Wilmington, N.C., to test TV change over to digital

Residents of Wilmington, N.C., will soon become laboratory rats in the nation’s transition to digital TV.

The Federal Communications Commission plans to make the greater Wilmington area a digital-TV test market to work out any bugs before the entire nation goes all digital on Feb. 17.

All four commercial broadcasters in the Wilmington region — with a population of about 400,000 — have agreed to turn off their analog signals and broadcast in digital only starting Sept. 8. The switch will be preceded by an intensive consumer-education campaign, including TV and radio ads.

“This will help us understand what we need to do to prepare the rest of the country,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says.

The biggest concern is the roughly 60 million analog sets that aren’t hooked to cable or satellite. Those include about 18 million homes that don’t have pay TV as well as second or third TVs in cable and satellite homes. They won’t work without a box to convert digital signals to analog. Households may request from the U.S. government up to two $40 coupons to help pay for the boxes, which cost about $50 each.

Cable and satellite providers plan to translate digital signals to analog for the 85% of U.S. homes that subscribe to the services.

A Consumers Union survey early this year found that 60% of households with at least one antenna-based analog TV don’t know they’re affected.

The Wilmington trial is largely designed to gauge whether such consumers are aware of the transition and have purchased converter boxes by Sept. 8. In addition to a mass media campaign, the FCC plans to get out the word through local retailers, the Chamber of Commerce and senior centers.

“We may learn what was more effective and less effective” in informing residents, Martin says.

The trial will also road-test any technical hurdles. Some broadcasters, for instance, must move their digital antennas higher to cover a wider area after the transition. The FCC wants to see if over-the-air digital signals encounter interference that could cause a viewer to completely lose the picture.

Wilmington was chosen because it’s one of only about eight markets where digital channels are set and broadcasters won’t have to move to a different channel when the transition occurs, Martin says.

“There’s a pride because we’ll be the first in the country,” Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo says.

Managers of stations WECT, the NBC affiliate, and WWAY, the ABC station, say they’ll simply have to flip a switch and take down analog antennas.

But Gary McNair, WECT’s general manager, says he’s worried some residents will be flummoxed because national ads are announcing the Feb. 17 date.

“There’s the possibility for confusion because of mixed messages,” he says.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2008-05-07-digitaltv_N.htm

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