outgoing FCC Chair <b>Kevin Martin</b> (who would prefer to <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/01/11/fccs-kevin-martin-proposes-alternatives-for-delaying-dtv-transi/">just fix the coupon program</a>) <a href="http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20090109/WIRELESS/901099995/1099/obama-dtv-delay-request-would-postpone-700-mhz-buildout#">and wireless companies</a> (who not only paid a collective $20 billion in the spectrum auction, but much besides with their investments in next-generation mobile broadband technology). Also, I speculated in my previous post about the probable concerns of local broadcasters (additional costs to continuing to run two transmitters, etc.) - here are two articles <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/01/14/unexpected_static_over_digital_signal/">reflecting</a> <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/01/stations_dont_want_to_wait.php">those concerns</a>.<br /><br />But who supports or opposes this idea may be irrelevant fairly soon, as legislation to implement it is moving ahead. After <b>Sen. Jay Rockefeller's</b> bill (which did nothing but move the date to June 12) failed to pass by unanimous consent due to <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlGcM0ZxYV5dDtZR_9xfCPZnkFaAD95OFPO82">Republican opposition</a>, <b>Rep. Henry Waxman's</b> <a href="http://energycommerce.house.gov/images/stories/Documents/Markups/PDF/dtv-draft-waxman_004_xml.pdf">more comprehensive bill</a> (which includes provisions for fixing the coupon program, mandating the FCC to come up with a plan allowing some use of the auctioned spectrum by its new owners and allowing analog stations to leave the air voluntarily) was <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162487-DTV_Delay_House_Postpones_Mark_Up_of_Bill.php">put on hold</a>, and it was even thought that they might opt to just <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/162558-House_Committee_Reconsiders_Moving_DTV_Hard_Date.php">keep the date as is</a>. However, Sen. Rockefeller then managed to get <b>Kay Bailey Hutchinson</b> (the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee) to <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/162589-Rocky_II_Stations_Can_Go_DTV_Before_June_12.php">co-sponsor a new version</a> that also strengthens the coupon program and allows for voluntary shutdown. In addition, it allows for the use of the spectrum allocated for public safety (in response to <b>Sen. McCain's</b> concerns on that matter). My guess is that if this passes next week it will reactivate the Waxman bill in the House.<br /><br />So if these pass, it looks like what could come out of the conference committee is a bill that mandates some shutdowns (to clear pubic-safety spectrum and whatever the FCC orders for wireless broadband use) and allows other stations to leave the air voluntarily. What the eventual coupon provisions would be I can't say (Waxman's bill allows for an immediate backlog cleanout, but not Rockefeller's).<br /><br />All in all, this sounds like a really messy business. The "underserved" communities that are the focus of concern for those advocating their interests will still lose a lot of stations and the rest of the public will still have to have all of this explained to them. Some stations who want to shut down will not be able to (or to go to full power) because of analog stations that are still using the spectrum designated for the first station's final assignment. And there's this as well - Sen. Rockefeller has left open the possibility of future delays based on a definition of "substantial progress" that may not take into account the fact that a certain percentage of the population simply will not change unless they absolutely have to (more on this point below).<br /><br />So, given all the above is it still possible to save Feb. 17th? Though the next week or so may make the argument moot, let's look at the main objections cited by delay supporters.<br /><br />First, the coupon program. This is the easy part, authorize some more funds and mandate First Class delivery so that even those who are caught off guard can get their converters within days, not weeks. In addition, the <b>Obama</b> team was widely known and praised for its tech-savviness, so the new administration might be able to quickly modify the coupon site to allow for a printable coupon (with the necessary unique identifying info). They might even be able to set up a simple site for retailers to log in and get e-coupon authorization at the point of sale. Who knows, that might even allow the retailers to be reimbursed more quickly than when submitting all those pieces of plastic (<i>if</i> that's how it works, I admit that I don't know the actual process here).<br /><br />Secondly, reception difficulties with the converter boxes. This is a real problem, but I don't know how much better it can get by June 12. In addition, it was a revelation to me to learn that at least some of the problem is due to many stations' inability to get their digital signal to full power due to existing analog signals (maybe a commenter can explain the technical details here?), so that a full shutdown is in fact part of the solution to the reception problem. I certainly think it should be a post-shutdown priority to do as much as possible as quickly as possible to get those signals up to full power with as wide a coverage area as possible. In the meantime, I imagine that people will find it easier to muddle through with <i>some</i> stations than with none.