dtv.gov Gets a Needed Overhaul
Still Needs Work

The above is a snapshot from the revised FCC dtv.gov website, announced this week at the NAB convention where all commissioners are required to genuflect. (Anyone remember the furor when Reed Hundt had the chutzpah to attend a major ITU conference that conflicted with the NAB show?)

The change is a positive improvement, but the snapshot, featuring questions highlighted on the top page - not obscure issues, show lingering important problems.

Can I Use My UHF/VHF Antenna to Receive DTV?

Television stations broadcasting in digital use both the VHF (channels 2-13) and UHF (channels 14-51) bands. Many indoor antennas use “rabbit ears” for the VHF band and a “loop” or “bow-tie” antenna for the UHF band.

There is a lot of truth to this. But if you live in or near another of the "orange triangles" in the new improved FCC coverage maps - a great improvement to the site made around January - you need more antenna gain, basically a better antenna or an outdoor replacement for your rabbit ears. These "orange triangles" occur because of stations changing locations, changing frequency, and changing power. They are a small fraction of US homes, but they are quite real. The advice is oversimplistic.

Does the DTV Transition Affect TV Sets That Are Connected to Cable Services?

No. If you subscribe to cable service, the DTV transition should not affect any TV sets that are connected to your cable services. The DTV transition applies only to full-power broadcast television stations – stations that use the public airwaves to transmit their programming to viewers through a broadcast antenna. (Emphasis added.)

As I have written before, this is also a half truth. If your analog TV is connected to the cable system without a set top box and if you watch basic tier nonbroadcast cable, e.g. CNN, C-SPAN, MTV, Food Network, etc., you are in for an unpleasant surprise. While communications policy wonks will quibble over parsing the website quote and my sentence, try to explain that to your neighbor or an elderly person in a nursing home. The American public deserves a clearer explanation of the basic tier situation, not one from K St. lawyers. I am not saying the policy is wrong, just that there is a dearth of consumer friendly information.

I note that the new FCC/Consumers Union "DTV Made Easy" booklet has better explanations of both the antenna and CATV problems, but is written in rather odd English - perhaps reflecting too much editing from too many editors:

"My TV is connected to a for-pay cable, satellite, or phone company service.
If so, you’re all set! Any TV, no matter how old, will continue to work with cable, satellite, or phone-company TV service that you are already paying for. Most subscribers don’t have to do anything to keep getting their usual TV programming. One exception: If your cable company discontinues all analog service (its own choice, not required by the government), subscribers who currently plug the cable directly into the TV may need to rent a cable box, usually for $5 to $7 a month. (This is not the same as a DTV converter box, which is used with an antenna.) The cable company must notify affected consumers and offer the equipment they need. However, most cable companies are expected to continue analog-cable service, and they cannot require you to get a box or upgrade to digital cable to get the local channels you now receive."

But why should the web site contain misleading information by ignoring the "one exception"? Why not link to the booklet in a note saying to look for the details there?

Is It the 2nd or 3rd Digital Transition?

I have written previously about what NCTA calls the "2nd DTV transition" - the switch of basic tier cable signals, e.g. CNN, C-SPAN, from analog format to the euphonious, consumer friendly "64-QAM" format. But now that the over-the-air switch is a double event in February and June, is the cable event the 3rd transition?

I note that FCC has improved its consumer information on this issue somewhat:

"Does the DTV transition affect TV sets that are connected to cable services?

No. If you subscribe to cable service, the DTV transition should not affect any TV sets that are connected to your cable services. The DTV transition applies only to full-power broadcast television stations – stations that use the public airwaves to transmit their programming to viewers through a broadcast antenna.

Return to Questions

Is the FCC making cable companies switch to digital service?

No. Cable companies are not required to switch to digital service. Cable companies may choose to make their service all or partly digital, but they are not required to change from the analog service they offer today. In fact, the FCC requires cable companies to continue to provide local stations in analog as long as they provide any analog service, even after June 12, 2009.

Return to Questions

Can my cable company make me get a box to receive the cable channels I receive today without a box?

