THE DTV TRANSITION IS HERE!

If you just found this page looking for information on how to get solid DTV reception over the air, browse through the links in the left frame, some of these posts are from a couple years ago, but have relevant information. I would go back to the earliest post and work your way up.

For those who did receive all their off-the-air DTV channels with a new digital TV or converter box, well, unfortunately you're not quite set yet. After June 12th passes into Saturday, you will need to rescan your tuner as some of the channels have switched to their final FCC approved DTV frequency. Check your owner's manual for details on how to do this. If after rescanning a couple times, if not all your channels are back yet, you may need to adjust or possibly even upgrade your current antenna. If you have used a UHF only antenna for DTV reception, chances are that you will need to go with a VHF/UHF combo to get all your channels back. You may want to contact the antenna manufacturer tech support line although I would be very patient to get through.

There are also some DTV help centers in your area, which could be at your local library or nearest electronics store. Check the newspaper or its Web site, or search "DTV Help Center" and your town to locate one near you for some good face-to-face help. Before you go, visit http://www.antennaweb.org/ or http://www.tvfool.com/ to get the final post-transition channel list for your area, and how strong an antenna you would need to consistently receive all your favorite channels.

Also keep in mind that not all analog channels will cease; you may be able to receive a low-power station; these stations are NOT required to be all digital just yet, only the major full-power stations in the US.

MILWAUKEE BROADCASTER USES ITS LOW-POWER STATIONS AS A "DIGITAL LIFELINE"

Milwaukee's CBS affiliate WDJT channel 58, owned by Weigel Broadcasting, has two lower power sister stations, channel 63, which was formerly the Telemundo affiliate for Milwaukee, now all digital on 48.4, and WMLW-CA 41. -CA means a "Class A" station, which is not a full power station, and at 9PM has a newscast from CBS 58. While the other major affiliates will have their news be available only on their all-digital broadcasts, CBS 58 is use their low power stations to continue broadcasting to the about 2% of market households, allowing them to continue to get local news and information on the DTV transition.

This is a marketing tool as clever as cable providers offering limited time low-cost basic cable services to help those who waited too long for the all-digital switch. Using their legal low-power broadcasts may hook new regular viewers.

A FEW UPDATES ON THE DTV TRANSITION

With about six weeks left to the June 12th deadline for broadcasters to power down their full power over the air analog broadcasts, here are a few updates:

• Several stations went ahead with an early shutdown in April; any stations that didn't will do so in June. One station in Chicago, WYCC, a public TV station owned by the city colleges of Chicago, shut down its analog signal on April 16th. Where I live in northern Illinois, I saw static on analog channel 20, a good DTV signal on 20-1 (HD), -2 (SD simulcast), and -3 (MHz Worldview with international news and entertainment).
• Local stations and the NAB spots are reminding viewers to rescan their DTV off-air tuners after June 12th, the reason being that some stations will be changing their DTV frequency to their final FCC approved frequency.
• I recently saw a scroll on WLS ABC-7 in Chicago informing viewers that they will shut their analog broadcast down at noon Chicago time on June 12th and because they will revert to their channel 7 VHF signal as their final DTV signal, that over the air viewers will require a good VHF/UHF antenna to get all the channels, which is the way it has to be.
• Speaking of the right VHF/UHF antennas, there is a good article on indoor antennas recommended for VHF DTV reception by RF expert Doug Lung at this link to the TV Technology magazine Web site: http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/79862. I highly recommend reading this if your old fashioned rabbit ears are not cutting it for receiving digital broadcasts after getting your converter box or new digital TV.
• Back to ABC7 Chicago - ABC owned and operated stations have started a new DTV sub channel, LiveWell HD, a lifestyle channel which loops six half-hour shows. They are presented in 720p HD, although the quality of this channel is average compared to the primary ABC HD channel. According to a Wikipedia entry for one LiveWell affiliate, the primary ABC HD streams at 10 Mbps in 720p, LivWell at 5 Mbps in 720p, and a weather/news channel in 480i standard definition in 480i. As a comparison, some Internet HD videos are in 720p, and download speeds of 7 to 8 Mbps are recommended. Simply put, the slower the bit rate, the less the picture quality. This multicast channel is available in limited markets - you can get information on this channel at http://www.livewellhd.com/.
• As of May 1st, Nielsen reports that about 3.5 million of the over 100 million U.S. households are considered completely unready for the June 12th analog shutoff, which, at 3.1%, is a significant reduction of the percentage of households unready back at the start of 2009. The two significant markets least prepared are Santa Fe, NM (8.77% of households unprepared) and Dallas-Fort Worth TX (6.62% of households unprepared). While the improvement, coming after the DTV coupons become more available as part of the recent stimulus package, justified the deadline delay from February 17 to June 12, I would not expect another delay.
• This time of year would be a good time to check the antenna connected to the DTV box as rainy and unstable air this time of year reduces the amount of signal reaching your antenna. On clear days with high barometric pressure, the signals come in much stronger than days with low barometric pressure with heavy rain and wind. So if you are witnessing this, feel free to browse around the archives with tips on improving your off-air DTV reception.

