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Digital TV transition nearing
BY M.K. LUTHER • STAF WRITER
MONTEREY - On Feb. 17, 2009, television stations across the U.S. will switch from broadcasting on analog signals to digital.
Televisions with indoor antenna, or rabbit ears, that use an analog tuner will no longer receive a signal. Television viewers who do not already subscribe to a cable or satellite service or own a digital television set will lose reception.
Across the country, TV owners are being educated about the DTV transition and encouraged to upgrade their television sets.
In Highland, most people will not have to do anything before February to prepare for the transition. They can just keep watching their TVs.
"We have very few people who are going to be affected by the change," said Jerry Moats of Jerry's Electronics in Monterey.
"I can count on both hands the number of people who use antenna TV," Moats said.
Moats provides satellite service to Highland County and the surrounding areas, from as close as Bath County and as far as Augusta County.
Most people in Highland are satellite service customers, and the transition will have no effect on those customers. Those who do rely on analog TV sets and free-over-the-air signals might have to have to purchase satellite service from providers like DISH TV and DirectTV, Moats said.
The transition is not only from analog to digital, but also from the VHF signal to UHF signal, and UHF typically does not broadcast well into rural or outlying areas. The UHF frequency is higher, is increasingly line-of-sight, and can be easily blocked by the mountains. The best alternative is to use a satellite provider because even a new digital TV might not be able to pick up the UHF signal, Moats said.
Linda Yun, spokesperson for the Digital Television Transition, said viewers who are dependent on free-over-the-air TV have three options to successfully make the transition: purchase a digital TV or digital-to-analog converter box for their old set, or subscribe to cable or satellite service.
The digital converter boxes will be priced between $40-$70, but $40 coupons are available to order online at the Web site DTV2009.com to help lower the cost. There is a limit of two coupons per household. Users can apply for coupon online or mail, but the application needs to be printed from the Web site.
The main satellite service providers in Highland, Direct TV and Dish TV, both offer monthly packages, but DirectTV does not carry the local Roanoke affiliates of national networks like NBC, Moats said.
Dish TV has a basic package of 100 channels, with promotions for free installation and equipment under certain criteria. Dish TV also offers a package that includes the Roanoke affiliates with an additional monthly charge.
Moats is currently not stocking the converter boxes because he does not anticipate a great demand here.
Buying a converter box is a low-cost alternative to buying a digital television set, but those with cable or satellite service do not have to make any adjustment, Yun agreed.
"Remember, people who already have satellite service have to do - nothing," Moats said.
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