It’s D-Day for some television viewers in the United States. For years, the government and industry has said Feb. 17, 2008, would be the day when analog TV signals go away. But roughly two-thirds of TV stations, and nearly all the ones in major cities, will remain on the air in analog.
Of the nation’s nearly 1,800 full-power televisions stations, 220 will have terminated their analog signals before Tuesday and another 421 will terminate their analog signals on Tuesday before 11:59 pm, for a total of 641 stations (pdf), or about 36% of all full-power stations nationwide, says the FCC (pdf).
A grace period, passed by Congress last month, has extended the switchover deadline until June 12th. It was prompted by a lack of funding for converter coupons and the mid-winter inconvenience.
But Congress left the door open to stations to keep the Feb. 17 date. Only late Friday did it become clear, or nearly so, which stations would shut down analog four days later, and which would wait for a few more months. About one-third of the nation’s TV stations plan to switch by the original deadline, tonight.
Some 641 stations across the country, mainly in thinly populated areas, still plan to turn off their analog broadcasts tonight (or have already done so). The FCC has a web page that maps local DTV stations in your area. Just type in your zip code.
The most populous markets where major-network stations are cutting analog include San Diego and Santa Barbara, Calif.; Providence, R.I.; La Crosse and Madison, Wis.; Rockford, Ill.; Sioux City, Iowa; Waco, Texas; Macon, Ga.; Scranton, Pa.; and Burlington, Vt.
Two hundred stations, including stations in Wilmington, N.C.; Hawaii; and Chico-Redding, Calif., have already made the transition to all-digital TV.
Viewers in markets where stations are going ahead with the switch who are having trouble receiving digital broadcasts can call the FCC’s help line at 1-888-CALL-FCC.
There is also a March 14 analog cutoff date. That’s a 90-day viewer notice period before the June 12 date, when the FCC says stations may transition early.
Nielsen says 5.8 million U.S. households, or 5.1 percent of all homes, are not ready for digital, but it’s unclear how many of them are in early-shutdown areas. No one really knows how many viewers will be affected this week.
An FCC report a few months ago found about 89 percent of stations (1,553 stations) will experience an overall net gain in covered population. About 11 percent, or 196 stations, will have a net loss in television viewers. The comprehensive report includes a separate map showing the predicted coverage areas for every station and shows the areas of gain or loss.
The delay provides a chance for the converter box coupon program to catch up. The stimulus bill that President Barack Obama is expected to sign on Tuesday contains $650 million in additional funding. Once that’s available to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, it can clear the 4 million coupon backlog in a few weeks.
The VCR will lose some of its usefulness, notes the Mercury News. Only the latest models of VCRs have digital tuners. That prevents them from watching one program while recording another.
Lee Wood’s DTV News Forum noted nearly every relevant DTV article for a period of almost five years and remains the definitive archive. Mark Schubin has been the pityest observer and columnist. I was inspired and modeled Dailywireless on Schubin’s Monday Memo.
TV engineers hang out at your local Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter. Mine is Local 124.
Related DTV articles on Dailywireless include; DTV Switchover Delayed, New Bill to Delay DTV Switchover, DTV Switchover Likely Delayed ’til June, Verizon: DTV Delay Okay, White Spaces: It’s The Law, ATSC Mobile TV Tested, FCC Commissioners: Coming to Your Town, The Free Triple Play, Freesat: Free Satellite HD in UK, Freeview Goes HD, UK: Free For All, BSkyB: Free Broadband, Broadband Wireless — Hello Goodbye, The OTHER Public Safety Band, and Public Service Moves to 800Mhz