Some cable companies have decided to switch to digital service. This is a business decision made by the cable companies and is not required by the federal government. Your cable company may decide to move certain cable channels off of its analog service tier and onto a digital service tier, or it may decide to switch to all-digital service at once, so that there is no analog service tier for any subscribers. If your cable company decides to move some or all of the channels it provides onto a digital service tier, it may notify you that you need to get "digital cable" equipment to continue receiving that cable service. This may include renting or purchasing a digital cable set-top box or purchasing a digital cable ready TV equipped with a "CableCARD" slot. The digital cable equipment is different from the digital-to-analog converter boxes that are used to receive over-the-air broadcast signals. [Emphasis added]

Return to Questions"

Note the last sentence which indirectly explains the 8-VSB/64-QAM difference that we policy wonks know all about.

But do a sanity check. Ask your neighbors and the elderly with CATV if they know that they will soon either have to have new equipment or pay an additional charge for the basic tier non-must carry signals they have been watching with their analog TV sets.

Then reread the first sentence in the FCC quote: "If you subscribe to cable service, the DTV transition should not affect any TV sets that are connected to your cable services." This is legally correct, but how many people other than policy wonks really understand it at present?

Just be prepared for a major backlash unless this issued is clarified with the public. It is not enough for both NCTA and FCC to say that it isn't their fault. They should give the public realistic expectations and schedules.

NCTA: "Once more - there are two (DTV) transitions…"

(UPDATED 1/28/09)

As Congress debates moving the DTV transition to June, most people think there is only one DTV transition, the one currently scheduled for 2/17/09. But as the above quote from NCTA points out there are really two in our future. The first one being the over-the-air transition that gets all the press and which is mandated by law, the second being a continuing evolution in the CATV industry to all digital signals within their networks. Let me say up front that I have no faults with what the cable industry is doing with their technology, but the dearth of public information from both the industry and the FCC is very likely to cause a problem when the "second transition" happens later this year. Former Chairman Kennard has called the (first) DTV transition "a potential Hurricane Katrina-like moment". The second could be almost as bad if the public is not told about it in an effective way.

Today's Washington Post had the following Q&A about cable and DTV by Rob Pegoraro:

Q You wrote that the digital-TV transition has nothing to do with cable TV going from analog to digital, but my cable company seems to disagree. What's the real story with digital cable?

A Digital cable, in which TV programs are compressed and encoded as a stream of ones and zeroes before being sent over cable lines, isn't new. Cable operators have been adopting it not because of the over-the-air DTV transition -- remember, they don't use the regular TV airwaves -- but for the same reason that wireless-phone carriers ditched analog cellular: digital uses much less of their bandwidth.

But the movement of many popular basic-cable channels from analog to digital is a more recent development.

This represents a problem for viewers with older cable-ready TVs, who now must rent a digital cable box. Many digital sets include a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) tuner that can receive unencrypted digital cable signals without a box, but these sets can have problems detecting available channels on a cable system's digital feed.

A second problem arises when cable companies suggest that their digital transition has been forced by the over-the-air DTV switch -- an argument as illogical as blaming digital migrations on the Redskins' late-season collapse. Herndon-based RCN, which provides service in the District, Montgomery County and Falls Church, has been the source of many such complaints from readers. RCN spokesman Michael Houghton said the company has "had relatively few issues of this type," considering the magnitude of its move to an all-digital system.

"We've cautioned all our members . . . to be very clear about not using the broadcast transition as a way to justify the migration of cable channels," wrote Brian Dietz, a vice president for the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.

Here's a quote from an NCTA-related website:

"If you are a cable customer, you may have to do little or nothing to enjoy your favorite programming after the switch to digital TV (DTV). Your cable provider will take care of the transition for you!" (Emphasis added)

Now what exactly is "your favorite programming", especially if you have an analog TV set connected directly to cable without a set top box? Most readers of this blog know what "must carry" stations are. But ask your neighbors who have cable/satellite/fiber if they really understand the difference about which of their basic tier signals are governed by the must carry rules and which are not, e.g. CNN, C-SPAN, MTV, Food Network etc.

FCC has dodged responsibility by issuing a Consumer Advisory entitled "DTV Transition Does Not Require Cable Systems to Switch to Digital" in an obscure location on both the FCC and dtv.gov websites:

The digital (DTV) transition applies only to full-power TV broadcast stations. It refers to the switch from analog to digital broadcast television.

