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TV says so long to analog: It's 12 months and counting for digital switch(Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 20--It's countdown time if you watch television using an antenna -- and want to avoid having "Survivor" or basketball games fade to black in your living room. On Feb. 17, 2009, TV stations across the U.S. will unplug their analog TV transmitters. Replacing them will be a digital transmission that promises clearer pictures and more channels -- but also demands new tuners or TV sets. A little less than a year remains for stations, retailers and equipment makers to tell viewers to buy tuner boxes -- or new antennas or even new sets -- to hold on to free TV. "Each consumer that comes in, we make sure they're aware they'll have to purchase a digital box in the coming year," said Deep Ginda, assistant manager of the RadioShack on Bridge Street in Yuba City. The Federal Communications Commission is clearing TV stations from the airspace they've called home since the medium's roots nearly 70 years ago. Moving into the old TV frequencies will be firms looking to expand their cell phone and wireless Internet services. Federal auctions of the territory began last month. While cable and satellite delivery have steadily eroded the old proliferation of roof aerials and living-room rabbit ears, about 15.5 million households (out of 110 million that own TVs) still rely on antennas, according to a FCC report published in November. To ease them into the new era, the FCC is offering vouchers to cover the cost of digital tuner boxes, which allow existing TVs to receive the new signals. Households can apply for up to two $40 credits, each of which can be used to buy a separate converter. Several Sacramento Valley electronics shops began stocking converters last week. The use of antennas varies by region but appears more common in rural areas, where many towns remain unconnected to cable networks. Ginda reported meeting a half-dozen or more antenna users in his shop every week at the Yuba City RadioShack. Thirty-five miles southeast in Roseville, Best Buy offers the converters but has seen few takers, according to Brian Sacco, a store manager. Still, over-the-air viewers remain a sizable force in small and midsize cities, according to Carl Randall, chief engineer for the CBS affiliate KTVL-TV in Medford, Ore., who said that more than 15 percent of the station's audience relies on antennas. (Freedom Communications Inc. owns both KTVL and the Appeal-Democrat.) To prevent viewers from getting caught short with useless sets, the station started running announcements six months ago to alert them to the need for new tuners. For some, buying a TV tuner may be only half the solution. Last week, a survey of FCC coverage maps in Las Vegas, St. Louis and Philadelphia by the media research firm Centris of Los Angeles warned that many homes farther than 35 miles from a transmitter will have little to no reception of digital signals, Broadcast Engineering magazine said last week. That could force homeowners to change not only their TV tuners but their antennas -- or simply move to cable or satellite. The Sacramento area's six network affiliates and KVIE, a public TV station, transmit from towers in Walnut Grove -- 70 miles south of Yuba City. Awareness of the coming TV overhaul is growing but still spotty, various surveys show. In January, the National Association of Broadcasters reported 79 percent of Americans are now aware of the transition -- twice the figure from 2007. However, Consumer Reports magazine countered that 74 percent still had "major misconceptions," such as believing that cable and satellite users also must use the converter boxes. (Analog cable will remain in service until at least 2012, and satellite receivers already receive digital signals.) "I get about 10 calls a day on this topic, people (asking questions) from, 'How do I apply for the coupons the government is giving out?' to, 'Which is the best TV set that I should buy?'" Randall said Monday. Ginda, the Yuba City salesman, hopes to steer at least three-fourths of the shop's antenna-using customers toward digital tuners before the 2009 deadline. But he admitted the work of keeping viewers from facing empty screens next year would remain a battle for months. "We're doing a lot of education these days," he said. Staying Connected --If you use a roof antenna or indoor rabbit ears: You probably will need a new digital TV tuner by Feb. 17, 2009. The tuners are available in converter boxes that connect to existing sets to let them receive the new signals, called ATSC. Federal law also requires digital tuners in all TVs made since 2007, though sets with analog tuners -- also known as NTSC -- remain available. Nearly all sets made before 1998 are analog and will need converters from 2009 onward. Viewers can apply to the Federal Communications Commission to get two $40 vouchers to help pay for digital TV converters. For more information, visit the FCC's digital TV Web site at www.dtv2009.gov or call 888-388-2009. --If you use a cable TV box: Either analog or digital cable boxes will work until 2012, when the FCC is expected to require the digital models. --If you use a satellite service like DirecTV or Dish Network: No change is necessary, since current satellite systems already work digitally. Sources: Federal Communications Commission, Consumers Union Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708, 458-2121 or [email protected]. To see more of the Appeal-Democrat, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.appeal-democrat.com. 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