The End of TV

As We Know It:
The Digital TV Transition
(and what to do about it)

Jon Bell, Presbyterian College
Faculty Forum, 21 September 2007
with some later updates
How People Get TV
National
Upstate SC
Western NC
Cable 61% 49%
Satellite 28% 40%
Antenna 11% 11%
Source: Television Bureau of Advertising,
http://www.tvb.org/
The Big Switch
By the morning of February 18, 2009,
all analog broadcast TV stations in
the USA must shut down.
Everyone who receives over-the-air
TV with an antenna must switch to
digital TV stations which are mostly
already in operation.
Why the Switch?
Improved picture quality (HDTV)
More efficient use of bandwidth
Vacate channels 52-69 for other uses
and raise money by auctioning them
More bandwidth for emergency
services
Keep ahead of the Japanese
Some Alphabet Soup
Analog broadcast & cable TV = NTSC
National Television Systems Committee
Or: Never Twice the Same Color
Digital broadcast TV = ATSC
Advanced Television Standards Committee
Also used in Canada, S. Korea, Bahamas,
Honduras & Mexico
Europe uses DVB-T
Japan & Brazil use ISDB-T
Digital cable TV = QAM
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
Key Dates
1996: Congress authorizes transition
1997: Each station gets a second
channel for digital broadcasts
2002: Most stations have begun
digital broadcasts
2006: Most stations are at full power
2006: Congress sets final deadline
2008: Subsidized converter boxes
ATSC Tuner Mandates
TVs 36" or larger July 2005
TVs 25" to 35" March 2006
All other TVs and
recording devices
March 2007
Greenville Channels (1)
Analog
Digital
(now)
Digital
(final)
WYFF NBC 4 59 36
WSPA CBS 7 53 7
WLOS ABC 13 56 13
WGGS Indep. 16 35 35
WHNS FOX 21 57 21
WNTV SCETV 29 9 9
Greenville Channels (2)
Analog
Digital
(now)
Digital
(final)
WUNF UNCTV 33 25 25
WNEH SCETV 38 18 18
WMYA MyNet 40 14 14
WRET SCETV 49 43 43
WYCW CW 62 45 45
WSQY Daystar 51 - 27
Columbia Channels
Analog
Digital
(now)
Digital
(final)
WIS NBC 10 41 10
WLTX CBS 19 17 17
WOLO ABC 25 8 8
WRLK SCETV 35 32 32
WZRB MyNet 47 - 47
WACH FOX 57 48 48
WKTC CW 63 39 39
The Digital TV Experience
Improved picture quality
Analog with weaker and weaker signals
Digital with weaker and weaker signals
Program guide information
Display depends on TV or receiver
Virtual channel numbers
Multicasting
Not great to begin with
Getting worse
Still worse
Yuck!
The Digital TV Experience
Improved picture quality
Analog with weaker and weaker signals
Digital with weaker and weaker signals
Program guide information
Display depends on TV or receiver
Virtual channel numbers
Multicasting
Picture stays like this until
its right on the borderline
and then its gone!
The Digital TV Experience
Improved picture quality
Analog with weaker and weaker signals
Digital with weaker and weaker signals
Program guide information
Display depends on TV or receiver
Virtual channel numbers
Multicasting
Typical Program Guide
Another Program Guide
The Digital TV Experience
Improved picture quality
Analog with weaker and weaker signals
Digital with weaker and weaker signals
Program guide information
Display depends on TV or receiver
Virtual channel numbers
Multicasting
Virtual Channel Numbers
Stations will continue to own their old
analog channel numbers, in perpetuity.
Digital TVs display them as virtual channel
numbers and automatically convert them
to the actual digital channels.
You must do a channel scan so your TV
can find the actual digital channels and
set up a conversion table.
You normally dont need to know the
actual digital channel.
Typical Channel Scan Indicator
The Digital TV Experience
Improved picture quality
Analog with weaker and weaker signals
Digital with weaker and weaker signals
Program guide information
Display depends on TV or receiver
Virtual channel numbers
Multicasting
Multicasting
Total data capacity (bandwidth) of a
digital channel is about 19 Mbits/sec
Stations can divide it into sub-
channels with different programming
SC ETV (channel 29)
WSPA (channel 7)
ETV subchannel 29.1:
Same as analog channel
ETV subchannel 29.2:
South Carolina Channel
ETV subchannel 29.3:
High definition PBS programs
Multicasting
Total data capacity (bandwidth) of a
digital channel is about 19 Mbits/sec
Stations can divide it into sub-
channels with different programming
SC ETV (channel 29)
WSPA (channel 7)
WSPA subchannel 7.1:
Same as analog channel but in HD
WSPA subchannel 7.2:
24/7 weather information
So Far, a Well-Kept Secret
Stations have generally not
promoted their digital channels yet
Some retailers claim that you need to
buy cable or satellite service in order
to get HDTV (FALSE!)
Expect increased publicity from
stations and government agencies
during the next year
If you use an antenna for
analog TV:
You must either
Buy a new TV with an ATSC tuner
HDTV (widescreen plasma, LCD, DLP, etc.)
SDTV (old-style tube TV with ATSC tuner)
Buy an external ATSC tuner (converter box)
Federal subsidy program begins in January 2008
Likewise for VCRs and old DVD recorders,
if you use them to record directly off the
air
Subsidized Digital-to-
Analog Converter Boxes
Free $40 coupons
Good only for specifically designated
converter boxes, purchased at retail
Round 1 22 million coupons, up to
two per household
Apply at http://www.dtv2009.gov/
beginning 1 January 2008
Boxes available in February or March
If you use an antenna for
analog TV:
You must either
Buy a new TV with an ATSC tuner
HDTV (widescreen plasma, LCD, DLP, etc.)
SDTV (old-style tube TV with ATSC tuner)
Buy an external ATSC tuner (converter box)
Federal subsidy program begins in January 2008
Likewise for VCRs and old DVD recorders,
if you use them to record directly off the
air
Antennas and Digital TV
Digital and analog TV use the same set of
VHF and UHF channels.
An antenna cares only about the
frequency of the signal (VHF or UHF).
Analog vs. digital matters only to the TVs
tuner.
An antenna that works well with analog
channels will probably work well with
most digital channels.
Local Antenna Conditions
Greenville stations are 20-80 miles away,
several in the NC mountains.
A good roof antenna is needed.
Must be able to receive both high-VHF (7-13)
and UHF (14-51) channels.
A rotator and pre-amplifier are helpful.
A good setup can also receive some
stations from Columbia and Charlotte.
Local Antenna Conditions
Greenville stations are 20-80 miles away, several
in the NC mountains.
A good roof antenna is needed.
Must be able to receive both high-VHF (7-13) and UHF
(14-51) channels.
A rotator and pre-amplifier are helpful.
A good setup can also receive some stations
from Columbia and Charlotte.
If you use cable TV:
You are not directly affected by the analog
broadcast shutdown in 2009.
Cable companies must provide local
channels in analog format until 2012.
Starting in 2009 they will convert broadcast
digital signals for this purpose
They will probably convert other analog
channels to digital during the next few
years.
If you use satellite TV:
Its already digital, so you are not
affected by all this, except maybe
peripherally.
Resources
Federal Communications Commission
http://www.dtv.gov/
Subsidized converter box program
http://www.dtv2009.gov/
Info about HDTV and especially antennas
http://www.hdtvprimer.com/
Info about TV signals by location
http://www.antennaweb.org/
http://www.tvfool.com/
Discussion forums
http://www.avsforum.com/ (see the HDTV Area)