The DTV transition does not require cable companies to switch their cable systems to digital.

For voluntary business reasons, your cable company may decide to move some cable channels from its analog tier onto a digital tier, or may switch to all-digital service and stop providing any analog service. This is not required by the government. (sic)


As long as your cable company offers any analog service, it must provide you with your local broadcast stations so you can watch them without a cable set-top box.

So FCC has denied all responsibility, which is strictly speaking correct. But then why did FCC send all those Letters of Inquiry to cable operators around Halloween?

There is some good news on yet another NCTA-related website, which has gotten little attention to date. The major cable operators will not switch basic tier channel to the digital tier during a 2 month "quiet period" :

Even with those efforts, the cable industry has been asked to consider taking additional steps to help smooth the DTV transition. In response to these requests, cable operators represented on the NCTA Board of Directors (who own and operate cable systems serving ninety percent of the nation’s cable subscribers) have committed to the following:

• Digital Migration “Quiet Period.” To minimize consumer confusion during the DTV transition, operators will delay the substitution of digital versions of existing analog channels from December 31, 2008, to March 1, 2009, except to the extent necessary to free up bandwidth to comply with the requirement to carry broadcast signals in both analog and digital formats or meet contractual carriage obligations.
• Analog Broadcast Basic Tier. Operators that offer dual carriage of broadcast signals would make access to the analog broadcast basic tier available under a promotional offer to new customers who subscribe just to that tier. This offer would be available beginning December 31, 2008, and would continue for at least 120 days after the proposed quiet period – through June 30, 2009. The service would be provided at the promotional price for at least one year after the customer subscribes.
• No Additional Charge for Equipment or Service. Recognizing that there is likely to be continuing consumer confusion even after the February 17, 2009 broadcaster DTV transition, operators would also provide the following additional assistance to all-analog cable households during and for at least 120 days after the proposed quiet period – through June 30, 2009 – to help them manage cable’s digital transition. If, during this period, an operator removes the analog version of a PEG or other channel from the broadcast basic or expanded basic tier and replaces it with a digital version of the channel on either of those tiers, the operator would make available to all-analog households, upon request, at least one free device that enables those households to view the channel. The device provided under this program would remain free for at least one year. There would also be no additional service charge for at least one year for the affected channel or, at the operator’s option, the broadcast basic or expanded basic tier where the digital version of the channel has been placed. Individual operators may choose to continue this program after June 30, 2009, or to initiate other similar programs after that date.
• Clear and Conspicuous Customer Notification of Any Channel Migration. Whenever operators cease transmitting analog PEG or cable programming services and begin offering those channels only in digital, they will provide clear and conspicuous notice to affected subscribers and franchising authorities not less than 30 days in advance. The notice would also inform subscribers that they have at least 60 days to avail themselves of the offers described above.

On point the cable industry is still evasive about: If a channel such as CNN is in the basic analog tier today, will it be viewable with a DTV receiver that has a 64-QAM input but no set top box? The answer apparently will vary from system to system and systems that will require set top boxes at a fee to watch former basic tier channels should prepare for major consumer backlash -- although they are well within their legal rights.

Indeed, the fact that we have no more convenient shorthand for talking about 64-QAM than its technojargon name probably indicates that industry hasn't been very interested in consumers connecting directly to cable without a set top box.

So ask your (non telecom policy wonk) neighbors with cable if they understand what is about to happen and see if they understand. Then visit a nursing home and see if the residents there understand that some of their favorite channels may disappear in a few months but that it is not FCC's fault.

UPDATE

For a specific example of the confusion that can result in this matter, here is an article from the 1/28/09 Washington Post on the changes by RCN in the Washington area. (Apparently RCN is not one of the companies on the NCTA board who have agreed to the voluntary "quiet period".)

Part of the article says,

"Television audiences across the country are getting ready for the switch to all-digital broadcasting scheduled for next month. But in the District, another TV transition is causing confusion for some cable customers.

Cable company RCN last week shut off analog channels in the Chevy Chase area, and it will do the same in parts of Northwest D.C. this week as it shifts to digital technology. The effort is part of an "analog crush," in which RCN is getting rid of analog signals to increase its channel offerings.

