WHO-TV helps viewers get ready for digital transition

[dhett]

If you can read this, you're not ready for DTV

From TV Week:

"WHO ran a banner with a text crawl about a third of the way up the screen, asking viewers to tune in to the digital channel to see the program without the banner; if they could not, they were not ready for the conversion to digital broadcasting"

Read TV Week article

My opinion: it's good to see a broadcaster offering a straightforward test to help people get ready for DTV. The banner is hard to ignore, so anyone who saw that banner has no excuse now for ignorance. I hope other stations try the same thing.

 

[jal41]

I expect more and more of these types of tests, especially in the days and weeks prior to the shutoff of the analog signals.

Also, expect them to get more and more intrusive into regular programming (like cable channels do when they are in the process of changing satellite transponders).

 

[mjlarochelle]

KING-5 in Seattle (or one of the other stations there) shut off their analog signal while retaining their digital signal for a few minutes a couple months back as a test.

 

[stationi]

In the final months before the transition they should leave the text crawl on 24/7 on the analog over-the-air signal to force the viewers into acting. If you annoy them enough they will be forced to convert.

 

[azumanga]

KING-5 in Seattle shut off their analog signal while retaining their digital signal for a few minutes a couple months back as a test.

And in doing so, Star Choice, one of Canada's satellite companies, isn't ready:

http://forums.canadian-tv.com/showthread.php?t=28355&highlight=KING

 

[Bill_W]

I'm pretty sure that Comcast, Verizon, and DirecTv are passing along analog as well as digital broadcast TV signals. So, if you're watching the analog feed which, I assume that cable & sat. companies will just put the digital signal there instead for you, you don't have to do anything. For example, in Philly, Comcast puts WPVI-TV on channel 6 on cable. WPVI-DT is on 231 as well in HD. Will Comcast put WPVI-DT on 6 & 231? 6 downconverted to 480?

 

[kenglish]

They almost tried this in Salt Lake City, until someone (an engineering-oriented manager) pointed out that there are so many different ways that signals in this market translate back and forth between digital and analog (due to Cable TV, Satellite, fiber and translators), that it would only confuse the issue.

I've been wondering if there is some creative way to use the differences between analog (line-21) closed captioning, and the DTV Captioning Services, to tell people if they are getting a direct signal in analog or DTV.

I think our best shot would be to turn off analog and DTV separately, on every single station, and let people know if their signal is coming directly, or via some translation process. They'd still need to check with providers in many instances, though.

I don't see how a ten-second "test" really does much good, unless the stations all did them consecutively, on the same date. Then, it might be close (assuming you only test one set in each home).

 

[azumanga]

I've been wondering if there is some creative way to use the differences between analog (line-21) closed captioning, and the DTV Captioning Services, to tell people if they are getting a direct signal in analog or DTV.

Only if the captioning is activated on the person's set.

 

[markwooldridge]

When this was done in the UK (going from 405 mono to 625 colour) caption generators were installed at the transmitters, at least they were for ITV. But by then they only had 15,000 viewers ...

 

[groze]

I'm pretty sure that Comcast, Verizon, and DirecTv are passing along analog as well as digital broadcast TV signals. So, if you're watching the analog feed which, I assume that cable & sat. companies will just put the digital signal there instead for you, you don't have to do anything. For example, in Philly, Comcast puts WPVI-TV on channel 6 on cable. WPVI-DT is on 231 as well in HD. Will Comcast put WPVI-DT on 6 & 231? 6 downconverted to 480?

Not quite true. Comcast is moving channels from both the limited basic and expanded basic to the Digital Starter or Digital Classic. They are also planning to scramble all qam digital signals next year. To force you to get a cable card or a set top box and this included almost everyone on cable. They will be moving channel Cspan2, Oxygen and Hallmark (Even through I do not get this except for Cspan2) to their digital starter package. The reason I know this is the info was in my bill. I also wrote them and they told me that sometime late next year everyone could be digital.