Published: February 13, 2008 09:33 am            

Digital box may not help all that much

Let’s talk about television. For the last three and a half years, I have pretty much lost track of all that is televised. We had some level of television in Iraq, but it is extremely limited and spotty . . . meaning . . . it came in all “broke-up and unreadable” at times.

I watched, or attempted to watch the Armed Forces Network, which was transmitted digitally. So it is with a groan that I learn the whole digital thing that is about to happen here.

What really sent me straight up and to the right, was the knowledge that my old television will not work with it and I have till some time in 2009 to “upgrade”. Huh? What is going on? I don’t want to upgrade. I like the piece of crap on which I watch more crap. How is it, I asked others, that I left for the war and came back to an obsolete television set?

This is preposterous. Who effectively managed to get the Federal Communications Commission to bite off on a plan that would effectively force every person in the United States to alter their television? It stinks I tell you. So I have done some research and I hope it helps.

It seems the Federal Government, mandated by Congress, is making this switch from an analog “spectrum” to a digital “spectrum” mandatory by Feb. 17, 2009. The plan is to auction off the current analog spectrums presently being used by commercial television. These television stations (Channels 4,5,9 13, 25, 34, and 43) have long been considered public service, as this is where Public Service Announcements take place, so they have been allowed to use these airwaves. Now those stations have been forced to buy the equipment, set up and go digital to free up those analog spectrums for future sale.

According to the FCC spokesperson, Congress is just doing this to free up the analog spectrum for use by the police, fire and safety folks. (Isn’t that sweet of them?) But, I spent more than a hour on the phone this weekend with L.W. Russea, a former government engineer for cryptographic systems. He explained the real “poop,” on these coming changes and there is more behind this than the FCC is letting you know with its “consumer” website. You, as consumers and constituents, should know what is really going to happen and how it will effect everyone.

First, if you already have Dish Network, Direct TV or satellite television, your system, whether you buy a new television set or not, is already converting digital to analog, so you need not act at all.

The most affected consumers will be folks here (western Oklahoma, western Texas, Utah--you get the picture), in what Russea calls “fringe” areas, who get their television through signals via the airwaves or “free TV” from “rabbit ears” or an antenna. Those people will need to obtain a box that is touted to convert the digital signal to an analog signal so their current set (one built before March 2007) will be able to recognize and make the signal viewable. But, Russea said, because digital signaling is less efficient and will not travel the distance that analog does, that unless televisions stations build transponders or build new stations, peopoposple in fringe areas will still be affected, even with the box. The boxes are slated to cost about $40 to $70 and consumers can get two $40 coupons per household by logging onto www.dtv2009.com. Wasn’t that nice of them?

So basically, Russea warns, if you live in the fringe areas and purchase the box, you may still experience trouble, ranging from messed up, snowy signals all the way to no signal at all. I can attest to this, hence the mention of my television experience during my three years in Iraq. That is - it was spotty with lines and little weird squares that would interrupt the signal. Sometimes the screen would go all black but the sound would continue (this happened when there was wind, a lot of dust and mortars and rockets also tended to be an irritating interruption to the signal). I was lucky if I saw one whole program, uninterrupted.

This is what Russea said would be the impact to areas in far reaching parts of the Nation, even with a box. He said, the quality will depend on the actions of televisions stations that either build transponders or...not. “Otherwise, those people in those areas will be forced, if they want television, to go to Direct TV or Dish Network or one of the cable companies. No one will really know how they will be affected until it all happens and each makes an attempt with the box. Your neighbor, for instance, might have a great signal,” Russea said, “and yours might be terrible because you are in a canyon or the signal is bouncing off some terrain feature near you.”

Meanwhile, those analog spectrums will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, whether that be the first responders or other commercial interest. This money, Russea said, is slated to go to the governmental general fund-meaning . . . we’ll never see it.

So, in short, the box is not a cure all, the government is doing business as usual with its cleaned up version of a story really centered around more money for a bloated government that can’t stop spending. And finally, “Boston Legal” will be a thing of the past for some in remote areas who refuse to change.



Rachael Van Horn is assistant editor of the Woodward News.

        

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