Digital Dialog

The $40 Coupon

I was recently on a panel to discuss the Hawaii Digital transition and the majority of the questions were about the government's $40 coupon program to purchase a digital-to-analog converter box.  Here are the major points you need to know:

If you have a cable or satellite service you need to do NOTHING!  TV will be the same for you;

Most of Hawaii is going digital-only TV broadcasting on January 15, 2009 at Noon;

You can go online at: www.DTV2009.gov to request up to two (2) $40 coupons;

The coupons cannot be combined...one coupon, one box...two coupons, two boxes...

The coupons have an expiration date tied to Eastern Standard Time...do not wait to use it;

The coupons are good for three (3) months from the time of mailing;

Buy a converter box with analog pass through;

You will need an antenna to attach to the converter box;

Buying a converter box will not guaranteee your reception of all or any DTV signals;

Depending upon where you live, you may need an outdoor antenna and additional equipment to receive DTV signals;

IF YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT ME OR YOU CAN CALL THE FCC'S LOCAL OFFICE AT 541-3288 OR GO ONLINE AT : hawaiidtvtransition@fcc.gov

Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

The bird is the word...

It is true...due to the nesting habits of the endangered Brown-Rumped Petrel, Hawaii Television goes digital on January 15.

Many have asked me why are we doing this...and I have to reply that a bird is the reason why.  When further queried, I explain that the migration and nesting habits of the petrel gives us a short time frame in which to demolish our analog transmission site atop Haleakala....specifically January and February.  All other months are off limits for construction vehicles to be in the area for fear that the equipment could run over nesting petrels.

For the TV broadcasters this means that we shut-off analog TV on Maui and replace it with digital broadcasts from a new site...Ulupalakua, almost 6000 feet lower in elevation.  This loss in elevation will have major consequences for over-the-air viewers on Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii.

Because the Maui transmitters broadcast the same signal as that on Oahu, instead of trying to explain what is happening on each island in a :30 second PSA, we, with blessings from the FCC, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Hawaii Association of Broadcasters and the National Association of Broadcasters, have decided that all full power transmitters (Honolulu, Wailuku and Hilo) will broadcast in digital and thus making it such that we can issue one statement to Hawaii TV viewers: HAWAII GOES DIGITAL ON JAN. 15.

So chalk it up to a bird to make all of us agree on this one thing...Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow!

Digital Converter Boxes

Here is the weak point in the digital transition.  I feel that not enough information is being relayed to the consumer by the government, the broadcasters and the retailers...but buy the Digital Converter Box with Analog Pass-Through...

I recently spoke with a viewer who purchased a converter box, hooked it up and then called me to say " I'm not getting digital television".  I proceeded to ask many questions and in the end the misunderstanding was that they thought by connecting a digital conversion box to their television, it would get all the digital stations...much like a cable digital box.

Unfortunately the digital conversion box is only a channel tuner that takes in the new over-the-air digital television signals and changes it so that your old television can display the picture.  It has nothing to do with cable or satellite signals...it is only used for OVER-THE-AIR digital siganls.

Now the second part to the equation is what I just wrote about earlier...the ANTENNA!  You are going to need one.  No ifs, ands or buts.  Whether it is an indoor antenna or an outdoor antenna, you are going to need one.  There is another web site that can give you an idea of what type of antenna you'll need, it's:  www.tvfool.com

Now here is my disclaimer...you may need a signal amplifier or an antenna rotor or a "smart" antenna...but none of this will guarantee reception of all your favorite TV channels.  Reception of over-the-air signals can be affected by mountains, buildings, trees, weather, bodies of water, traffic, location and a bunch of other factors I can only imagine.

Digital Converter Boxes are not the "magic" bullet that some believe it to be...but if you try hard enough, it can extend the life of that analog set long enough to make up for all the money spent on antennas, amplifiers, splitters, cables, etc....

Update on our Digital Transition

This is an update for a prior post titled "Where we are...where we'll be...and how".

On Oahu most of the Hawaii TV Broadcasters have been given the go-ahead by the FCC to shut-off analog broadcasts on January 15, 2009 rather than the February 17, 2009 federally mandated transition date.

PBS Hawaii will begin work on our higher powered digital transmission system beginning the last week of November.  We will reduce our analog power by half so that we can re-purpose the analog transmitter for our final digital transmission system.  Our antenna is due to be installed the beginning of February and until then we will continue broadcasting on Channel 18.  Once completed (mid February) we will have better coverage for Honolulu, Central Oahu and the Waianae Coast, but you will need to perform a rescan on your TV or converter box.

Maui will be broadcasting in digital only from January 15, 2009 at noon.  We believe that most of Maui will not lose our signal, but there is a chance that North and East Maui may experience some signal degradation or not get enough signal to watch our programs.

Kauai will go through a phased transition as all of our transmitting devices are classified by the FCC in the low-power category and are thus not mandated by law to begin digital transmitting.  Because there are twice as many low-power transmitters as full-power transmitters in the U.S., the FCC is waiting for the dust to settle with the full-power transmitters and find out what channels are left to make the low-power transition.  On a side note, it may be possible for the residents in southern and eastern Kauai to receive our digital broadcasts from Oahu...if so enjoy the new digital revolution...

The Island of Hawaii will also go through a phased transition to digital.  The first area to become digital will be Waimea followed closely by Hilo.  Because all the other broadcasters in Hilo will be in digital, it only makes sense for us to join in with them so we do not create any additional confusion to the viewers.  To do this we must re-purpose some equipment from Oahu and convert it to digital.  I anticipate that PBS Hawaii will be broadcasting digitally in Hilo by the end of February or early March.  The rest of the island will follow as funds allow.

There is a lot happening, all in a short period.  I anticipate some short outages and apologize for it in advance, but due to logistics, I am not able to be in all locations at the same time.  I will try to keep these outages to a minimum and appreciate your understanding and patience.  More later...