DTV Deadline, Part 2: The Pitfalls

Most television stations already broadcast a digital signal as well as an analog signal.

Analog is the way TV stations have broadcast since the beginning.

There’s a big difference between those two kind of signals.

With analog, a TV viewer may get a crisp picture or a snowy one, depending on where he or she lives.

But with digital, you either get a clear picture or you get nothing - and that could lead to problems for some viewers.

Sherrie Demers lives in the St. Lawrence County town of Brasher.

Like many people in rural areas, she has a satellite and a big antenna for local stations, like Channel 7.

There’s one problem though.

“We do not get Channel 7. We would love to get it,” said Sherrie.

Channel 7 is out of range.

Sherrie can’t pick up the analog signal.

Her neighbors, who have cable can receive Watertown stations.

But Sherrie is stuck watching snow.

“We would love to get the local news around here, Watertown,” she said.

But what about the transition to digital?

Could Sherrie pick up local stations if she got a converter box for her set?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

It’s one of the unknown pitfalls of the digital transition.

“With digital there is the chance that you might not get anything if you’re in one of those fringe areas. But if you’re in an area where the signal is well received, you’re gonna get a picture that has absolutely no snowing, no ghosting,” said WWNY program director Jim Corbin.
Jim corbin is our station’s program director.

People who get Channel 7 with a snowy analog picture may not get us.

So sherrie may be stuck unless she has some serious gear to tap into the digital signal.

That’s where guys like Keith Patrick come in.

Patrick runs a Radio Shack store in Massena.

“We’re in an area where so many people are in different spots. Some people may get it really well with just their indoor antennas and some people maybe just watching snowy,” said Patrick.

Patrick helps people determine whether or not they’ll be able to get digital signals in their area.

For folks who have trouble, a really powerful antenna that reaches 150 miles or more could be the answer.

Each digital viewing household in “fringe areas” could be different.

That’s one drawback to digital.

Here’s another - hooking your analog TV up to one of those digital converters isn’t always the easiest task.

“I tried to and all I got was a snowy picture, but what I know about it now, maybe I could have done it,” said Allan Towles of Belleville.

He recently made the switch to digital.

But with it wasn’t as simple as hooking the converter up to a TV.

Towles had to pay someone to install it.

Other viewers may have to shell out money as well for installation or better gear like a bigger antenna.

TV stations have their own hurdles to jump as well.

All stations bordering Canada, ours included, have had to negotiate with that country to finalize our coverage area because Canada won’t be making the switch to digital for a couple more years.

Channel 7 and the Federal Communications Commission are currently in the process of finishing those negotiations.

In Part 3, we’ll talk about how the digital transition has changed the TV industry and the job of the TV repair man.

We’ll also look into where the old TVs go if people decided to upgrade.

See Part 1

See Part 2 of Jeff’s series:

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