Digital Dialog

Digital Dialog - A PBS Hawaii Engineering Blog

Steve Komori is the Vice President of Content Delivery for PBS Hawaii. As Steve guides PBS Hawaii through its transition from analog to digital television, he looks to use DIGITAL DIALOG as a place to share his insights into the challenges and solutions he encounters.

Please direct e-mail communications regarding DIGITAL DIALOG to: skomori@pbshawaii.org

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So...what am I seeing now???

This is a good question.  We have just completed our Master Control HD Upgrade and we are now in the process of acquiring all new HD programs.  What happened to the old programs?  The new system uses a better format that lets us have more control over the HD programs than the old system and format...so we had to get rid of all the old programs that we have been saving since last December and start acquiring new programs...so what are you seeing on the tube?

As of Nov. 2, most of our programs come to us in a HD format (16:9).  When we have to show any of the new programs on cable Channel 10 or 90 or 443, we want to show you the entire picture, so we change the picture and shrink it down until it all fits side-to-side.  This is what we call "letter boxing", black bars on the top and bottom of the picture

When a program comes to us in a SD format (4:3), we need to change it to a HD format as much as possible without distorting the picture, so what you see on the HD channel is the whole picture but now with black bars on each side...this is called "pillar-boxed".  What we then have to do to show this on cable Channels 10, 90 and 443, is to change the converted program back to a SD format.

This is where we locally have the choice to decide how you see the program...we can either take just the middle of the picture to show you...this is called "center-cutting" or we can again display the entire HD signal and "letter-box" it...but this includes the entire video with the balck bars on the side.  When this happens (black bars on the top, bottom. left and right sides of the picture, we call it the "postage stamp" effect.

Why not just use the "center-cut" option...well, when there is information that exceeds the 4:3 center-cut boundaries, it will not show this portion and important video could be cut from your viewing...and using the letter box option leaves you watching a much smaller picture in the middle of your TV.

So what's correct?  Both!  We are working to implement a solution that can adjust the style of display to maximize the screen dimentions you have.  To do this, many things must come together including us acquiring more HD programs or one day when SD programs and analog TVs will be a thing of the past and we will only need to address this problem occasionally.

So until that time, there will be moments when the picture may not fill you screen, or parts of the picture may get cut-off.  You will see this type of thing hapenning on every channel you watch and as the TV broadcast industry struggles to implement new protocols, we will be susceptible to all the problems I mentioned above.

It's All Coming Together

As you can see by the picture...

...as compared to my previous pictures...we have pictures on my screens!

We actually began to use the upgraded Master Control system late Sunday.  I apologize for all the program discrepancies throughout last week, but I believe we have cleared the last high hurdle and will be totally transitioned back to our Master Control sytem later today.

There will probably be some low hurdles to clear in the next couple of weeks and from later today we will start acquiring more and more HD programming to provide you with the best viewing experience of PBS Hawaii...stay tuned.

Knee Deep in Wires

It has been a few days into our Master Control upgrade and we are fairing pretty well...some transitions have been a little rough, but the programs are managing to get on the air as scheduled.  There have been issues with viewers not understanding what we meant when we said there would be program changes during the week of upgrades...but it is only a temporary change until we finish the upgrade process...so hang in there...we're getting closer to returning to normal.

Here is a picture of our Master Control...as I titled this post...we're up to our knees in wires

and notice the "black" screens...nothing coming out or going in!!! 

 
It's a bit disconcerting, but I know we'll be better off once we restart the system later this week. 

Digital is Coming to Kauai and Hawaii

When the FCC mandated digital television for the American public, there were more TV stations than channels available to make the transition to digital smoothly, so they let the "full" power stations convert first (June 12, 2009 was the end of analog broadcasts for full-power TV stations).  There were about 1750 stations to make this transition.  Now its time for the low-power stations to convert...6600+.  Though the FCC has yet to set a deadline for this transition, they have opened the door by asking for stations to begin applying for Construction Permits fort digital low power stations, which includes PBS Hawaii's translators on Kauai and Hawaii.

Our equipment to transition our over-the-air broadcasts to digital has started to arrive and once I hire a contractor to install the receive and transmit antennas, the transmission lines connecting the translator to and from the antennas and installing the translator itself...PBS Hawaii will be completely in digital...ahead of any FCC schedule and broadcasting our HD signal to the entire Hawaiian Island chain.

When do I expect to accomplish changing out 6 translators on Kauai and four more on Hawaii?  If the weather holds out, it should all be completed sometime in mid-January, 2010.  So all of you viewers with analog TV's will need to get a new digital TV or a digital-to-analog converter box to watch our over-the-air signal.  In addition, it might be a good time to check up on the health your UHF antenna and coax cable, making sure that there is a good solid, corrosion free connection at the antenna and to your TV...more to come once I start installing the translators...

