Plano Star-courier > News
Businesses, city ready for digital television
By Zachary Markovic, Staff Writer
As the countdown to the end of analog television continues, one government agency makes it easier for consumers to switch to digital.
Consumers who watch their televisions through antenna or “rabbit ears” must purchase converter boxes to keep their analog sets compatible with over-the-air broadcasts after Feb. 17, 2009. Viewers need converter boxes, which cost about $80, to convert the digital signal for older televisions.
To smooth over the conversion process, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration offers up to two coupons per household for $40 off government-certified converter boxes.
Sartor TV & Video owner Tom McLaughlin opened his TV repair shop in Plano seven years ago. With 22 years in the industry, he has seen many television trends come and go.
And change usually means high costs and higher repair bills.
McLaughlin said with the newer sets, like LCD and plasma, most repairs now are board-level replacements, instead of component replacements. This means if a ciruit blows out on a new television, rather than of replacing it as he would on an old set, he replaces the entire board the circuit sits on. This drives up repair costs on newer sets.
“Average repair on a 36-inch direct-view television set is $200 dollars,” McLaughlin said. “While the average repair on plasma is $400 because you have to replace the board.”
With the move from analog to digital, his phones have ringing off the wall with consumer questions.
“Most of them have been older couples who want to know what they can do with their televisions,” he said.
Customers with antennae don’t have to worry, he said. They can buy a converter for their sets.
Still, McLaughlin said he doesn’t think the change will affect people as much as some believe. He has come across many houses that they have cable to avoid having an antenna attached to their roofs.
“There are very few people in this market that have an antenna on their roof,” he said. “I work 10 houses a day and they are few and far between.”
That’s why McLaughlin said he probably won’t sell the converters himself. He doesn’t see much profit in it.
This does leave the government concerned about how to get the conversion boxes in the hands of those who need them. With the digital transition just a year away, every consumer electronics device that relies on analog TV signals must migrate to digital. By providing the core technology for every kind of terrestrial TV appliance and application, a local business is making this switch-over possible.
Microtune Inc., founded in 1996 and headquartered in Plano, is a silicon and subsystems company that designs and markets radio frequency solutions. Its hybrid and digital tuner chips are deployed in products as diverse as: NTIA-certified DTV converter boxes, TVs on laptops and PCs, HD/DVRs, satellite set top boxes with off-air HDTV capability, cable-ready products, handheld mobile TV phones and PDAs, and a range of sophisticated cable TV equipment.
A Microtune spokeswoman said she has seen reports showing that most of the population doesn’t realize that analog will shut off in a year.
Greg Zancewicz, director of broadband marketing for Microtune, said since Plano is a pretty affluent city many citizens already have satellite or cable, so they will not have to worry about the change as much.
However, the government estimated 15 percent of the households in America do not have the equipment needed for the conversion. He said it was reported many of those households were along the United States and Mexico border.
“So this is a big issue in the Texas region,” he said.
To help get the boxes in the hands of those who cannot afford them the government has implemented the coupon program Monday. The coupon only applies to government certified converter boxes. Consumers need to go to the NTIA’s Web site to find out how to apply for the coupons for the TV converters.
“There are a fairly small number of boxes certified,” Zancewicz said. “We are in a quarter to a third of those converters.”
NTIA announced eight of the largest consumer electronics retailers — Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Sam’s Club, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart — have been certified to participate in the TV Converter Box Coupon Program along with more than 100 other retailers, representing more than 14,000 stores throughout the nation, and additional program details.
“NTIA thanks these certified retailers who will participate in the TV Converter Box Coupon Program, and we look forward to working with them in 2008 and 2009,” said Acting NTIA Administrator Meredith Attwell Baker. “The TV Converter Box Coupon Program is on schedule and will be ready to take consumers’ coupon requests starting Jan. 1, 2008, as directed by Congress, to ensure the success of the nation’s transition to digital broadcasting.”
The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 requires full-power television stations to cease analog broadcasts and switch to digital after Feb. 17, 2009. The Act also authorizes NTIA to create The TV Converter Box Coupon Program.
Digital television provides consumers with a clearer picture, more programming, and frees up bandwidth for advanced wireless broadband services and interoperable communications among emergency first responders.
Zancewicz said the tuners and boxes that are government certified will produce a better picture than the converter boxes that television manufacturers are building on their sets. This is because the government is setting the standard for the boxes developed for the process
“Even with the cable and satellite it might be better to get a converter box,” he said.
And picture clarity is one of the other reasons the conversion to digital is happening.
Zancewicz said unless consumers have a clean path to their antenna, the television will generally show some noise on the screen. By moving to digital each channel is able to contain more information to produce a clearer picture. However, this does not mean a set with a converter will display in high definition. Consumers will still have to purchase an HD ready set to do that.
As far as the government and local television networks go, Plano has little to worry about conversion efforts
Stan Pierce, Plano Television Network television engineer for the city of Plano, said from the city side of the conversion, they have done well in staying ahead of it. The network decided to be proactive with the conversion and went digital with all of their equipment when they upgraded four years ago. He said this saved the city and citizens money in the long run because they won’t have to worry about upgrading this year when the digital equipment is more expensive because everyone else is upgrading at the same time.
“At some point we will have to upgrade again,” Pierce said, “but I do not see the need for that at the moment.”
For information about the TV Converter Box Coupon Program, go to the Web site www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon and for more information about the entire digital television transition, go to www.dtvtransition.org.