<br /><br />Lastly, the fact that members of certain communities (the poor, the very old, nursing home residents, non-English speakers, etc.) may still somehow be unaware or unsure of what to do at this point. I've expressed my concerns about this all through the run of this blog, but I'm also aware that life is imperfect and there are limits to what you can do. The public education campaigns may have started late and may be flawed, but they have truly been at saturation levels the last few months - those who have chosen not to pay attention cannot completely escape responsibility for the results. And as stated above, there are those who will simply resist change as long as they can. If the once "certain" date is changed to accommodate them, what will make them take June 12th any more seriously? The government could easily find itself in a position similar to that of <b>Bullwinkle J. Moose</b> trying again and again to pull that rabbit out of his hat ("this time for sure"!). Though I've stated my dismay at the hostile tone taken by anti-delay commentators towards the unready, these are valid points that no amount of good intentions can sweep under the carpet. And as noted above, if the coupon program fix includes expedited delivery, that inconvience will be measured in days, not weeks. If not, perhaps the more effective path for those political activists that have built their lives around serving the underserved would be to focus their energies on stepping up and organizing their friends, neighbors and supporters to help deal with these problems as they arise in their communities. I'm sure there are converter box (and possibly even antenna) manufactures out there that would jump at the chance to reap the public relations benefits of partnering with such groups to provide free or heavily-discounted equipment to the most impacted (as well as loaning their best tech-support people to provide instruction and installation).<br /><br />My conclusion, then, is much as it was 12 days ago - the "least bad" option is to immediately fix the coupon program and forge on. But if I had to guess, we'll probably be dealing with most of these arguments again in a few months.<br /><br />In which case, what happens next with this blog? I was originally going to do a "Three Weeks and Counting" recap on or soon after Jan 27th, but the delay in getting out this post makes that extremely unlikely. If we are still counting down to Feb. 17th on Feb. 3rd, I will try to post a two-weeks-out recap ASAP, but if the date is moved before then I'm not sure what my publication schedule will be. I've been making my own "post-shutdown" plans for what I want to do with my spare time after wrapping up this blog, and I'm not sure if I have any big recaps left in me after The (Original) Day. I may just adopt the mode of most blogs and only comment on individual events or trends that seem to truly merit it - we'll see.<br /><br />And that's all I have for now!Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-84431985155342435522009-01-18T17:43:00.002-05:002009-01-18T17:47:28.126-05:00In Hawai'i, Transition Goes Off On ScheduleI haven't been giving the Hawai'i early (Jan 15th) transition the kind of extensive coverage I gave to Wilmington, N.C., mostly because the local media refused to treat it as anything that was very important (and there seemed to be little of the FCC handholding that was evident in Wilmington). Along the way, we found out that the early date was unconnected to any wish to be a pioneer, but rather due to the need to avoid conflict between the demolition of the analog towers and the nesting season of an endangered local bird species. <br /><br />This no-big-deal approach seems to be in force even after the fact. Just a couple of days after the transition, <a href="http://www.starbulletin.com/business/20090116_Hawaii_first_state_to_go_all-digital.html">this story</a> from the <b>Honolulu Star-Bulletin</b> is not linked from either from the site's front page, or even from the front page of the Business section where it appeared (I had to use site search to find it). Both the article and <a href="http://www.kitv.com/video/18493201/index.html">this video</a> from station <b>KITV</b> describe a fairly smooth process (the FCC call-center workers interviewed in the video reported fewer calls than expected). Most of the calls appear to concern problems with installation and use of converter boxes rather than a lack of awareness of the transition itself. But not everything was roses - one of the comments left on the newspaper article was from a reader who was unable to get <i>any</i> digital channels with her converter and who was now "resigned to watching movies and getting news from the computer". Still, there seems to be no sign of public outcry over missing channels.<br /><br />With the current uncertainties concerning the overall transition, the Hawai'ian experience will surely receive a lot of scrutiny in Washington. Whether they draw more lessons from the lack of outcry or from the experiences of people like the one who left the comment I just quoted remains to be seen.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-58311543133506980132009-01-13T18:00:00.004-05:002009-01-13T18:55:35.870-05:00Voices In OppositionThere's 35 days to go to the analog shutdown - or is there? <br /><br />When I started this blog nearly three years ago, one of things I wondered about the most was if or when we would begin to see signs of real opposition to the change. I never discounted this possibility, largely because I know a lot of people who have no particular interest in DTV and their opinion at the time I started out was that this date would surely be pushed back once again. As time went on it seemed they were being proven wrong. Though occasionally you would see a site such as <a href="http://rcrg.info/stopsnow/stopsnow.htm">stopsnow.rccrg.info</a> which would urge slowing things down if necessary to ensure that the poor and the old are not left behind, they didn't seem to be having much visibility or presence.