THE FIRST WAVE - WHAT WAS THE FCC THINKING MAKING SOME STATIONS REVERSE THEIR PLANS FOR AN EARLY SHUTDOWN?

I am posting this entry the night before what was supposed to be the day when all full power TV stations in the US were to shut down, but instead February 17th will be a day when some markets will see a handful of stations power down their analog transmitters, while others will wait until the now official new deadline of June 12th. The final count of stations making the transition on or before the original February 17th deadline will be 641; 220 have done so already, 421 will do so on the 17th. The FCC has released the now final and approved list of stations noting those that will be making the switch at http://www.fcc.gov/ - see the Headlines dated 2/16/08 including an Excel and Acrobat document list.

Late last week, 43 stations that had announced they would shut down analog on February 17th reversed their decision, pretty much after the FCC blew a whistle on several markets whose top four network (CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC) affiliates would go all digital. The reason the FCC did this was to ensure that at least one local affiliate of the top four networks, each with a local news organization, to continue providing local news and emergency information to those households still not ready for the transition. Also, I would have to think that some decisions were made based on some stations switching from a pre-transition frequency to a post transition frequency, that would make some households realize they need to realign their existing antenna, or get a whole different one. Also, the FCC has noted some stations have "enhanced analog nightlight" to have these local affiliates have at lease an analog signal ready to broadcast emergency information, but they have written very little detail on this.

Anyway, I am going to play devil's advocate and provide examples of this now two-wave transition for three markets, two of the markets claiming to have less than one percent of their households not yet ready for the DTV switch, but also had a station pretty much ordered by the FCC to keep their analog broadcast going:

Milwaukee WI - Here the top four network affiliates as well as the PBS affiliate elected to continue their analog broadcasts until June, so there was no concern from the FCC here. The CW and MyNetwork affiliates, both owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, are going to make the switch and do the standard "nightlight" plan by posting information on the switch on their analog channels instead of regular programming that will only be seen on the digital channel. Also making the switch here will be a religious station, and they plan just to flash cut to DTV. Milwaukee has a fairly easy endgame; only the CW affiliate on analog 18 will be changing their DTV channel post-transition; their current DTV broadcast is on real channel 61, in the 52-69 channel spectrum that will be returned for new wireless applications and services. So, once their nightlight period ends sometime late in March, all the Milwaukee DTV broadcasts will be on their post-transition channel, meaning at that time DTV OTA viewers will likely not need to adjust or replace their current antenna, while those households catching up will get the right antenna and be all set before June 12th.