KHET Transmitter Power Upgrade Postponed

What can I say...the increase in power for our Honolulu transmitter was scheduled for the end of September, but has been postponed due to FCC licensing concerns.  PBS Hawaii applied for a power increase in July and usually these applications are granted quickly, but due to a FCC monitoring station located nearby, more studies had to be conducted and several agencies of the FCC have to approve the application before it can be granted.  So the upgrade to our transmitter has been postponed to early December...pending approval from the FCC.

CAUTION: SLIPPERY ROAD AHEAD - PBS HAWAII IS MAKING IMPROVEMENTS

CAUTION: SLIPPERY ROAD AHEAD - PBS HAWAII IS MAKING IMPROVEMENTS

UPDATED - Sept 18 - 10:20 AM

Beware: Program Schedule Changes

Our upcoming upgrade to our Master Control System will be very demanding and while we know this upgrade will very possibly inconvenience our viewers, the work is necessary to make improvements in the way we deliver programming to you.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE CHANGES OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 2

The PBS Hawaii automated master control center is really the operational “heart” of our television station. This is the area that never rests – taking in satellite feeds, upconverting, downcoverting, ingesting programming content and delivering your favorite shows to your home. It’s more complicated today with multiple channels and now multiple platforms for Standard Definition and High Definition broadcast delivery. We are upgrading our operation so that we can better manage and deliver these multiple streams of content.

We’ve very pleased to tell you that this “heart” of our operation is about to go through an extensive upgrade -- let’s call it a heart transplant. This is a major undertaking that only a handful of PBS stations across the country will attempt. In another market, the station just signed off the air until work was completed. PBS Hawaii has decided to stay on the air and limit the amount of inconvenience to our viewers as much as possible.

Our program schedule from October 26 through November 2 will be impacted. We’ve had to rearrange programming and in some cases temporarily take a program such as BBC World News off the schedule. This particular week the resources we normally use to bring you your favorite PBS Hawaii shows will not be available to us while this “operation” is underway.

We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. We know this year has been a challenge for all of us. It all began with the national DTV transition and now we are in the final stages of work related to this milestone in broadcasting.

Slowly gaining momentum...

This summer has been one of planning...planning for:

* digital translator installation at Ninole;

* digital translator installation at Kulani Cone;

* digital translator installation at Naalehu;

* digital translator installation at South Point;

* conversion of a wireless station to be a digital translator at Mauna Loa;

* ordering equipment for six sites for the digital transition on Kauai;

* digital power upgrade for KHET;

* tower reinforcements for all licensees of the Palehua site;

* upgrade of our Master Control to full-time HD;

Even though all these projects started out being spaced properly...they are now starting to converge into November and December...so there goes the holidays for me...

Finally...another post

OMG...it has been a busy past few weeks!

We completed the Hilo digital installation in early June.  Though I have heard from but a few of the people who complained about us not being in digital as the other stations (low power stations such as our Hilo translator are not mandated by the FCC to be broadcasting digitally), I know that we are reaching many areas better than we were with analog...however there are areas that are not getting as good a digital signal as it should and one of those areas is where my next translator is located...Kulani Cone.  This low signal level is creating broken up pictures or no pictures at all for Naalehu and South Point viewers.  I continue to investigate why, but it may take some time to address.

Soon after, I was in Maui for our power upgrade.  We literally doubled our power output beginning on July 1.  This should give more viewers a better chance of receiving a signal.  Let me know...

Next...my power upgrade for KHET...

Hilo...we're almost there...

As I write this, riggers are climbing my tower and finalizing the interconnections between the antenna panels (eight of them) and the transmission line.  Once completed, a test of the antenna and if all goes well there we'll finally be done with the Hilo installation and up to full power and allotted coverage.  It sounds easy, but it will take us until late this afternoon to accomplish...so all you digital viewers, be ready to rescan your digital TV sets or converter boxes...

It's a Brand New World...

I am happy to announce that the way we have been broadcasting some shows (a picture surrounded by black bars) has been addressed by the television community and now we will be able to automatically broadcast shows the way the producers of the show meant it to be viewed.  What?

A few posts ago I mentioned AFD, or Automatic Format Descriptor, data embedded in the video signal that tells other devices how to present a picture on your screen...or in this case what format we at the station should record the show.

What this means is the end to the dreaded "postage stamp" video we have been showing on our channel since February.  Though it may take some time to purge all the shows that have been recorded this way prior to this change, we are on the way to giving you the picture the way it is meant to be shown.  I expect some ironing out of the system to occur in the next week or so, but it's a start!

Now for that pesky audio problem...you're next!