<br /><br />Then came the first early transition (Wilmington, N.C.) and word that call centers were flooded with thousands of calls despite extensive handholding by the government (including the <i>giving away</i> of large numbers of converter boxes). Many of these calls concerned reception problems, and helped to raise awareness of the fact that many digital stations may end up with a smaller reception area than their analog predecessors. Still, there were no reports of widespread public outrage, and we have to assume that in the end people made the adjustments that had to be made (possibly including a new antenna) or decided instead that continuing to receive TV just wasn't worth the additional effort and expense.<br /><br />In the meantime, however, awareness of these reception problems has been growing (check the comments section of <a href="http://www.NowPublic.com/world/u-s-tvs-digital-deadline-obama-eras-first-consumer-crisis">this article.</a>) Anecdotally, I've been noticing more and more comments of that type in local (non-videophile) bulletin boards and from people I know. This problem in itself might not have led to a rethinking of the deadline, but then came another major stumbling block - the coupon program <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/01/digitaltv_coupon_program_runs.php">ran out of money</a> and <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6628109.html">more than a million</a> people signed up for the program's waiting list within a few days (with hundreds of thousands of new requests coming in daily). Apparently the accelerating fiscal downturn has made more people opt for a converter (as opposed to a new TV) than the program's designers could have envisioned back in pre-recession days. While new money will be released as older coupons expire, the rate of requests currently is far greater than it was 90 days ago, so you can see where this trend is headed.<br /><br />And apparently this was enough to start the ball of reconsideration rolling. On Wednesday, January 7th, Consumer Reports <a href="http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2009/01/cu-to-feds-cons.html">urged the government</a> to delay the transition, followed in quick succession by <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6627812.html">the Obama transition team</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/opinion/09kennard.html?_r=3&ref=opinion">two ex-FCC chairs</a>, and at least <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6627822.html?desc=topstory">three of the four major networks</a> (with <b>CBS</b> being "open to the suggestion").<br /><br />Committed transition supporters, were, to put it mildly, not amused by any of this, as you can see from reading the comment sections <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6578357&articleid=CA6627812#127925">on</a> <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6578366&articleid=CA6627822#127951">these</a> <a href="http://www.twice.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6578374&articleid=CA6627832#128220">posts</a>. Collectively, they express exasperation bordering on contempt for those who are at risk for being left behind, apparently convinced that this is all about lack of awareness rather than lack of resources or anger over having spent their money only to get less coverage than they had before. Perhaps it's not so surprising that a sample drawn from people who frequent technology websites might have a little trouble accepting that there actually are a fair number of people out there for whom paying full price for a converter (or a new antenna) might have an effect on whether their kids get new clothes this winter. <br /><br />The point is also raised that there is no constitutional right to have television in the first place. But perhaps those who say so should take a moment to consider this from an eminent domain perspective. Millions of Americans paid their money for a device that still works perfectly well (an analog TV), and may do so for decades to come, for the specific purpose of watching broadcast television. Now a government mandate has rendered that core functionality worthless, degrading the value of their property. When the government <i>takes</i> your property (let's say they need your land for a new freeway off-ramp) you are owed fair compensation. Why should the same principle not apply when the government makes your property less valuable?<br /><br />But there are more substantial objections to changing everything so close to February 17. Since April the government has been pounding out the message that this change is going to take place on a certain date, and the potential for mass confusion is very real if this happens not to be the case (who wants to write the next series of PSAs?). And though the networks appear to be OK with this, their local affiliates may not be, having made their plans to stop leasing transmission towers (which leases now may be too late to extend) as well as having redone their budgets to include the substantial electricity savings they've been counting on achieving, as <b>Gary Shapiro</b> of the <b>Consumer Electronics Association</b> <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2009/01/12/daily.8/">points out</a>. And then there's the public safety agencies (AKA first responders) who have been <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6628361.html">counting on spectrum</a> in the 700Mz band (so perhaps we should exempt at least that slice of spectrum from any delay). Not to mention the companies who have ponied up $20 billion for the rest of that spectrum. How long before we have to give that money back?