Madison, WI - This is one of the markets claiming to have less than one percent of their households unprepared for the switch. Unlike Milwaukee, in this market all their affiliates have DTV broadcasts on what will be their post-transition frequency, so all that needs to be done here is to simply power down their analog broadcasts. Their NBC affiliate will be the first to go at about 11:30 PM local time on February 16th, followed by the CBS affiliate, then the ABC affiliate, as well as the CW affiliate. ABC and CW will do the traditional nightlight while the CBS will have the "enhanced nightlight" in which that station in the event of an emergency or for local news can power back up their analog channel 3. The station that reversed its intention to power down this week was the FOX affiliate, channel 47, whose pre and post DTV frequency is in VHF high band on channel 11. Now I can speculate that the reason FOX in Madison is still going full analog is for OTA DTV viewers using a so-called HDTV antenna that in reality is nothing more than a UHF antenna, like a Silver Sensor for indoors and a bowtie antenna for outdoors. These antennas may get the other DTV channels and analog 47 for FOX, but possibly not the VHF channel 11. Hopefully when these viewers realize they are not getting 47-1 but just 47, they will ask about it and realize they really needed a VHF high band/UHF antenna to all their local channels when they become all digital. Also the PBS affiliate will continue to be analog, probably because PBS in Wisconsin is a statewide network, so to promote the switch in few areas would probably have just caused confusion.

Quincy, IL-Hannibal, MO-Keokuk, IA - Like Madison, this small market claims to have less than one percent of their households as not prepared for the DTV switch. This is an interesting market because it is a duopoly in terms of the top four networks. There are analog channels 7, CBS, and 10, NBC, and the other networks are only available over the air digitally. DTV channel 7.2 has ABC network programming, while 10.2 has the CW and 10.3 FOX. Additionally, 7's DTV frequency in on channel 29 while 10's is on 54, a station in the frequency spectrum that will be returned, and yet both stations' post-transition DTV channels will be their original VHF frequencies. Well, both these stations were planning to switch early, but after the FCC blew the whistle, channel 7 agreed to delay its switch until June while 10 would proceed,which makes sense since their pre-transition frequency would be returned. But what about those households that, again, became DTV ready with a UHF only antenna? Once channel 10 makes the switch and people who thought they were ready suddenly lose 10.1, .2, and .3, how would they react when they realize they need a high band VHF/UHF antenna? And now, making this issue more confusing is that 10 is going to be on the enhanced nightlight; so, does this mean the station will not switch their DTV frequency until the nightlight period ends, or even until June? Will they just broadcast on DTV 54 and power their old analog transmitter only for news and emergency information? How long will it last? (2-17-09 UPDATE: At 12:30 PM today WGEM did power down their analog channel 10 broadcast and in a two hour period made the transition to broadcast all digital on the channel 10 frequency, so it is likely the FCC is requesting at least one major affiliate, KHQA, stay on analog to provide local breaking news as needed) And during this time will those households that got a UHF only antenna for DTV viewing replace their antenna with a VHF high band/UHF? Hopefully the stations will remind viewers one simple suggestion; if their antenna setup gets a decent 7 and 10 analog picture as well as their DTV equivalent, then when the switch becomes final the viewer can just rescan their tuner. Still, I think in this case discretion may not quite be the better part of valor.

In any case, the FCC did announce today that they would send out reps to the markets making the switch to be on site at walk-in help areas for those needing information on how to get a converter box, install it, and then see is they need the right antenna. They have also started a Web page where viewers can check their DTV reception - http://www.dtv.gov/fixreception.html.

And now, here comes the first wave . . .

WHO WILL STAY AND WHO WILL GO ON 2-17-09?

Even though the federal deadline for terminating full power analog broadcasts has been pushed back to June 12th, the congressional bill does allow stations to proceed with their permanent switch to DTV at an earlier date, and some stations have just informed the FCC prior to a midnight filing deadline on Monday February 9th that they will proceed with the switch on February 17th as planned. Other stations may elect in the next few weeks to complete their DTV switch in April, and the rest in June.

