Digital TV Transition Not as Easy as Advertised

Jennifer Jackson hooks up a digital converter box to her TV. She says that when planes fly by her Arlington high-rise, the digital reception falters. (By Kim Hart -- The Washington Post)
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The FCC questioned the validity of the Centris data, arguing that the data assumed all consumers used indoor antennas and did not consider the fact that many stations are not yet operating at full digital power. The agency will test the transition in September in Wilmington, N.C., to address potential problems -- including technical glitches such as reception shortfalls.

To complicate the situation, some broadcasters' digital coverage areas vary slightly from their current analog coverage areas, meaning some viewers on the edge of coverage areas will not consistently receive signals. FCC engineers estimate that about 15 percent of viewers live in these fringe areas, and about 5 percent of those, or 1 percent of current analog households, will need new antennas.

Some TV watchers have found they cannot always receive as many digital channels as they did with analog broadcasts. Mike Mellish of Silver Spring said that he was generally pleased with digital reception but that he could not pick up the local PBS broadcasts now that the leaves have grown back on the trees around his house, even with an older rooftop antenna. He sometimes gets spotty reception on other stations, which he attributes to bad weather and other unknown obstacles.

"One evening they might come in great," he said, "and the next, nothing."

Consumer advocates say the federal agencies in charge of the digital transition have not informed consumers of potential reception gaps, which will cause more frustration when the switch happens.

"A lot of consumers will have to upgrade their antennas, and the government hasn't been entirely clear about the amount of money people will have to shell out for this change that it has mandated," said Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union.

TV reception could also be affected when some local stations switch to sending their signals over slightly different radio frequencies after the transition. That change, however, will be invisible on consumers' channel display.

Digital signals typically do not travel as far as the old analog signals, according to research by Oded Bendov, who is president of TV Transmission Antenna Group and who will replace broadcast antennas on the Empire State Building. Every city will experience different reception challenges, he said, depending largely on the local landscape. Bendov said that about half of the viewers who now receive analog channels would not reliably receive all of their digital replacements and that viewers more than 40 miles from a broadcast tower would probably need new equipment.

Consumers may have to adjust their antennas to point them in the direction of the TV station's broadcasting towers. That's because digital signals need more precise positioning than analog signals, said David Donovan, president of the Association for Maximum Service Television, a broadcast industry group.

Donovan recommends that consumers try to get digital broadcasts with their current antennas. If they find spotty reception, consumers should then experiment with outdoor or rooftop antennas, which can more easily be positioned in a clear path of the digital signals, he said.

Francis Haynes, 77, had always gotten 24 analog stations, including several Baltimore broadcasts, but he lost five of them after switching to digital, meaning he lost some of his favorite programs.

His picture improved when he put a more powerful antenna in his attic, but he sometimes misses a few channels. Haynes, a retired engineer, wants to buy a larger antenna for his roof to pick up more signals, but his Fairfax condominium association won't allow it.

"I'm still having some trouble -- sometimes the stations flicker on and off," he said.