DTV Switch: Early Reports Encouraging, But Look Out...

Initial reports from some of the 421 stations that yesterday switched to digital TV signals suggest the most dire predictions about the transition may have been overblown. Some DTV issues are surfacing, however, with antenna and other problems arising. Broadcasters, the Federal Communications Commission and one mayor's office reported that calls coming in from the public are mostly technical in nature, asking how to hook up converter boxes or how to program the units. Having said that most of the recent calls it had gotten to its DTV hotline were from people who didn't know they had to re-scan for DTV channels, the FCC Wednesday released a consumer advisory on the subject. The National Association of Broadcasters says its early read on stations that pulled the plug on analog earlier in the day Tuesday (Feb. 17) was encouraging. According to Jonathan Collegio, NAB's VP for the DTV switch and point person for DTV education, there were relatively few viewer calls in markets in Virginia, Illinois and Kansas that had made the switch early enough for the association to get a read on them. NAB said stations were able to resolve most of the problems over the phone.