<br /><br />What, then, is the best outcome, or the least bad one in any case? My own hope is that the threat of this delay will cause a rapid unblocking of coupon distribution (and that all expired coupons be made usable again). In addition, with all the money we are plunking down for economic stimulus and financial stabilization, perhaps it wouldn't be <i>too</i> crazy to offer a direct tax credit for monies spent out-of-pocket (on converters and antennas alike) by consumers to restore this basic function to their TVs, one of the only forms of affordable entertainment for millions of Americans, and often a main source of companionship and connection for the sick and the elderly.<br /><br />One more thing. <I>If</i> this date moves, what happens to the schedule for this blog? Until the date actually moves (or seems very likely to do so), I will keep "counting down". But whether we go with this date or another, the tightening of focus I adopted recently remains in effect. If you look in the "Blogroll" section on the left, you will see some good resources for HD coverage. From now on, the broadcast transition story is the only one you'll read about here.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-90352105408702220772009-01-09T01:12:00.002-05:002009-01-12T23:41:01.819-05:00Please stand by...I was going to do a post on the problems surrounding the coupon redemption program, but a new development reported today takes precedence over that - <b>President-elect Obama</b> would like to <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6627812.html">delay the transition</a>for an unspecified time. I'll have more on this sometime this weekend.<br /><br /><b>UPDATE</b> OK, so it's taking a bit longer. Tuesday for sure!Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-67184113522441503102008-12-27T11:57:00.003-05:002008-12-27T12:10:55.295-05:00From Here to the Grand Finale (and After)A few months ago, I began to tighten up on the range of stories that this blog covers, and I'm about to take that a step further. <br /><br />Since I started covering the story of broadcast TV's digital transition, I've also been covering the related story of high definition programming. When I started out, practically everyone who knew about the transition was an HD fan, so it seemed a natural fit. But it <i>is</i> a separate story, and more importantly it's a story that will go on unfolding for years after the last person who is affected by the broadcast transition makes whatever adjustments they need to make in order to keep getting their broadcast stations. So as we get down to the wire, it's time to cut that story loose.<br /><br />How will that change the blog? Well, we won't need the HD NETWORKS section anymore, and 90% of the stories in the PROVIDERS section also no longer fit the new format (however, their plans to get new customers from the ranks of disgruntled over-the-air viewers are still relevant). In addition, I've been finding that more and more of the basic transition-related stories I've been following have elements that could place them in either the PUBLIC, GOVERNMENT or BROADCAST sections, to the point where keeping those separate sections seems increasingly artificial. So from now on, no more sections, which I hope will allow me to sequence stories more naturally. <br /><br />That brings us to the schedule. Up until recently the way I wrote these updates was to gather links from the 18th of one month to the 17th of the next, and then lock myself away for a couple of weeks to write it all up. With so little time left, that's obviously not going to work as far as keeping things current. So starting with the most recent update I've been writing up stories as they come in, and despite the fact that this requires a lot of rewriting (as new information comes in that that updates the old or casts it in a different light), I was able to get that update out only three days after the 17th. I expect the one-month-out update to come out in a similar timeframe. After that, I plan to go weekly with three-weeks-out, two-weeks-out and one-week-out updates. In the last week, I'll try to post things as they come up (before that, stories of particular urgency may also come out separately if they can't wait until the next update).<br /><br />I'm planning to take a few days off work during transition week (The Day is on a Tuesday, but since broadcasters have until midnight to switch off, most of the immediate fallout will develop over the next couple of days) and will report as much as I can. After that, I'll report on follow-on developments as they come up, but not on any set schedule. If the country reacts the way Wilmington, NC did, there <i>may</i> not be that much to write about after a couple of weeks or so. <br /><br />And after that? It's possible a new blog might take up the HD story again, but not until I've had at least a couple of months off to catch up on life in general. It can be argued that the ongoing conversion to true HD production within the digital TV universe constitutes its own kind of transition, but I need some time to survey the plethora of HD news and opinion sources to make sure I'm not just repeating what someone else is doing better. As for this blog, it's possible I might do some retrospective posts tracking various topics over the blog's history, or I might just leave the 30-some updates up as resource material for media historians who might like to see how the story unfolded month by month.<br /><br />So that's where things stand right now. Expect at least one more post before the one-month-out update. See you then!Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24400615.post-39867880340336003592008-12-20T21:49:00.006-05:002008-12-20T23:11:03.989-05:00Two Months and Counting: What's Changed?Once again, the 17th has come and gone, and it's now less than two months until the "hard" date (2/17/09) on which analog broadcasting is currently scheduled to cease. This is the 33rd of 34 planned monthly recaps of developments affecting the various players in this story (it used to be 35, but I will be doing more-frequent updates during the last month). Despite the name of this blog I do cover some stories (like the growth of HD) that are not directly transition-related (but strike me as being of interest to transition-watchers). However, you'll notice that I have recently tightened the focus. For more on the reasons why, see <a href="http://dtvswitch.blogspot.com/2008/08/focus.html">my post regarding focus</a>. <br /><br />That said, here's some of what happened (or was commented on) between 11/18 and 12/17 (with the occasional exception of a later story that just can't wait until next time). Major news sources for this update include <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/">Multichannel News</a>, <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/">Engadget HD</a>, <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/">TV Week</a>, <a href="http://www.twice.com/">TWICE,</a> <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com">Broadcasting & Cable,</a> <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/">TV Newsday</a> and <a href="http://www.tvpredictions.com/">TVPredictions.com</a>.<br /><br /><b>THE PUBLIC</b> - Before I start this month's look at public awareness of (and preparedness for) the digital transition, I have to report on the first really big change to the overall plan since the hard date was first announced a few years ago. A bill introduced by <b>Sen. Jay Rockefeller (Senate</b>) and <b>Rep. Lois Capps (House)</b> (and which <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6616487.html">passed the Senate</a> <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/11/daily.8/">as well as the House</a> by unanimous consent), allows stations to <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6615642.html">use their analog transmitters</a> for DTV education and emergency information for 30 days after Feb. 17th. This idea was introduced during the earlier transition of the Wilmington, NC market and will give those who may not have been paying attention a better idea of what has happened than the screenful of snow they would have otherwise had to interpret. It's currently <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6621973.html?nid=2226&rid=reg_visitor_id&source=link">awaiting President Bush's approval.</a><br /><br />So, just how many people haven't been paying attention? Recent surveys show progress, but if you project the <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=95515">last month's progress</a> - from 7.7% completely unready to 7.4%, and 10.7% partially unready (houses that have a mix of ready and unready sets) to 10.3% - and project it forward two months, you can see that we are <i>not</i> getting to zero. The linked article also breaks these numbers down, with the real surprise in the breakdown being that homes where the head of household is over 55 are <i>better</i> prepared than those headed by adults under 35, the opposite of what you'd expect if you went by the stereotype of the technically savvy young vs. the clueless old.<br /><br />One thing that could bring those numbers down faster is the acceleration of analog-turnoff tests, which seem to be happening all over the country, such as the ones that took place in <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/11/24/daily4.html?ana=from_rss">Sacramento</a> and <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/03/daily.11/">Dallas</a> on December 4th, plus <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/01/daily.1/">Buffalo's on Dec 15th</a>, <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/16/daily.5/">Providence's on Dec. 17th</a> and <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/10/daily.13/">an ongoing series</a> of weekly two-minute tests in Detroit, plus another ongoing series <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/16/daily.12/">in West Michigan.</a> What's frustrating is that I'm seeing far more announcements of upcoming tests than the after-the-fact reports that tell us <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6618890.html">what actually happened</a> (why would the same news outlets do the first and not the second?). A welcome exception was <a href=" http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/media_matters/the_future_of_television_are_y.php">Hartford's Dec 3rd tests</a>, two 30-minute shutoffs that seem far more useful than the one and two-minute tests common elsewhere. Those tests got <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6621897.html">over 1,700 calls</a> to the toll-free hotline. Even more (4,000) calls were received due to the L.A. area's Dec. 2nd test, and the area has now <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/16/daily.9/">scheduled two follow-ups</a> on Dec. 17. But I have a story <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6623273.html?nid=2386&source=link&rid=1322133327">here</a> that says that <b>KMEX</b> (the L.A. <b>Univision</b> affiliate) did their test on Dec <i>3rd</i> and recorded 3,000 calls - is somebody's date wrong, or did Univision do their test a day later?<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/02/daily.10/">Boston's test on Dec 9th</a> was only for two minutes, but repeated three times and was supported by a "DTV Day" campaign in which all local analog feeds featured a crawl that directed viewers to a loop of the 30-minute program <i>Get Ready for DTV</i> <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/12/03/digital_tv_confusing_you_wgbh_can_help/">running on PBS affiliate WGBH</a>. The film, produced by PBS and featuring <b>Norm Abram</b> and <b>Kevin O'Connor</b> of <i>This Old House</i> plus <b>Maria Hinojosa</b>, can be viewed online <a href="http://wwd.wgbh.org/tv/program/get-ready-digital-tv/no-title">here.