Digital TV transition hits bumps over technology, terrain, economics

Television stations that went ahead with the digital conversion Tuesday saw their switchboards light up as people tried to navigate the new waves of digital reception. The biggest problems people had could be fixed by rescanning the channels with the setup function on their TVs. However, as we warned weeks ago, others found their antennas insufficient to pick up digital signals from faraway stations. In Joplin, Mo., one man got so frustrated with the entire transition, he shot up his television set. (Read more)

This remains a big rural story. In Nebraska, Lincoln-based KOLN/KGIN received 220 calls by mid-day Tuesday, writes Timberley Ross for The Associated Press. And at KHGI-TV, general manager Vincent Barresi said, "With the rural area which we serve, a number of these homes have relied on rabbit-ear antennas, and in a lot of those cases, the antenna's won't cut it in the new digital world." (Read more)

Some rural areas are also at a disadvantage because of terrain. That is the case in Vermont, where Peter Martin of WCAX told Bruce Edwards of the Rutland Herald that those in more remote areas are losing signal because they are moving to a UHF signal that is not good with mountainous terrain. (Read more)

One of the major problems in the digital transition is basic economics. Tony Rutherford of West Virginia's HuntingtonNews.net writes, "If you can't afford cable or a dish, you likely will have a hard time in this weak economic time purchasing converter(s) (minus $40), amplifier(s), antenna(s), and/or a new TV." (Read more) In The Wichita Eagle, Stan Finger quotes Jesse Huxman, director of content for KPTS, the city's public television station: "[People] say things like, 'I'm on a fixed income, and I can't afford to upgrade to cable or satellite. Does this mean I'm not going to get KPTS anymore? Sadly, that might be the case unless they're able to upgrade their antenna or get it to a different elevation." (Read more)