Audio Video News

The on-again, off-again effort to delay the DTV transition from February 17 to June 12 has overcome its biggest obstacle. It originated with the Obama team, then got approved by the Senate, voted down by the House of Representatives, re-approved by the Senate, and today, finally passed by the House in a 264-158 vote. The legislation now goes to President Obama who is expected to sign it.

Proponents of the delay offered two rationales. One was that 6.5 million U.S. households weren't prepared for the delay, according to Nielsen. That figure was down from 7.8 million in December, just two months before, but still deemed too high. Shutting off analog TV signals would have darkened the screens of antenna-dependent analog sets.

Critics cited numerous problems with the federal government's subsidy program, which was intended to provide up to two $40 coupons for the purchase of set-top digital-to-analog adapters to keep those old analog sets blaring. The Commerce Department's supply of coupons was nominally used up. But many of those distributed had gone unredeemed and expired after 90 days. The new legislation will presumably provide more time to get more coupons into more hands.

Some critics, including the Consumer Electronics Association, said the coupon program could be fixed without delaying the transition.

The National Association of Broadcasters initially opposed the delay because it would make TV stations incur extra (and unbudgeted) expenses to continue leasing and operating their analog transmitters. Congress mollified the NAB by altering the legislation to allow waivers. Stations that want to make the transition earlier than June 12 can apply for permission from the Federal Communications Commission.

Several stations have declared their intention to do just that. Several are mentioned in this story in Broadcast Engineering. They include WTVP, WEEK, and WHOI of Peoria, IL; KELO of Sioux Falls, SD; KEEE, KVPT, KGPE, KMPH, and KFRE of Fresno, CA; and WEDU of Tampa, FL. KDLT of Sioux Falls actually shut down its analog towers on Feb. 2, right after the Super Bowl, and the entire state of Hawaii shut down analog in January. However, it remains uncertain how many of the stations that request the necessary waivers will actually obtain them from the FCC.

Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL), who were instrumental having the delay initially voted down in the House, have written to the FCC asking for clarification: "Our understanding is that, because of interference concerns, most broadcast stations would not be allowed to transition under current FCC rules until around the time that all broadcast stations transition. Consequently, most of the spectrum promised to First Responders would also be unavailable until the delayed transition date."

Here's Pete Putman's take from HDTVexpert.com: "In essence, the 12-year transition from analog to digital TV is being held up because six out of every 100 homes 'isn't ready.' That stance is absurd, because it supposes that 100% compliance is required for this transition (and any major societal or economic transition) to work. The fact is: there will always be those who procrastinate. I suspect that by June 12, the number of homes that still aren't ready to pull the plug on analog TV will remain largely unchanged. For some folks, the train simply needs to leave the station before they take action." You can read Pete's Digital TV To-Do List on our site.

It's worth pointing out--again--that the DTV transition affects only viewers who (1) have analog TVs, (2) depend entirely or partly on an antenna, and (3) are either waiting for coupons or have just sat on their hands doing nothing while public service ads have relentlessly warned of the transition for month after month.

If you've bought a DTV recently, federal rules require it to have a digital tuner, so you're set as long as you have the right antenna for your locale. If you get service from cable, satellite, or telco operators, you're set--they've been providing HD signals for years. If you're not getting HD from your provider, but have an HDTV set, you may need to ask for an HD-capable cable box or buy an HD-capable satellite receiver.

Even if you have a DTV, or an analog TV with set-top adapter, you still need to get digital signals into your set. Different kinds of antennas receive different frequencies with varying efficiency, so an antenna that served you well during the analog era may either gain or lose some channels when you switch to digital signals. Also, some TV stations will be moving to new channels during the transition, again with gains and losses for viewers depending on their antennas and locations.

By postponing all these concerns to June, the federal government will give us more time to deal with these problems. Or more time to procrastinate, extending the problems along with the transition. It depends on your point of view.