Analog TV shutoff test: Thu, Jan 15 @ 6:20pm

Thu, January 15, 2009
Posted in DTV, Technical Updates

Thursday evening — January 15, 2009 — KAKM is turning off its analog TV transmitter from 6:20 p.m. to 6:25 p.m. Our digital TV (DTV) broadcasts will continue uninterrupted.

This brief test allows you to determine whether your TVs are ready for the planned permanent shutdown of analog TV broadcasting on February 17, 2009. Simply tune all your TVs to Channel 7 before 6:20 p.m. and see what happens on each of your televisions.

Important: TVs hooked up to cable, satellite or DTV broadcast service will be unaffected. Only the analog TV over-the-air broadcast is being turned off for the test.

If your signal disappears during this 5-minute test, you must take action to prepare for the February 17 termination of analog TV service.

For most older analog-only televisions, you’ll need a DTV converter box: a device that tunes in DTV broadcast signals and makes the picture and sound available for your older analog TV. Such converter boxes are available at many electronics retailers in Alaska. They’re available online from Amazon.com and other retailers. Please note the federal government’s DTV converter box coupon program has recently changed — you may wish to act immediately to acquire a converter box without a coupon.

Viewers on the Kenai peninsula: Your analog TV broadcast service is not going away on February 17. KAKM is currently working to upgrade our translators on the Kenai to DTV service sometime during mid- to late-2009. If you watch KAKM via antenna in Seldovia, Homer, Kenai, Soldotna or other areas on the western side of the Kenai peninsula, you must prepare for the DTV transition, too — you just have more time to prepare than folks in the Anchorage metro area.

You can learn more about the DTV transition via lots of web sites, including the FCC’s own www.dtv.gov web site. Interestingly, Macworld published a succinct DTV FAQ this week that may be helpful in explaining the situation.

Will the transition still happen Feb 17?
Probably, but we’re not sure. The incoming Obama administration, Alaska’s own Congressional delegation and others are currently calling for a delay of the planned February 17 DTV conversion, citing viewer unpreparedness and difficulties with the converter box coupon program. However, no rules have been proposed, the Inauguration is distracting Washington policy developers and other parties lobbying Congress are proposing the deadline stay in place for reasons of cost and logistics.

For now, in the absence of new rules, we are proceeding on the assumption that KAKM’s analog signal will end February 17, 2009 as planned. If a delay is enacted, we’ll post more information here on our site.

Will there be another analog shutoff test?
Yes! In fact, KAKM’s analog broadcast signal goes off the air every single night at midnight, and stays off until 6:00 a.m. So if you’d like another test, just stay up late or get up early and tune to Channel 7. The DTV signal remains available 24×7.