So which stations will make the 2-17-09 switch as intended? On the evening I posted this entry, February 10th, the FCC posted on its Web site a public notice of those stations, with appendix documents listing the 190 stations that had already made the DTV switch while the delay debate in Washington was ongoing, plus 491 stations that will proceed with their analog shutdown on February 17th as planned. The documents are available for public viewing at http://www.fcc.gov/ - see the "Headlines" section of the page and the 2/10/09 entry. During the Washington debate on the DTV delay, the FCC reported that 61% of full power stations at the time could proceed with their analog shutdown; the actual percentage to do so will be about 35-40%. Appendix A lists the stations that plan to be all digital by February 18th, while Appendix B lists all full power stations currently broadcasting, with entries in red planning to go all digital early, and those in black delaying their analog shutdown.

Several of these stations had their reasons for making the switch. One is that they had already budgeted operations and installations for the February 17th switch, and to delay the switch would only add to their operating costs that are already being complicated by the current economic situation. Another reason is that their research for their specific market shows that less than 1% of households in their viewing area were not ready for the switch, compared to about a 6% national average. What interests me about the list that most of the markets who have several major network affiliates that will make the originally intended 2/17 switch to DTV are in fairly small markets. Does this mean that these markets have either a relatively smaller audience with not as many households to check if they are DTV ready, or these over the air households actually still watch their local news more often, making them more likely aware of the DTV transition? Whatever the case, it will turn out that February 17th will be more like the first wave of the transition which the major cities making the switch in June. This actually could turn out better in the end; European countries have scheduled their DTV transitions by region at different times, so this plan in the US may arguably be no different.

SO IS THE DATE 2-17-09 or 6-12-09? AND WHAT IS THIS NIGHTLIGHT?

With a new presidential administration now beginning, one of its first issues is, should the DTV transition be delayed from 2/17/09 to June 12th? The primary reason for this delay under consideration is that the DTV converter box program run out of funds, and coupons, forcing those who apply for coupons to be on a waiting list and making the 6-8 weeks for delivery even longer.

I have a few additional arguments supporting the delay. One is the programming - broadcast prime time audiences become significantly lower over the summer months, and there are not that many huge sporting events in June (CORRECTION 1/25/09 - The proposed June 12th shutoff date may be about the time the deciding games of the 2009 NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup finals are played, so for some this MAY be an issue). Another is the weather - as I mentioned in a previous post long ago, if people in February do hook up their converter boxes to an outdoor rooftop antenna only to discover they have to either readjust their antenna or purchase a completely different one, are such people really going to go up on an icy roof on a cold day in February to do this? Finally, there is the fact that June 12th is a Friday, which would make installing and configuring a DTV box a weekend project for those who have to adjust, whereas February 17th is on a Tuesday, the middle of the week. One other advantage of shutting the analog signals down on the weekend is it may allow more people to volunteer over the weekend to assist in DTV box installations and configurations, either by visiting households or taking calls in support call centers.

Unfortunately I do not see the delay passing in time because of resistance by companies who have planned to test and deploy new systems in the 700 MHz band to be freed up following the transition. Also, anti-delayers believe an eleventh hour change of the shutdown date will do nothing more than make consumers even more confused about the transition.

But when the date does arrive, some full power broadcasters will be participating in a 30-day "nightlight" period, where these stations analog broadcasts will continue, except it will not be the regular programming, but rather looping spots letting people know the DTV transition has happened, and what to do about it before these signals go off the air permanently. Additionally, in case of emergencies, these analog broadcasts will have news and information. Only several local stations will actually participate in this nightlight period; those stations with analog broadcasts from channels 52-69 cannot participate so this frequency band will be freed up.

UPDATE: On February 4th, two weeks from the original deadline, the House of Representatives passed a majority vote already unanimously approved by the Senate to delay the transition date to June 12th. As I post this, the bill still requires President Obama's signature, which is very likely. Some areas however may still go ahead and complete the transition before the new deadline date; for example, Hawaii has already completed the DTV switch, and most stations in the San Diego area will proceed with going exclusively digital on February 17th as originally planned.

WHAT WILL THE QUALITY OF OTA HDTV BE IN CITIES WITH LARGE BUILDINGS?

This question was posted by a blogger.com member named Steve in a recent comment; my thanks to him for that great question. This is a big concern for some since city-dwellers live in buildings surrounded by taller buildings that may block the off-air signals.

