THE FRONT LINE: FEBRUARY 17, 2008
One Year Left To “Hey, Where’d All My Channels Go?”
365 days from now, analog (NTSC) television goes dark. Are basic cable subscribers ready for the day their analog channels disappear?
How time flies! It seems like only yesterday that I bought my first digital TV receiver (Panasonic TU-DST51), set up a mid-sized VHF/UHF yagi on my deck, did a channel scan, and was rewarded with two 8VSB signals from Philadelphia DTV stations WPVI and WTXF — neither of which was broadcasting in HD.
Nine years later, digital television is mainstream. Set-top receivers have largely given way to integrated digital TV sets. CRTs have retired in favor of plasma, LCD, and microdisplay technologies. Numerous PC-based DTV reception solutions are available, some as small as a USB flash drive.
All of the major networks are broadcasting HD programming on a regular basis. We have indeed come a long way from the COFDM/8VSB battles of a decade ago, the HD format wars, Fox’ insistence that there was no business model for HD, NBC’s reluctance to join the HD bandwagon, and ABC’s continual problems with encoding and decoding Dolby 5.1 soundtracks correctly.
So, things are just peachy, right? Not exactly. Broadcasters are still very much behind the eight-ball, with regards to ordering and installing backup DTV transmitters, performing the necessary antenna and tower work, training their staff about monitoring and troubleshooting VSB and MPEG problems (the audio issues alone are daunting), and inserting captions and second audio programs into their bitstreams — not to mention transmitting program guide information consistently.
For that small part of the TV viewing audience that is content to watch only terrestrial broadcasts, the next step is obvious: Either upgrade to a new integrated digital TV set over the next year, or pick up one or more of the new DTV converter boxes now appearing on store shelves.
Many will no doubt opt for a new HDTV, considering the amount of free HD programming that’s available from the major networks and the falling prices for HDTV sets. The rest will either spring for a converter box, or just give up on TV altogether and surf the Web.
For basic cable viewers, the picture isn’t so clear. Depending on whom you talk to at cable companies, as many as 40% of viewers on a given system subscribe to “basic” or “extended basic” cable service. “Basic” customers are essentially limited to terrestrial DTV stations, plus a handful of cable-only networks like HSN, QVC, and C-SPAN, while “extended basic” customers get a larger slate of popular cable nets.
While it will be some time before analog channels go away on cable systems, the local DTV stations are available now for free. That is, if you can find them.
How’s that? Before re-transmitting local DTV stations, cable companies strip out each broadcaster’s Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) and substitute their own electronic program guide and virtual channel information. In our area, WCAU 10-1 (broadcasting on UHF channel 67) shows up as channel 232 on Comcast, while KYW 3-1 is on channel 233.
What if you don’t have a cable box, but you just bought a new integrated HDTV, or a terrestrial DTV set-top receiver? If either of them can demodulate digital cable signals, then you should be able to tune in your local DTV stations just as easily as you can receive analog TV channels.
To make this easier, the cable company’s head end needs to pass along the bits of data from each station that communicate its virtual channel number. If these bits are present (and they should be), your HDTV or set-top box will “map” those stations exactly where you expect to find them in your channel line-up. 3-1 should follow analog 3, 6-1 should follow analog 6, and 10-1 will be on the heels of analog 10.
If not, then those stations will be hidden in a maze of physical major and minor channels like 80-5, 89-2, and 90-4, with no supplementary data (other than network logo “bugs”) to help you figure out which station is which.
What I’ve observed is that the transmission of VCT info on my local Comcast system is erratic, at best. One of my neighbors installed a new Samsung 46-inch LCD HDTV last year, and a channel scan mapped all local stations correctly except for KYW, which showed up on its terrestrial physical channel as 26-1. (That problem was resolved after some emails and phone calls.)
Recently, I installed another HDTV (LG 42LB5D) for the pastor of our church, who doesn’t use a cable box. After performing the channel scan, only two local stations (WPHL-17 and WTXF-29) mapped correctly. The rest showed up on physical channels in the 89 and 90 range.
I thought this might have been a problem with the LG set, so I repeated the same scan in my studio with late model HDTVs from Westinghouse, Sharp, Pioneer, and Samsung, only to see the exact same results. Clearly, something had changed at the head end. None of these sets (except for the Pioneer) were equipped with a CableCARD slot.
While the percentage of all TV viewers who depend solely on over-the-air TV reception continues to be debated (probably 13 to 15% is a realistic guess), the percentage of all TV viewers in the United States who subscribe to basic cable service is substantial. Many of them are confused about the DTV transition, and how it will affect their viewing.
The answer is: Not at all, when it comes to analog channels. Yes, they’ll go away at some point, but you’ve still got time. As for local digital TV channels, you’ll be able to enjoy them too, so long as each cable operator makes sure that basic virtual channel information is present on all terrestrial DTV stations carried in a system.
By doing so, cable companies will actually make their lives easier, as “basic” cable subscribers still won’t need a cable box. (And they’ll just continue to use the newspaper for program schedules and times.)
We’ve got enough problems to deal with next February. Why create more of them?
Editor’s note: If you are a basic cable subscriber and have upgraded to a new digital TV set, I’d be curious to hear whether you are able to receive your local DTV channels with the correct virtual channel numbers. You may find both a standard-definition and high-definition version of some local channels, and it’s usually the high-definition channel that carries the VCT data. Drop me an email at letters@hdtvexpert.com and provide as many details as you can about your cable company and what your channel scans reveal, and I’ll re-visit this topic in a future column.