Contact Zachary Markovic at zmarkovic@acnpapers.com.
Consumers who watch their televisions through antenna or “rabbit ears” must purchase converter boxes to keep their analog sets compatible with over-the-air broadcasts after Feb. 17, 2009. Viewers need converter boxes, which cost about $80, to convert the digital signal for older televisions.
To smooth over the conversion process, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration offers up to two coupons per household for $40 off government-certified converter boxes.
Sartor TV & Video owner Tom McLaughlin opened his TV repair shop in Plano seven years ago. With 22 years in the industry, he has seen many television trends come and go.
And change usually means high costs and higher repair bills.
McLaughlin said with the newer sets, like LCD and plasma, most repairs now are board-level replacements, instead of component replacements. This means if a ciruit blows out on a new television, rather than of replacing it as he would on an old set, he replaces the entire board the circuit sits on. This drives up repair costs on newer sets.
“Average repair on a 36-inch direct-view television set is $200 dollars,” McLaughlin said. “While the average repair on plasma is $400 because you have to replace the board.”
With the move from analog to digital, his phones have ringing off the wall with consumer questions.
“Most of them have been older couples who want to know what they can do with their televisions,” he said.
Customers with antennae don’t have to worry, he said. They can buy a converter for their sets.
Still, McLaughlin said he doesn’t think the change will affect people as much as some believe. He has come across many houses that they have cable to avoid having an antenna attached to their roofs.
“There are very few people in this market that have an antenna on their roof,” he said. “I work 10 houses a day and they are few and far between.”
That’s why McLaughlin said he probably won’t sell the converters himself. He doesn’t see much profit in it.
This does leave the government concerned about how to get the conversion boxes in the hands of those who need them. With the digital transition just a year away, every consumer electronics device that relies on analog TV signals must migrate to digital. By providing the core technology for every kind of terrestrial TV appliance and application, a local business is making this switch-over possible.
Microtune Inc., founded in 1996 and headquartered in Plano, is a silicon and subsystems company that designs and markets radio frequency solutions. Its hybrid and digital tuner chips are deployed in products as diverse as: NTIA-certified DTV converter boxes, TVs on laptops and PCs, HD/DVRs, satellite set top boxes with off-air HDTV capability, cable-ready products, handheld mobile TV phones and PDAs, and a range of sophisticated cable TV equipment.
A Microtune spokeswoman said she has seen reports showing that most of the population doesn’t realize that analog will shut off in a year.
Greg Zancewicz, director of broadband marketing for Microtune, said since Plano is a pretty affluent city many citizens already have satellite or cable, so they will not have to worry about the change as much.
However, the government estimated 15 percent of the households in America do not have the equipment needed for the conversion. He said it was reported many of those households were along the United States and Mexico border.
“So this is a big issue in the Texas region,” he said.
To help get the boxes in the hands of those who cannot afford them the government has implemented the coupon program Monday. The coupon only applies to government certified converter boxes. Consumers need to go to the NTIA’s Web site to find out how to apply for the coupons for the TV converters.
“There are a fairly small number of boxes certified,” Zancewicz said. “We are in a quarter to a third of those converters.”
NTIA announced eight of the largest consumer electronics retailers — Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Sam’s Club, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart — have been certified to participate in the TV Converter Box Coupon Program along with more than 100 other retailers, representing more than 14,000 stores throughout the nation, and additional program details.
“NTIA thanks these certified retailers who will participate in the TV Converter Box Coupon Program, and we look forward to working with them in 2008 and 2009,” said Acting NTIA Administrator Meredith Attwell Baker. “The TV Converter Box Coupon Program is on schedule and will be ready to take consumers’ coupon requests starting Jan. 1, 2008, as directed by Congress, to ensure the success of the nation’s transition to digital broadcasting.”
The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 requires full-power television stations to cease analog broadcasts and switch to digital after Feb. 17, 2009. The Act also authorizes NTIA to create The TV Converter Box Coupon Program.
Digital television provides consumers with a clearer picture, more programming, and frees up bandwidth for advanced wireless broadband services and interoperable communications among emergency first responders.
Zancewicz said the tuners and boxes that are government certified will produce a better picture than the converter boxes that television manufacturers are building on their sets. This is because the government is setting the standard for the boxes developed for the process
“Even with the cable and satellite it might be better to get a converter box,” he said.
And picture clarity is one of the other reasons the conversion to digital is happening.
Zancewicz said unless consumers have a clean path to their antenna, the television will generally show some noise on the screen. By moving to digital each channel is able to contain more information to produce a clearer picture. However, this does not mean a set with a converter will display in high definition. Consumers will still have to purchase an HD ready set to do that.
As far as the government and local television networks go, Plano has little to worry about conversion efforts
Stan Pierce, Plano Television Network television engineer for the city of Plano, said from the city side of the conversion, they have done well in staying ahead of it. The network decided to be proactive with the conversion and went digital with all of their equipment when they upgraded four years ago. He said this saved the city and citizens money in the long run because they won’t have to worry about upgrading this year when the digital equipment is more expensive because everyone else is upgrading at the same time.
“At some point we will have to upgrade again,” Pierce said, “but I do not see the need for that at the moment.”
For information about the TV Converter Box Coupon Program, go to the Web site www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon and for more information about the entire digital television transition, go to www.dtvtransition.org.
Contact Zachary Markovic at zmarkovic@acnpapers.com.
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