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Digital Decision 2009

Farm Journal, Dec 1, 2007 by Phil McNew

Television as we know it is about to change

Even in today's satellite-linked, Internet-driven and cellular information age, most farmers still tune in to a local TV station for regional news and weather. However, the information superhighway on-ramp to your local TV channel is about to change.

It's all about digital. Current TV broadcast technology is in analog form, which is the overbearing issue. Analog TV broadcast signals are more susceptible to interference, have limited picture and sound quality and require more acres from the broadcast spectrum field. As with prime farmland, there's no such thing as making more spectrum space. All of our essential electronic tools-cell phone, tractor radio, even the remote garage door opener-require a separate piece of airwave space, also known as spectrum space.

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The dilemma? New wireless and cellular technologies are looking to acquire more acres of the limited broadcast spectrum. The solution? Convert analog TV broadcast signals to digital. Digital television (DTV) signals require less of the valuable spectrum, provide better sound and picture quality and are less susceptible to interference. Sounds good. The catch: Your current TV may or may not receive the new DTV signal?

The switch from analog to digital has already started and will continue until Feb. 17, 2009. Then, DTV will be the only format.

As you can imagine, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate has been met with mixed emotions by the approximately 1,700 U.S. broadcasters and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).

"Capital outlay required for upgrading to digital technology has not been cheap," says Danny Thomas, general manager of KOAM-TV in Pittsburg, Kan. "New digital cameras for field reporters, digital editing equipment, studio cameras, etc., have meant millions of dollars per station for the transition. A station broadcasting in a medium-sized market could be spending from approximately $2 million to $4 million just to meet this mandate. Stations in the higher- population broadcast markets may spend four times that or more."

An additional concern for broadcasters is the lack of consumer knowledge on the conversion from analog to digital. "One major concern is that viewers will become disenfranchised with our industry due to, ironically, the lack of communication of this conversion," says Thomas, who is a past chair of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters. To aid the education process, members of each state's NAB chapter, like Thomas, have been chosen to be spokespersons to those wanting more information.

During the transition period, broadcasters have been assigned a second broadcast channel for their digital signal-to use when ready. When your local TV channel displays its station identification before the evening news, for example, you may notice a DTV channel is listed in addition to their traditional number. Currently, more than 1,600 of the 1,700 U.S. broadcasters are essentially digital ready.

After Feb. 17, 2009, local stations will give spectrum space and outdated analog channel numbers back to the FCC. If you tune in to the station's old channel number after the deadline, all you will see is a snowy screen.

The consumer connection? Watching your favorite TV show and local news will be impossible if you do not have a TV that is capable of receiving a digital broadcast signal.

Should your old TV make a trip to the landfill? Not necessarily. Several consumer electronic manufacturers are producing digital-to- analog converter boxes that will convert a digital broadcast to an analog format, which you can view with your old TV.

Congress has authorized a converter box voucher worth $40. This coupon (each household is eligible to apply for two vouchers) was developed by the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). From Jan. 1, 2008, to March 31, 2009, consumers will be able to apply on NTIA's Web site (www.ntia.doc.gov) for the vouchers. Even without the converter, your old TV can still be used to play video games and watch VHS and DVDs.

Most electronic companies, however, are anticipating that consumers will purchase a DTV, instead of buying the converter box retrofit.

Television as we now know it is about to change. With Christmas just days away, you may want to add a DTV to your list.

For More Information

The Federal Communications Commission's Web page about DTV: www.dtv.gov

A nonprofit organization developing voluntary digital television standards: www.atsc.org

The National Association of Broadcasters Web page for consumer information about DTV: www.dtvanswers.com

The National Association of Broadcasters Web page for consumer information about multicasting: www.multicasting.com

A source for analog-to-digital converter vouchers: www.ntia.doc.gov

Three Options to Go Digital

If you decide to purchase a digital television (DTV) instead of a digital-to-analog converter box, you have three choices: Standard Definition Television (SDTV), the good option; Enhanced Definition Television (EDTV), the better option; and High Definition Television (HDTV), the best option. The key component to all three is their digital tuner, which accepts the digital broadcast and makes them true DTVs. If you already own an HDTV, it is not necessarily digital ready because some of the first HDTV models were not equipped with the now-required digital tuner.

Digital Decision 2009

Farm Journal, Dec 1, 2007 by Phil McNew

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