</a> I've watched it, and it's fairly comprehensive - it features visits to various homes with a mix of TVs (analog and digital) and connections (OTA, cable and satellite) and shows what (if anything) the residents needed to do in each case. All of this was only supposed to be seen if you were watching analog signals over-the-air. From the cable watcher's perspective, I can report that things seem to have worked as planned. I set recordings for the various tests on the analog stations and either received "your set has passed" messages or no test at all (of course, the feed had no knowledge of my TV, just that I was watching the feed intended for cable watchers). Although numbers were still being tabulated at press time, <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6621517.html?nid=3344">this Broadcasting & Cable</a> article reports a "huge" number of calls. <br /><br />Please note; the B&C link above also contains details of a <i>29-state test</i> scheduled for Dec. 17th. As of this writing, I haven't seen any follow up reports on this. If you have experience of any of the tests mentioned above, please leave a comment!<br /><br /><i>Get Ready for DTV,</i> is not the only educational film out there. Dec 2nd <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/11/24/daily.4/">saw the airing</a> of <i>DTV: Are You Ready?</i> on five Lexington, KY stations. And this was not the only new educational effort, either. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (who introduced the previously-mentioned "nightlight" bill), <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6616536.html">pledges to work</a> on a more comprehensive plan (which carries some weight, seeing as how he will be the new chair of the <b>Senate Commerce Committee</b>). It's been noted that minority and poor communities may be disproportionally affected by the transition, which is presumably why the <b>Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF)</b> will be <a href="http://www.twice.com/article/CA6622793.html?nid=2402">opening seven DTV Assistance Centers</a> in especially "at risk" areas, <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6616819.html">thanks to a $1.65 million grant</a> they received from the <b>National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA)</b>. One interesting idea that I don't expect to reach fruition was put forward by a North Carolina college class (which had previously studied the Wilmington transition) - they are asking the FCC to <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/04/daily.2/">interrupt the SuperBowl</a> with a 30-second PSA. And the <b>National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)</b> is setting up a national hotline, which they predict will <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/16/daily.16/">receive two million calls</a> in the five days after Feb. 17th. <br /><br />Two more things. The Neilsen people have been tracking HDTV household penetration regularly, and their <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6621890.html?nid=2226&rid=reg_visitor_id&source=link">end-of-November figures</a> show that 23.3% of U.S. households now own HDTVs, up from 10% in July of 2007. Finally, I ran across <a href="http://www.NowPublic.com/world/u-s-tvs-digital-deadline-obama-eras-first-consumer-crisis">this page</a> which indicates that there is at least some interest out there in delaying the transition altogether (check the comments section for more reports of reception problems).<br /><br /><b>GOVERNMENT</b> - I've been writing about the DTV-related efforts of the current administration and Congress since I started this blog, but it's important to remember that the transition will actually happen under the <i>incoming</i> administration. So it's good to know that the transition teams have been <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/blog/50000405/post/800037880.html">meeting with the involved parties</a> (broadcast and cable representatives, plus the current administration) to try to insure a co-ordinated effort. <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/12/obama_transition_team_met_secr.php">Some have objected</a> to this as it involves talking to lobbyists, but I think getting everyone on the same page is just too vital to worry overmuch about that.<br /><br />The little-reported FCC DTV road trip continues it's 81-city tour of "at risk" areas. <a href="http://www.dtvredalert.org/blog/?p=52">Here's a look at</a> what happened in Chicago (with links to other reports on some previous tour stops). <br /><br />I've mentioned the possibility before that money for the digital-to-analog converter box program could run dry just as demand spikes, and this possibility is why NTIA is now <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6622361.html">asking for more money</a>. According to the program's <a href="https://www.dtv2009.gov/Stats.aspx">statistics page</a>, orders for coupons are accelerating - in the week preceding Dec. 17th, 228,008 coupons per day were requested, as opposed to an average 199,413 per day in the past month. Also, the percentage of expired coupons climbed again (to 32.4%), after seeming to level off last month.