Magid Study Finds Lingering Misperceptions in Countdown to Digital

Hi Shane & others -


Our local PBS station held an "open workshop" free to all { stuffed, too !} ..... although many were informed like this recent survey regarding a high % aware of "switch" .... there are or seem to be a huge number totally unaware of being unable to simply "connect" their federal coupon Converter between the "V" Rabbit Ears & the TV ! They popular comment is ... that's what the TV commercial said!

IF very old at all, these set tops have long-since LOST the loop or bow tie portion for the mandatory UHF Band needed, excepting NYC, Chicago + a few others.

And, "rabbit ears" - even with those old UHF elements - don't provide enough "gain" in many instances, either.

An unpleasant Feb is possible !

eli

I suspect those who are ready for the conversion are actually already watching the digital channels rather than the analog ones.

However I have noticed a few disturbing trends in addition

At least one major cable company is advertising that for those who still have an antenna, they should call them an convert to digital by subscirbing to their cable system.

Although a few of the conversion boxes are sold at $40(the coupon value), most are sold for more.

A number of stations are now are will be going to digital frequencies in the VHF range, but many people were misinformed that they only need a UHF antenna.

Not sure what day they will do it, but for those channels currently using a temporary Digital frequency and will switch to a permanent one. When they switch to there permanent one (for example several in NY are going back to there old VHF frequencies), many people will again be confused. Most of the Tuners will have to rescan to pickup the channel.

Hello tnsprin

Your concerns are often "asked " by many others - but - a point or two, please -

* Those public Infomercials all have the telephone number and / or the web site listed for more information.

* The final Channel assignments have been done / made available for Quite some time now ... surely, "IF " one was at all informed / involved, they would have reconfirmed as to the Post Feb [ VHF / UHF Band or Combo] prior to buying a new antenna unit for their address / ZIP.

* Everyone should rescan on the morning After the Analog elimination, be it a TV & it's federal coupon Converter or a new HDTV, with it's internal ATSC .

* IF unable to safely self-install a required Roof Top antenna system, then, perhaps a cable may well be not a totally-bad alternative ... antenna installations commercially can easily run several hundred dollars ... that pays for many months of very basic service !

* When strictly UHF Band, there will be "fringe" areas wherein No antenna reception is going to be available at all! O.T.A.-Digital is 100 % perfect or Zero, leading again to cable service or no TV.

* As sad / unfortunate / totally-unfair as it IS, there are going to be some of the ..... ~~ 15 Million antenna-only viewers that will loose access to free TV broadcasts, disproportionally the economically hard-pressed and elderly.

eli

Although I agree with almost everything you said, it is not true that digital signals are either perfect of gone. The range of signal strength where they are marginal is much narrower than analog, but it exists. In that range you will see pixelation, temporary freezing, and even the audio going out of sync with the image. Rather than a weak, snowy image it acts like a poor connection.

OTOH where an analog signal is weak and snowy and not worth watching the digital will be sharp and solid.

I see almost no difference in my ability to pick up UHF stations at the longer distances than I do VHF. Many of our stations around here are operating both VHF and UHF and will continue to do so after the switch.

For those with outdoor antennas that get their present stations those same antennas should work well with digital IF the digital station is not at a different location. Years ago I put up a large Winegard UHF dish with remote preamp, on the side of a tower so I could watch the sci-fi programs on channel 50 out of Detroit. Just days after I put it up Channel 49 (a religious station) went on the air. They are about 1/3 the distance of channel 50 and in a direct line with channel 50. 50 went from a good picture to unwatchable.

Since going digital I've found I can watch many stations that were out of reach when I tried analog. So the number of stations I can watch as easily as the locals is about 3 to 4 times the number I had on analog. Yes there will be some that lose out, but I'd think they'd be few while many should be able to receive more stations. Of course there will still be the irate, uninformed (why didn't they tell us) group.

I find it amazing that so many have been informed, although I doubt half of them understand what they've been told. The old rule of thumb is at least 10% are always missed so the industry and government have done a remarkable job at informing the public with months left to go. At any rate, TV viewers are like computer users. Most are completely clueless. Of course for TV there is no real reason for them to be knowledgeable although they should know where to point the antenna.
the switchover and what's required is very simple, but everyone seems to be trying to make it far more complicated than necessary. I have to admit the cable companies are offering information that at times is a bit misleading.

I have quite a number of OTA stations I can watch in HD or digital SD, but seldom watch more than the local news. There is little the networks have to offer I find interesting although my wife never misses "Desperate Housewives". <:-))

I see almost no difference in my ability to pick up UHF stations at the longer distances than I do VHF.

That's because you have an antenna that picks up both UHF and VHF. Some people only have one or the other and for them it could be a problem.

Many of our stations around here are operating both VHF and UHF and will continue to do so after the switch.

That is totally false. Stations will only be allowed to broadcast on 1 channel after February. Those final channels have already been assigned and in some cases it's a totally different channel the 2 they're currently using.

I see almost no difference in my ability to pick up UHF stations at the longer distances than I do VHF.

That's because you have an antenna that picks up both UHF and VHF. Some people only have one or the other and for them it could be a problem.

No, I only have a single, but large UHF antenna that points South. I'll soon have another that points NW. The VHF stations are mostly within 45-50 miles, but I still get 6 out of Lansing (snowy on analog, but crystal clear on digital). This is what makes the TV antenna selector site almost useless as half, or more of the stations I watch are outside what they consider usable
distances. OTOH as I said in the earlier post, I seldom watch the networks and their watered down programming and reality shows.

Many of our stations around here are operating both VHF and UHF and will continue to do so after the switch.

That is totally false. Stations will only be allowed to broadcast on 1 channel after February. Those final channels have already been assigned and in some cases it's a totally different channel the 2 they're currently using.

That's what I get for posting in the middle of the night.<:-)) We'll have a mix of VHF, UHF stations as we do now. Most, if not all except the ones above 56 will stay on the current primary frequency. 66 (Fox) will come down as will 49 (useless ) I'm not sure when those above 56 go away.
However when I went to recheck, particularly 66, I can no longer bring up the final assignments which I had bookmarked. A Google search brings up a lot of useless URLs and adds.

I get it now - that was a little confusing. Here is the document with final channel assignments.

In some cases they're sticking with their original NTSC channel, some stay on their current ATSC channel and some go to a totally different channel.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/a ... -138A2.pdf

Thanks for the link to the list. It apparently isn't complete or completely accurate with some typos. Which? I don't know.

A while back they had most of the stations in our area listed as staying on the current primary channel. The list now shows only 4 of the 21 I can receive with the assignment unchanged. Some are swapping assignments. Bay City is leaving 5 for 22, but Kalamazoo is leaving 52 for 5 and there are a number of others. There are some mistakes in it as well. Currently Ch 19 is near Bay City or Saginaw, but the only 19 listed is in Marquette which is in the Upper Peninsula. Nor are the call letters listed.

Some of the changes are already in effect. IOW if you punch in the new channel number it will take you to the current channel assignment. With others there is nothing on the new assignment... yet. The major players are running 1080i, but most are 720p Some PBS are running 4 channels on the one assignment which means SD and that changes according to the time of day.

ABC and Fox are 720p - everyone else is 1080i as far as broadcast TV. That's decided by the network. ESPN channels are also 720p.