In areas like these close to the TV broadcast towers, the signals may be strong, but there is also the issue of "multi-path", or, reflected signals that interfere with the line of sight signal and cause "phase variations" in the signal going into the box. Some of the newest DTV tuners, which bloggers and reviewers may mention have a "5th generation or higher" DTV chip set, are supposedly very capable of correcting these multi-path phase variations to allow for a good demodulation of the DTV signal, and a great picture with few breakups (artifacts). However, it also helps to have a directional antenna instead of rabbit-ear or loop antennas that can pick up signals from both directions. Directional antennas focus their reception energy in a single direction, reducing multi-path signals on their way to the DTV tuner, and making its job easier.

Using a directional antenna also allows city dwellers to have options in pointing their antenna. For example, if a resident has a tall building blocking the line-of-sight signal to the point where the received signal (if any) is too weak to result in a picture, the user can simply redirect the antenna and instead pick up a reflected signal. Signals can be reflected off metal structures, like a cell tower, a lamppost, or even a steel-framed building from behind. In these cases, the city dweller may find the antenna needed to be pointed 50, 90, possibly 180 degrees off line of sight to get the best signals and the best DTV picture.

So, if you happen to read this and are having issues getting a DTV picture because a large building is in the way of the direction recommended by www.antennaweb.org or www.tvfool.com, consider a directional indoor antenna (like the Silver Sensor, a TERK with a similar look of the Silver Sensor, or a Winegard SharpShooter), and then try it in different directions, because then the best signal might turn up in the direction you didn't expect.

Of course, if there are few obstructions in the line-of-sight direction, then that is the direction to aim the antenna.

WINEGARD RELEASES VHF HIGH BAND/UHF VERSIONS OF THEIR HD PLATINUM LINE

It took a while, but perhaps they just wanted to get the right design out at the right time. Winegard Company in the Spring of 2008 released five new versions of their HD Platinum series antennas for long range off-air reception, and they are designed to receive channels 7-69. Most markets in the United States after the DTV transition will have their final frequencies in VHF High Band (7-13) and UHF (14-51), and these five antennas will receive these stations from a single direction.

If you are looking to replace your rooftop antenna, then I would simplify the search and focus on the HD7964P model, and then look at it in reference to the TV Fool Web site with its off-air signal predictor tool, which I discussed in an earlier blog. If your DTV channels can be received in a single direction (with a direction range of under 40 degrees) and all the noise figure numbers on the TV Fool predictor results are 5 or greater, then based on the gain numbers claimed for the HD7984 from Winegard, I would expect this antenna to get good reception provided only one DTV tuner is connected to the antenna with RG-6/U cable, with a direct run of 75 feet or less. If there are more tuners to be connected with this antenna and a splitter is used, or more cable is required, then a low-noise preamp may be needed if several of the noise figure results are between 5-15. This recommendation also is for an outside rooftop mount.

If all the predicted noise figures are above 15 for the DTV stations listed, then it may be possible the HD7964P will work in the attic. Based on the dimensions, this design should be easy to fit inside an attic space, allowing over-the-air reception while keeping the antenna hidden from view and not being an eyesore to some.

Winegard rates the HD7964P as a "zone 3" model for suburban locations. If it turns out the TV Fool model has several results at or just below zero, then you will want to consider one of their larger zone 4 models, which are larger antennas but have more gain and more range.

HOW DO I SELECT THE RIGHT ANTENNA? ASK A FOOL



One day while reading the site of home theater consultant Peter Putnam at http://www.hdtvexpert.com/ I came across a link to a Web site that I feel may be very useful in determining if a household has enough antenna to ensure their new DTV tuners, be it a new set, a converter box, or a DTV tuner in an HD satellite TV receiver, will get their local channels after the DTV conversion completes. One word of caution - comparing this site to http://www.antennaweb.org/ is like comparing Linux to Windows; it takes a bit of work and practice, but in the end, the system runs a lot better for what you need.



