Reception Problems Linger After TV Change

End Of Analog Service Even Tripping Up Technologically Sophisticated

(AP)  The shutdown of U.S. analog TV service on Friday appears to have gone relatively smoothly, but as expected, a lot of viewers are having problems getting the stations they want.

The problems have ensnared even the technologically sophisticated.

Wally Grotophorst in Hamilton, Va., got a "digital" antenna for his digital TV last year. But on Friday, he lost the Washington-based ABC and CBS stations, channels 7 and 9, which he could pick up digitally before the transition.

That's because those stations, like dozens of others, switched their digital signals from the UHF frequency band to the VHF band as they cut their analog signals Friday. But Grotophorst's antenna, like many others branded as "digital" and sold over the past few years, was designed only for UHF stations. Nearly all TV stations were using the UHF band for the digital broadcasts until Friday.

"This moving down to the VHF spectrum was news. The stations didn't advertise the fact," Grotophorst said.

He's now regretting that he recycled his old rooftop VHF antenna.

Officials for those stations had no immediate comment.

There are TV antennas that can receive both UHF and VHF bands. In the indoor version, these have long extendable poles - the "rabbit ears" - for VHF reception and a loop for UHF.

Brett Whitten, a technology consultant in Philadelphia, lost the ABC-affiliated Channel 6 for the same reason. He was unsuccessful in attempts to improvise a VHF antenna out of wire, helped by instructions he found online.

According to a Monday evening newscast, that station was talking to the Federal Communications Commission to see if it could increase its output power. That could help with reception, at least for those who have VHF antennas.

The FCC said it is examining reports of signal loss by viewers of some stations in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York.

The FCC said more than 20 percent of the 317,450 callers to its help line on Friday had problems receiving at least one station, making it the most frequent problem after converter-box setup and requests for converter-box coupons.

Those converter boxes allow older, analog sets to view digital signals after Friday's cutoff, following years of planning, of the transmission technology in use since the days of Milton Berle and Howdy Doody. The digital signals are more efficient, freeing up airwaves for cell phones and other services.

If a station is missing, viewers should first try to force the converter box or digital TV to "rescan" the airwaves for channels that moved to new frequencies on Friday.

For those who aren't helped by that, the FCC put out a new advisory Monday recommending "double rescanning." That involves disconnecting the antenna from the box or TV, rescanning, turning off the box or TV, then turning it back on, connecting the antenna and scanning one more time. The procedure can clear the box or TV's memory of saved channel information that is now incorrect, the commission said.

All full-power stations have now shut down their analog signals. Some low-power stations and rural relays known as "translators" are still broadcasting in analog.

[barbaram99]

Some people like myself are legally blind and this poster does her best to read and yep I could program a VCR where seeing persons could not. Some persons are unable to read as well as yerself. i am 54. I have been posting here sinse 06. I use Vista. My friend buys a Mac . We have a home network. He sets up his Mac. He told me he could not access the net. I have the dsl modem going in a router and I have my Desktop and notebook computers running thru the router as a cable running from it to his room as well. i told him yer don't need a router on yer end. I told him to put the cable in yer NIC port and ye be good to go. He did as I asked and no problems. There are those who never learnt endlish which they should. It would have them. This is new and it is digital which is clearer than analog. Years ago we had 3 TV stations they were OTA ones. I don't miss analog. I watch some TV.

[AgingDiva]

My problem is a little different. All my local stations are staying in the UHF band but my local CBS affiliate installed their transmitter on the SW leg of their gigantic tower (looks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris). Therefore all of us in the NE section of the metro area have the tower between us and the signal. I've been told by their engineer that it would cost a million dollars to move the transmitter to the top of the tower. I have tried everything he has recommended to no avail. I have also consulted with an other broadcast engineer and was told that the tower was creating a giant Faraday cage that is blocking the signal and even putting my antenna on a tall mast would not be effective. I currently use a directional antenna in my attic that is set with a compass. I get every other station perfectly including the one that is 4 blocks down the street from the CBS station. I guess I won't get to watch any CBS shows (or advertising) when the new season starts. Arrrggghhhh!

[ajk_cbsnews]

This story tells my story, exactly. Throw out the old UHF-VHF antenna and buy a new Digital / HD UHF antenna with high gain - blah, blah, blah... not knowing that the local FOX station was moving from Channel 2 to Channel 7 VHF! I could have left the original antenna on the roof and done nothing! Instead, I now need to buy a high band VHF antenna to add to my "digital" antenna. What do you expect when the government is in charge? I wonder where the $16 billion went for the bandwidth they sold? What a scam!

[dswgrandma]

Why are we having trouble with cbs channel 4 today? I have direct tv and should not have any problems unless it is the station.

[johndevinejr]

People still have antennas?
How about records, do they still have records?

[Samuel-HiLL]

I think you are giving people too much credit. There are a lot of people in this country who don't read or comprehend very well, and many who are just morons. If they can't get it to work, perhaps their time would better spent doing something besides watching the boob-tube. This also brings to mind the flashing displays on VCRs that were so common. People used to think I was a genius because I could program a VCR in about two minutes.

[loretta5ue]

It's a bit more complicated than just being a moron. Some stations opted for a low band vhf signal that can have some interference with FM stations. This problem could have been solved months ago if back then these stations were broadcasting their "early" digital signals at this vhf band. Instead they broadcasted in a uhf band which is easier to get (in most instances.) So we "mortons" as you called us were not prepared for vhf but we were prepared for the uhf which the stations no longer transmit.

You might know this if you weren't spending your money on cable television or is it that you spend your free time calling people names online?

[rf35]

Whether shady or ignorant, it seems some businesses were selling big rooftop antennas that were only designed for UHF reception. That's just one reason why it pays to do some research before purchasing new tech equipment. Since there was such a long lead-time in the transition to digital, there is no excuse for being caught off guard. My parents have exclusively watched OTA TV since I was a child. They kept the huge aerial in the attic during the transition and hooked up a little loop antenna to get the UHF broadcasts. Now that the stations are broadcasting full-power digital on the VHF band, their reception is better than ever. If they can figure out digital TV, anybody can.

[lsc--2008]

Well, I can't get any over-the-air stations here. I've tried 2 different converter boxes. One registers a "weak" signal on one station if I pick it manually, but no picture or sound. The second box gets nothing. Neither box will tune any stations automatically. And I can see the antenna from my house! (I don't have super intercontinental vision.) I'm not even allowed to get the PBS station by satellite since the station thinks I can receive it. So now I guess I get to spend a large sum on a big antenna and installation just to get "local" stations? I don't think so. I already wasted enough on converter boxes. The local advertisers lose out since I can't get their ads.