Doug Finck, from WPXT in Portland, ME, said in an email to me "our biggest challenge is not in communicating to the public that we are switching to digital...but the issues about reception"
Doug has been a long time supporter and recently shared the following information which I found most helpful in explaining some of the basic truths about digital TV.
I asked some additional questions regarding whether or not existing TV stations would use continue to use their temporary UHF channel numbers or go back to their regular numbers (the ones the public knows them by). Here was Doug's response:"1. It's all about the antenna. An outside antenna will probably be necessary for many people. The type of antenna, however, is an issue because of the fact that there will be a combination of UHF and VHF digital stations and the viewers will need an antenna capable of receiving both types of transmission (or two antennas).
2. The more powerful and antenna is, the more directional it is. The more directional it is, the more critical it is to point it toward the transmitting antenna for the station they want to watch. Someone living in Lewiston will have to point their antenna in three directions; north for WCBB and WPFO, southwest for WCSH, WMTW and WMEA, and southeast for WGME, WPME and WPXT.
3. Consumers have to understand the need to manually enter all channels WHEN THEIR ANTENNA IS POINTED TOWARD THAT CHANNEL'S TRANSMITTING ANTENNA. Auto-scan is a waste of time and should be ignored or defeated. In the real world, a viewer will have a powerful, directional antenna. They will have to point it toward a specific station's transmitting antenna then enter that station's digital frequency (not the station's analog/marketing channel) to save the station. Then they will go to the next station, move the antenna, enter the digital number and save it. This process will be the only way to get the digital tuner to "see" all of the channels (assuming the viewer can actually get enough of a signal from each station to actually get the picture).
4. Rotors will allow one antenna to be aimed at all of the channels. Multiple antennas (with each one pointed in a specific direction) will also accomplish the same goal (getting the maximum signal from each station). But remember, in this market you're going to need both VHF and UHF receiving capability to get all of the stations!
As far as the cheap converter boxes are concerned, they are designed to downconvert digital signals to be displayed on an analog TV. The tuners are fine for doing that and all of the converter boxes are of equal quality and value. If by more expensive, you're talking about a $150+ box, you're not talking about a converter box, you're describing a digital tuner. There's a huge difference in price, quality and functionality. If you're just looking to buy a digital converter box to be used with an analog TV, buy the cheapest one you can find."
Many thanks to Doug for all of his input. We appreciate that he has always been as passionate about getting information out to the public as those at the Maine HDTV Forum."Our digital channel is and will remain, 43. Stations will continue to market and refer to themselves by their old analog channel numbers as a way to reduce confusion to viewers. Our move with WPME from digital channel 28 to 35 (our old analog channel) was done for technical reasons (to allow us use the existing channel 35 antenna which is mounted at the highest point on the tower).
Several of the other area stations will be moving back to their analog frequencies (primarily for lower electric power costs), but most will not. This is going to be a confusing issue as viewers try to tune into specific stations and don't know the "real" channel numbers.
WCSH - Analog channel 6...digital channel 44. They will not be moving and even though the digital tuners will tell you that you are watching channel 6, it will actually be receiving that signal on channel 44.
WMTW - Analog channel 8...currently digital channel 45 but they will be
moving back to channel 8 for their digital broadcasting on February 17th.
WGME - Analog channel 13...digital channel 38. They will
not be moving and even though the digital tuners will tell you that you are
watching channel 13, it will actually be receiving that signal on channel 38.
WCBB - Analog channel 10...currently digital channel 17 but they will be
moving back to channel 10 for their digital broadcasting next week.
WPFO - Analog channel 23...they will switch from analog to digital broadcasting on
February 17th, but will remain on channel 23.
WMEA - Analog channel 26...they will switch to digital channel 45 (the current WMTW channel) on February 17th so the tuner will tell you that you're watching channel 26 but it will actually be receiving channel 45.
As viewers have to manually add and delete channels they will need to understand this concept and know the real channel numbers for each station."
5 comments:
WMTW-DT is currently being broadcast on UHF channel 46 not 45. WMEA-DT is currently broadcasting on UHF channel 45 and will continue to do so after the transition.
John is correct, I was in error. Thank you John for picking up on that mistake. It's amazing to me that the FCC licensed most of the Portland channels to adjacent frequencies; 43, 44, 45 and 46. There are concerns by many engineers that the proximity to one transmitter is going to affect the adjacent frequencies (if you live near Sebago where WCSH...digital channel 44...has their tower, it may create problems receiving channels 43 and 45...conversely, if you live near Gray where our WPXT tower is broadcasting on channel 43, you may have difficulty picking up channel 44!).
Thanks,
Doug
There is a product sold on TV which says both VHS and UHS frequencies are received with their stick which hides behind your TV. I went to the website and noticed they also sell a box and cable to enhance reception. Would this save me from having to get to the roof which is three floors up?
I would be leery of any product sold on TV, especially if it sits in your house, behind your TV. If you could buy it locally, with the ability to return it if it doesn't work, absolutely. While I r alive the roof is not convenient, depending on where you live, it's most likely your best option. I've seen indoor products that used to work well, loose effectiveness because broadcast TV stations have reduced the strength of their signals over the past few years
I would be leery of any product sold on TV, especially if it sits in your house, behind your TV. If you could buy it locally, with the ability to return it if it doesn't work, absolutely. While I r alive the roof is not convenient, depending on where you live, it's most likely your best option. I've seen indoor products that used to work well, loose effectiveness because broadcast TV stations have reduced the strength of their signals over the past few years
Post a Comment