The site is http://www.tvfool.com/, and it has a signal predictor tool for any address in the United States, and it uses the latest FCC data of the stations' broadcast facilities, including those that will be the final DTV post-transition broadcasts. This will allow an antenna user to do a "before" and "after" comparsion to see which stations will change their final DTV broadcast frequency, and if they would expect a stronger DTV post-transition signal, or not.

Like antennaweb.org, which has been promoted more and more by the NAB in their TV PSAs, the TV Fool signal predictor asks for your address for best results, although a zip code is all that is needed. You can also enter GPS coordinates and antenna height for your location for the best results, and if your area is in hilly terrain, then you will have to make sure the results are right at your location.

The results allow the user to not only view the results on the Web browser, but also save a graphic image of the results that can be saved and printed offline. The image file resolution is good enough to zoom in on the image to read the information closely, if needed.

One thing I really enjoy about the TV Fool predictor is on their FAQ page, they provide a detailed explanation on how to interpret the results, something I feel the antennaweb.org site lacks. The trick is to ensure the antenna signals maintain the best signal to noise ratio (SNR) from the antenna to the DTV tuner. The site stresses to notice their Noise Factor number. In the end, if the number is above zero, then the DTV tuner should provide a good picture, although because actual signal varies with the weather, I would set a goal to make that number 5 to 10 to allow for "rain fade" or unstable air effects that reduce signal at the antenna from time to time.

Here is how it works - the results are listed from the strongest signal to the weakest. It is important to note that successful reception always starts at the antenna, and that amplifiers cannot pull in more signal; they only overcome signal losses in splitters and cables. If you have an antenna with a spec sheet showing antenna dB gain, then you can start by adding the gain to the station Noise Factor result. The channel to use must be the Real channel listed; the "virtual channel" is the station you tune your DTV tuner to watch that primary channel. If the antenna specs are listed as dBi, then you must reduce the result by 2.1 to convert to dBd gain. If the station post-DTV transition Noise Factor is at or below zero after adding antenna gain, then if you want to watch that channel, then you will have to consider buying a larger antenna because an amplifier will not do much good.

On the other hand, if the results are above zero, then so far, so good. Now comes the issue of cable and splitter loss. If you are using a two way splitter, subtract 4 from each result, and subtract 7 for a four way splitter. For every 100' length of RG-6 type cable, subtract 1 dB for real channels 2-6, 2 dB for real channels 7-13, and 4 dB for real channels 14-69 (14-51 post DTV transition). If at any point the noise factor results fall below zero, then an amplifier is needed to offset this loss. You will need to start again, however. After adjusting for antenna gain, subtract the number 4 from each result. This accounts for the noise figure of the amplifier you are going to use, which should be a low noise amplifier. Then, add the results to the amplifier gain, and subtract the cable/splitter losses as noted above. If the results come in above zero, then your system is set.

A couple other notes - the results, like antennaweb.org, use a color coded system, but this one is more practical. If the stations are listed as green, then chances are good that an indoor antenna should suffice for your location, because the predicted noise factor numbers are very high that the signals should still be fairly strong indoors after being lost through the building. Results listed in yellow may be receivable by an attic-mounted antenna, since the predicted noise factors are around 15, accounting for likely signal losses through roof shingles on plywood among other typical attic structures, plus the fact that the antenna is mounted higher than an indoor antenna.

The site also determines if the predicted signals will be line of sight (LOS), diffracted, or tropospheric. Line of sight signals will be easy to receive as long as the antenna is properly aimed. Diffracted signals may require the antenna to be raised or lowered slightly to receive the signal adequately. The tropospheric signals are the weakest and come from out of market, and are receivable only on very rare occasions when the atmosphere allows it.

Comparing the results for my area, they work out very well; it is in agreement with some Chicago stations I can receive indoors as opposed to the strong large directional rooftop antenna I normally use for DTV reception. This also gives me confidence that my existing antenna system will continue to receive all the local DTV channels post-transition. So if you find that antennaweb.org color guide a bit confusing and reminiscent of Trivial Pursuit, give http://www.tvfool.com/ a try - you just might find the antenna answers you have been desperately seeking.