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Stations urge patience with digital switch

TV broadcasters say they are tweaking power; viewers advised to rescan channels.

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By Jim DeBrosse, Staff Writer 1:28 AM Saturday, June 13, 2009

If you’re one of the many over-the-air TV viewers in the Miami Valley having reception problems following the switch Friday, June 12, to digital TV, local stations ask your patience, and your vigilance in rescanning channels, as they tweak the power of their digital broadcasts.

“All stations will be doing something to get the best signal out to viewers in the coming weeks,” said Chuck Eastman, chief engineer for WHIO-TV.

Eastman recommends that viewers rescan the channels on their converter box every Saturday for the next five to six weeks, just to make sure they have locked on to any signal changes. If you’re still not receiving a local channel, call the station, he said.

Some area viewers may lose more distant stations, he said. That’s because digital TV signals must reach a minimum threshold of strength before a picture will appear on the set. Analog TV will pick up weaker signals but the picture quality is often poorer and, in some cases, unviewable.

“With digital, it’s all or nothing,” Eastman said. “You either have a beautiful picture or no picture at all.”

Jane Steinhauser of Brookville said she has lost six stations since switching to digital, all of them in Cincinnati, Oxford and Indianapolis. “We have a huge (antenna) tower because we don’t have cable out in the country.”

Many over-the-air viewers here are likely to lose Cincinnati stations because of the hilly terrain there, said John Chaffin, an instructor at the International College of Broadcasting in Dayton.

Hills, tall buildings and surrounding trees affect digital signals more than analog, he said. The only solution in some cases may be a rooftop or tower antenna. In housing developments that won’t allow outside antennas, Eastman said placing an antenna in your attic should work as well.

Mike Petsch, who lives near Sugarcreek Reserve, said he knows all too well about “terrestrial blockage.” He has spent more than $160 on converter boxes and another $150 on DTV antennas “only to find out that my trees interfere with the signal.”

“This is a nice place to live, but I won’t get any TV reception until winter-time,” he said.

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-2437 or jdebrosse@ DaytonDailyNews.com.

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converter boxes do not work..I tried 3 major brands, and 12 various amplified antennas... the big hype for clearer picture and sound is a joke...you can't even get a picture! the digital waves are not as strong as the analog and you have to live within a certain radius from the tower..thanks US Gov't, how about sending me a stimulus check to cover the cost of Cablevision? oh, and by the way, I can't afford a computer to watch the shows either...I truly wish the old analog system was back......

Judy
5:01 PM, 7/10/2009

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My feeling about switching from analog to digital is I think the Government should not have made us make the choice from going to digital from analog in the first place.
And for the people who still haven't gotten a converter yet guess you don't want to watch TV too much anyway,and since you're procastinating on it,you don't deserve TV.
I don't watch TV much anyway,I think it's a wasted medium,nothing good on it most of the time.

misterunknown
2:20 PM, 6/14/2009

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Perhaps this is known by most people, but I'll post it anyway. For all the people who don't get good reception, primetime shows from the major networks are available on the internet. The shows aren't immediately available, but if you miss one it will be on the network website in a day or so. The catch...it won't work with dial up.

Ted
12:55 PM, 6/14/2009

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I'm pretty sure this whole "Digital" TV thing was just a ploy by the stations to get new equipment.I'd bet we paid for their "Conversion".Too bad my signal is worse with the converter box than it was with the antenae!!!

DaMang
11:06 PM, 6/13/2009

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For those who say that cable is not an option: I think satellite is available everywhere. What is odd is why we (the gov't.) had to give away $40 to everyone who wanted it for converter boxes. Is TV a constitutional right?

tbill
10:54 PM, 6/13/2009

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