<br /><br />With the "white spaces" issue having been decided last time, there's just a few other stories to talk about in this section. I've mentioned the problem of digital signals that don't reach as far as their old analog versions. FCC Chairman <b>Kevin Martin</b> <a href="http://tvtechnology.com/blog/70812">has a plan</a> for this, involving a new DTV translator service to fill in the gaps. The FCC was scheduled to take up the proposal Dec 18, but some non-transition items on the agenda prompted Sen. Rockefeller (busy guy!) and <b>Rep. Henry Waxman</b> to ask that he <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6622161.html">stick to transition issues</a> for the remainder of his term), after which <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6622368.html">the meeting was cancelled</a>. Another solution for the reception problem has been introduced by Vermont Sen. <b>Bernie Sanders</b>, who would like to see those who have lost their broadcast signals because of this get reduced-cost cable service indefinitely, and has <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/CA6615734.html">introduced legislation</a> to this effect.<br /><br /><b>BROADCASTING</b> - Most of the transition-related broadcast stories come under the rubric of testing, which you can read about in the PUBLIC section above. But as always, the most meaningful measures of public readiness should be the results of actual permanent transitions, which are also speeding up. Things <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/03/daily.7/">seem to have gone smoothly</a> for <b>WZMY</b> (a New Hampshire <b>MyTV</b> affiliate serving the Boston DMA) when they transitioned Dec 1st, although a number of posters in the AVS Forum Boston OTA thread claim not to be able to receive the weak digital signal. Speaking of signal problems, antenna troubles may force <b>WFXT-TV</b> (Boston <b>Fox</b> affiliate) to <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/12/17/fox_outlet_may_be_forced_to_drop_analog_early/">drop their analog signal early</a>. <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/11/daily.7/">Also transitioning on Dec 1st</a> was <b>KHAS</b> in Hastings, Neb, followed by <a href="http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/12/03/daily.3/">KCWE in Kansas City</a>, on Dec 15th. <br /><br />The most significant early transition announced so far is coming up on Jan 15th, as the entire state of Hawai'i goes a month early. From what I can see of the local press, nobody there seems to have made too big a deal over this since <a href="http://www.starbulletin.com/columnists/thebuzz/20081016_Broadcasters_in_Hawaii_prep_for_DTV_switch.html">the original announcement.</a> However, the FCC has started <a href="http://www.dtv.gov/Hawaii/">a Hawai'ian version</a> of its DTV site, which will bear watching.<br /><br />There is also the continuation of existing trends such as the conversion to HD of local newscasts, which can be tracked at <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=639872&page=26">this AVS thread.</a> as well as <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14618838#post14618838">this post</a> in the Official AVS HDTV Programming Synopsis. In Boston, we have finally seen the <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/13/bostons-wbz-tv-fires-up-hd-newscasts/">long-promised conversion</a> of <b>WBZ</b> (a CBS affiliate), leaving Fox as the only Big Four network affiliate in town without an HD newscast.<br /><br />There's some other new HD programming as well. The big news here is that Fox is going all-HD across <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/09/fox-going-all-hd-in-2009-with-help-from-motorola/">their entire spectrum of networks</a> (broadcast and cable) starting in the first quarter of '09. The syndicated front is moving forward as well, with <i>Regis & Kelly</i> <a href="http://www.tvpredictions.com/newhd112408.htm">going in January</a> and a new show starring <i>Oprah</i> vet <b>Dr. Mehmet Oz</b> <a href="http://www.tvpredictions.com/newhd120108.htm">debuting in HD</a> next fall. And here's an example of something not normally seen in HD - an <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/14/waco-texas-launches-wccc-tv-government-access-hd-channel/">all-digital government access channel</a>.<br /><br />Last month I mentioned a new area for growth in digital broadcasting, mobile DTV broadcasting to cellphones and other handhelds, specifically the progress in developing related technical standards. That progress continues with<b> ATSC (Advanced Television Standards Committee)</b> <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6618745.html?nid=2226&rid=reg_visitor_id&source=link">advancing its proposed standard</a> to "candidate standard" status, with the hope to have it ratified in the next six months. Meanwhile the mobile equivalent to cable is already underway, with <b>Qualcomm's MediaFLO</b> service <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6618151.html?nid=2226&rid=reg_visitor_id&source=link">planning to expand</a> into vacated spectrum (once the transition is complete) with its multichannel offerings.<br /><br />The transition poses a number of challenges for broadcasters, including the likelihood that many formerly over-the-air watchers will skip the conversion hassle by signing up for cable or satellite. At least that's what <b>Turner Networks</b> research executive <b>Jack Wakshlag</b> <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6621703.html?nid=2226&rid=reg_visitor_id&source=link">is hoping</a>.