January 9, 2009     Reported By: Tom Porter

The clock is ticking towards digital TV conversion - or is it?  For over a year now, the government has been trying to prepare Americans for the end of the analog era, due to come on February 17th.  But President-elect Barack Obama has now asked Congress to consider postponing the federally-mandated switch, which is designed to free up valuable wireless spectrum for emergency responders. So is this a sign of panic that we're not ready for the switchover?  Suzanne Goucher, president of the Maine Association of Broadcasters, says Obama's request is probably not driven by fears that America's not ready for the change-over.

"I don't know if it's a question of panic. I think it's a matter of the coupon program having exhausted all its resources and having to put people on waiting lists until they get enough money back into the system to continue issuing coupons.  I think that may be the driving force here."

The $40 coupons Goucher is referring to have been issued by the government to help consumers defray the cost of buying a convertor box, which consumers who don't have cable or satellite, or who have not purchased a new TV in the last 5 years, are going to need. In Maine, at the last count over a year ago, this adds up to about 87,000 households. Those coupons have now been used up, and there's a waiting list of over a million customers nationwide who may not get their coupons in time for the switch.

But, Goucher says a postponement of the switchover date is likely to create more problems than it solves.  "The downside of delaying is that stations have also set their budgets and if they now have to keep an analog transmitter on the air at great expense, in the electric bill if nothing else, they may be forced to lay people off in order to support the electric costs involved.  It's not as simple as 'let's just push the date back.'"

"This one here's a Zenith---pretty basic," says Adam Landry, manager of Agren Appliances in South Portland, as he shows a typical converter box.  "This one pricing at $69.  That's roughly the going price for them."  Agren Appliances is part of a family-run statewide chain of retailers.  Landry says he's selling a steady five or six convertor boxes like the Zenith each day in his store. Apart from selling convertor boxes, Landry says educating people about the conversion is a big part of his job.

Landry:  "A lot of people already have in place what they need with the satellite television or a television they've purchased in the last 5 years that already has a digital tuner in it, so they're elated to hear that when they come in, they don't have to spend any money, they're all set."

Tom Porter:  "So you do find you're having to educate people quite a lot?"

Landry:  "Yeah, it's more an education process than anything."

For some consumers, like South Portland resident and retiree Elizabeth Meehan, the learning curve is just too steep.  I visited her recently at her home as she struggled to prepare for the conversion.

Tom Porter :  "Hello Elizabeth.  What's your television doing in the middle of the floor?"

Meehan:  "That's because at this point it was in a cabinet and I'm having a hard time connecting the new convertor box, and I'm not going to be able to lift it up to get it back into the cabinet anyhow, so I'm just a little bit frustrated right now."

Retailers generally do not offer convertor box installation as they're advertised as being easy to set up.  Meehan disagrees.  "It didn't have all my channels and I thought, well, 'this is pretty stinky'. The picture was clear, the picture was nice.  And I followed all the prompts, 'you're doing good' and this kind of thing, but then it says if you need to add a channel then you go to another paper, another one, and that's like 'now I do need the high tech guy to figure that one out.'" Meehan does not want to become a cable or satellite subscriber, nor does she want to have to buy a brand new television.  But she feels she's being pushed in that direction. 

But some broadcasters say life may get better for Elizabeth Meehan and people like her on February 17th.  "The biggest problem is they really don't understand that the period we're in now is an interim period," says Jeff Mahaney, MPBN television's chief transmission technician.  He's been busy preparing for MPBN's switch which is coming ahead of the rest on Sunday. 

Mahaney says television broadcasters have been preparing themselves for the conversion by broadcasting simultaneously in analog and digital.  This, he says, has actually weakened the signal for many viewers, a problem that should fix itself once the conversion takes place.  "We would have done things a lot different probably, but we didn't know at the time. Most people across the country went with this interim step of putting up a low power digital to see you through the transition."

Those who still find themselves in the dark on February 17th despite having fitted a convertor box, may have to look again at their antenna situation.  "It's all about the antenna.  Our mantra for the last few months has been, 'it's all about the antenna,'" says the MAB's Suzanne Goucher.  She says for some viewers, the old rabbit ears are going to have to go and be replaced with a good quality rooftop antenna.  "It has to be aimed in the right direction.  If it's behind aluminum siding or foil backed insulation or under a roof that has metal roof trusses, those are all going to cause interference.  Rooftop is best."

For more information on the switch in Maine go to DTVforME.com.  Goucher also recommends tvfool.com which, she says, enables you to enter in your own address and find out what digital signal strength you'll be receiving after the switch.  MPBN has also prepared an instructional video.