©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Friday is D-Day for Digital Television |
POSTED: 10:27pm 6/11/09 We'd prefer you listen to the radio, but many local residents might wake up Friday to their favorite television station to either find static or a warning that it might go off the air later in the day -- that is, if they didn't get help from the Federal Communications Commission.
The governing body for all radio and television outlets had a representative at the Galesburg Public Library Thursday to answer last minute questions about the transition from analog to digital television.
Following a four-month delay, and if they didn't do so back in February, all T.V. stations must switch off their analog signals and switch to all digital broadcasting some time today.
Tracy Waldon works in the F.C.C.'s Media Bureau, and tells WGIL regardless of whether you bought a new digital-ready television, or bought a converter box for your current T.V., the biggest problem people seem to have is getting a signal.
"A problem where their television picture -- their digital picture -- is cutting in and out," Waldon said. "I try to give them some advice about positioning the antennas, and using the signal strength meter on the converter box to determine what the optimal position is."
Waldon says if you get local television channels from cable or satellite you should be okay, but if you ARE using an antenna, he says the best solution is to point it towards where they broadcast from. In the case of the majority of Quad Cities T.V. stations, Waldon says, that means point it toward the city of Orion, where most have their transmitters.
Only one Peoria T.V. station is left to go all-digital, while most in the Quad Cities still had to on Friday.
For more information on the DTV transition from the F.C.C., CLICK HERE. Or, for information from the National Association of Broadcasters, CLICK HERE.
(Tracy Waldon with the Federal Communications Commission, left, talks with a half-dozen Galesburg residents Thursday at the Galesburg Public Library. Waldon met with roughly 20 individuals in two hours. WGIL News Story and Photo by Will Stevenson.) |
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| 06 11 09 by Newsroom |
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