[June 17, 2009] DTV transition comes and goes with a few bugs Tweet Jun 16, 2009 (The Telegraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The long-delayed transition to digital television seems to have gone smoothly in New Hampshire and much of the country -- smoothly, but not flawlessly. "We've had tons of calls," said Louise Coleman, a customer service representative with the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association at its toll-free help line for the digital TV transition. Coleman said many calls concerned WHDH-TV in Boston, which converted its UHF signal, Channel 7, to digital. This meant that many people whose digital systems were previously getting WHDH on its VHF channel, Channel 41, had to "re-scan" their televisions or converter boxes to switch to Channel 7.WMUR-TV in Manchester made a similar transition at midnight Friday, when all major television stations in the U.S. switched their broadcasts from analog -- the technology used since the days of Marconi -- to digital. But a WMUR representative said that the state's biggest station received little feedback all weekend on the help line it has heavily advertised. "As of 9 a.m. (Monday), we've had a grand total of less than 25 calls since Friday," said Alex Jasiukowicz, creative services director for the station. Not everybody was ready in time, however, judging from the Radio Shack store in the Pheasant Lane Mall, one of many places in the region that sell converter boxes, which allow analog TVs to get digital signals. "There were a ton of last-minute shoppers," said John Rost, assistant manager at the store. "I think a lot of people thought it would be pushed back again." The transition was originally scheduled for Feb. 17 but was delayed four months due to concerns that too many people were unprepared. The change only affected over-the-air signals. Signals sent over cable TV or satellite TV were not changed. Estimates were that some 2.5 million households were unprepared for the switchover. A total of 971 full-power stations around the country dropped their analog broadcasts. Many -- including New Hampshire Public TV and MyTV out of Derry -- had already dropped analog before last Friday. Nashua's Channel 13 is among a smaller number of stations nationwide that is keeping its analog signal. As a low-power station it was not required to make the digital switch due to cost. The Federal Communications Commission said Monday the transition appeared to be going well, judging by calls to its toll-free hotline. On Friday, the average wait time for a call to the help line was 4-1/2 minutes. That figure was down to less than one minute by Sunday. About one-third of those calls, said the FCC, concerned details about operating digital converter boxes, while about one-quarter concerned reception of certain stations. From a technical point of view, he said, the digital switch went flawlessly for WMUR. Like many stations, WMUR has run a parallel digital signal for years -- in its case, on Channel 59. At midnight Friday, it turned off the analog signal and moved the digital signal to its main UHF signal, Channel 9. The station scheduled two hours to make the switch, warning viewers it would be entirely off the air for that period. In fact, says Jasiukowicz, it took less than one-seventh of that time. "We were done by 17 minutes after midnight," he said. As for Channel 59, it will eventually be given back to the government, which has sold it to telecommunications providers to use for various wireless services. To see more of The Telegraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nashuatelegraph.com Copyright (c) 2009, The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]