<br /><br /><b>PROGRAM PROVIDERS</b> - In the ongoing race among providers to provide the most HD channels to their customers, Verizon's FiOS dominated the last couple of months with their huge expansions (cracking the triple-digit mark previously reserved for satellite), but they've been relatively quiet recently (other than announcing that they have <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6617199.html?nid=2226&rid=reg_visitor_id&source=link">completed their elimination</a> of analog channels), which gives other providers like <b>Time Warner</b> (<a href="http://www.tvpredictions.com/newtw111908.htm">24 adds in Southern California</a>, <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/16/time-warner-cable-adding-18-hd-channels-in-north-texas/">18 in North Texas,</a><a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/11/29/twc-lines-up-a-new-batch-of-hd-additions-for-southwest-ohio/">14 in Southwest Ohio</a> and <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/06/full-twc-kansas-city-expansion-detailed-ten-new-hd-nets/">10 in Kansas City</a>), <b>Cox</b> (<a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/06/cox-dishes-13-new-high-def-channels-to-hampton-roads-virginia/">13 adds in Hampton Roads, VA</a> and <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/11/22/cox-adding-11-new-hd-stations-in-gulf-coast-region/">11 in the Gulf coast region</a>) <b>Insight</b> (<a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/11/21/insight-digital-4-0-brings-wheelbarrow-full-of-hd-stations-to-co/">25 adds in Columbus, OH</a>) and <b>Comcast</b> (<a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/11/18/comcast-dishes-a-dozen-hd-channels-in-san-francisco-california/">12 adds in San Francisco</a>) a chance to catch up a bit.<br /><br />But the recent event with the most impact on the future of this struggle was the preparations for Comcast's roll-out of the <b>Digital Terminal Adapter (DTA)</b>, the device that will eliminate analog Expanded Basic tiers (I had originally thought they would be used to go all-digital, but that doesn't seem to be the plan) and put Comcast back in the HD arms race. This notice posted on AVS <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15228345#post15228345">shows the eliminations</a> (and later HD additions) scheduled in parts of Oregon for Feb. 11th (on or about), and the Seattle area <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/12/comcast-going-all-digital-in-seattle-bringing-dtas-to-the-pacif/">is following suit</a> around that time. Luckily, these were announced before Dec. 10th, since otherwise they would be covered under the <b>National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)'s</b> just-announced <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6623219.html">digital migration freeze, </a> which will halt almost all analog-to-digital channel migrations for January and February, allegedly to ease consumer confusion caused by the broadcast transition's taking place around the same time. This decision applies to all major U.S. cable operators, but appears to have been influenced by this FCC investigation into <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/CA6615750.html">whether Comcast shortchanged analog viewers</a> by the way in which they migrated channels from analog to digital.<br /><br /><b>HD NETWORKS</b> - Things continue to be slow in this area; this month, we have just a few channel launches, some more info concerning recent announcements and a couple of notes about existing (and recently-existing) channels.<br /><br />Comcast <a href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/08/comcast-networks-officially-adds-five-new-hd-channels/">converted a few</a> of their existing nets (<b>E!, G4</b> and <b>Style</b>) to HD, and split their <b>Versus/Golf</b> shared HD channel into two full-time nets. <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6620419.html">Here's a little info</a> on <b>Golf HD's</b> plans. <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6623650.html">In addition</a>, the African American-targeted <b>TV One</b> launched in HD, with around 20% HD content, slated to expand to 40% by the end of 2010.<br /><br />Last time I noted the upcoming conversion of three networks from <b>ION Media</b>. ION's <b>Dave Glenn</b> <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6616238.html?nid=2387&source=link&rid=1322133327">sat down with Multichannel News</a> to talk about the process. And that unnamed <b>Viacom</b> premium channel (that's going to take <b>Paramount, Lionsgate, UA</b> and <b>MGM</b> content away from <b>Showtime</b>) <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=96593">now has a name</a> - <b>Epix</b>, and is scheduled for a fall '09 launch.<br /><br />Arrivals are especially welcome news when you need something to balance out departures, as the ranks of HD specialist channels are getting noticeably thinner. I didn't get to see the bitter end of MOJO since Comcast in Boston yanked the channel 12 hours before its scheduled sign-off, but up until then it had still made no explicit on-air announcement to its viewers as to what was about to happen (although as I noted last time they did clue in their website visitors). Anyone out there see the real sign off (at noon EST on Dec. 1st)? More shrinkage in the all-HD network ranks is in the works, as the <b>VOOM</b> suite of niche HD channels will be <a href="http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6624094.html?desc=topstory">dropped in January</a> by their owner <b>Rainbow Media Holdings</b> (owned by the suite's only carrier,<b> Cablevision</b>), although it appears that there will still be some sort of international operation going forward. Another HD specialist channel had some better news; <b>HDNet</b> showed up in the latest adds for the City of Boston/Brookline area, a harbinger for what may come once Comcast gets its analog reclamaion project farther along. <a href="http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/12/stinchcomb_to_exit_discovery_c.php">Another departure</a> is that of <b>Discovery's Clint Stinchcomb</b>, the man who got <b>Discovery HD Theater</b> (now just <b>HD Theater</b>) off the ground. HD Theater set a high standard for the emerging medium, and everyone who cares about the potential of true HD is in his debt.<br /><br />Which is my cue to depart for this month. I'll have a special post sometime in the next couple of weeks detailing my plans for wrapping this blog up.Bob Colbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00753153282178014050noreply@blogger.com1