Digital TV conversion puts customers at risk of glitches, further cost

WASHINGTON — In less than a month, on Feb. 17, all full-power stations plan to shut off analog signals and air digital- only broadcasts. Viewers with older analog TV sets will need to hook up a converter box to receive over-the-air programs. Digital TV sets will automatically receive the new signals. Cable and satellite subscribers should not be affected by the switch.

But many consumers are finding that upgrading to a digital set or adding a converter box may not be enough to get a reliable digital signal. Some will also have to buy more-powerful antennas to install in living rooms or on roofs, adding expense and frustration for the nearly 14 million households who rely on over-the-air signals.
“People are very surprised when they realize they can’t get [the channels],” said Barry Goodstadt, an independent analyst who has been studying digital reception issues. He predicts that 70 percent of households with indoor “rabbit ears” antennas will have to upgrade to more powerful equipment.

Problems with television antennas and reception were the most common issues among residents of Wilmington, N. C., a city that switched to all-digital broadcasting in September as a test case for the Federal Communications Commission.
About 75 percent of consumers who called help lines reported that their converter boxes did not appear to be working, according to a team of student volunteers answering calls. More than half of the callers were advised to change the direction of their antenna and to have their converter boxes scan for channels.

New digital audiences will probably discover the “digital cliff,” the all-or-nothing quality of digital reception. The picture is excellent until the signal weakens or is interrupted, causing the picture to disappear completely.

Digital signals are supposed to travel farther over flat terrain, but they are susceptible to interference from hills, trees, buildings, bad weather or planes flying overhead.

Meanwhile, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., is pushing a bill to delay the transition to digital broadcasting until this summer.

Thousands of coupons to help owners of older analog sets buy digital converter boxes have expired, according to Schumer, leaving some households unprepared for the transition.

This would ultimately leave consumers scrambling to purchase newer sets or digital converter boxes with their own money after the switch to digital- only broadcasting.

The proposed bill, also pushed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., would delay the transition until June 12, leaving enough time, in Schumer’s and Rockefeller’s opinion, to resolve problems with expired coupons and better prepare households for the transition.
Phillip Lucas of The Buffalo News Washington Bureau contributed to this report.