That means that customers used to plugging coaxial cable cords directly into a TV now will need a digital converter box for every TV set to get channels.

But for some, RCN's move from analog to digital service couldn't have come at a worse time."

6 Months to Go and Some DTV Confusion Continues

Now if you really want the straight story on the DTV conversion and your options as a cable consumer, you would think NCTA's website would be a more reliable source of information than the feuding FCC and NTIA websites. So back from my trip to the hinterlands of Arizona, California, and Utah, I checked out what happens if you are a cable subscriber.


So I clicked on the link shown above labeled "Digital Television Transition Resources". This brings you to another page:

Here you have 2 options: The top link is labeled "DTV transition" and takes you to a site sponsored by the DTV Transition Coalition consisting of a Who's Who in the broadcasting, cable, and consumer electronics area with a few consumer groups too. On this website, you will find the following information under "What You Need to Know":

• "TV sets that currently receive programming through cable or satellite are not likely to be affected by the transition to digital."

If you take the bottom link entitled Cable Customers: Get Ready for Digital TV you get to an NCTA-sponsored website that has this information"

• "If you are a cable customer, you may have to do little or nothing to enjoy your favorite programming after the switch to digital TV (DTV). Your cable provider will take care of the transition for you!
• That's because your cable company already has technology in place to handle DTV. It does this by capturing these digital signals and sending them to your home through the same cable connection that delivers popular national channels like ESPN, CNN, HBO and hundreds of others. As long as your TV sets are connected to cable, they'll display local DTV stations, along with the many other stations cable has to offer."

FCC's www.dtv.gov website has this information:

• "Cable subscribers may need new DTV equipment to view DTV programming in digital format. You should ask your cable provider what you will need and when."
• "Analog TVs will continue to work with cable, satellite, VCRs, DVD players, camcorders, video games consoles and other devices for many years" (We will show below that "many years" in the case of cable could end in February 2012)
  

Another part of the FCC website says:

• "Subscribe to a paid TV service. If your TV set receives local broadcast stations through a paid provider such as cable or satellite TV, it is already prepared for the DTV transition. (Emphasis added)
  

Finally on NTIA's website we read:

• TVs connected to cable, satellite, or other pay services do not require a TV converter box from this program to receive programs after February 17, 2009. Check with your cable or satellite provider to determine how they will support your analog set after February 17, 2009.

Last week a senior FCC official spoke to a senior citizens group outside the Beltway and said,

• "As I said, if you subscribe to a pay-tv service, such as Dish, DirecTV, or cableproviders like Comcast, your television will continue to work, regardless of whether it is analog or digital. "

So what is reality here? If you get cable and have a set top box, usually available at an extra charge, you will be able to continue to use your analog TV set indefinitely without any changes, other than perhaps channel number changes.

But if you have your analog TV set connected directly to the cable system and select channels directly with your TV set tuner, you might be in trouble in the near future. FCC did address this issue in their 12/31/07 CS Docket No. 98-120 Third Report and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Order Press Release).

The Commission stated,

By statute, cable operators must make local broadcasters’ primary video and program-related material viewable by all of their subscribers. The FCC’s ruling today allows cable operators to comply with the viewability requirement by choosing to either: (1)carry the digital signal in analog format, or (2) carry the signal only in digital format, provided that all subscribers have the necessary equipment to view the broadcast content. The viewability requirements extend to February 2012 with the Commission committing to review them during the last year of this period in light of the state of technology and the marketplace.

However, some customers without set top boxes might get overlooked in this process so NTIA's advice that they check with their cable company is still the best advice.

Note that the FCC requirement only deals with local over-the-air signals (e.g. signals from NAB and MSTV members), not C-SPAN, CNN, The Food Network, etc. So the quote from the DTV Transition Coalition above (actually linked through the NCTA site) that says "TV sets that currently receive programming through cable or satellite are not likely to be affected by the transition to digital." is at best a half truth. So is the FCC quote, "Analog TVs will continue to work with cable, satellite, VCRs, DVD players, camcorders, video games consoles and other devices for many years". But if your idea of TV is limited to what the 15% of American homes without cable or satellite actually see, then the information is correct.

More complicating details:

• The FCC rule allows smaller cable companies (usually rural) to ask for a waiver so they may not be required to deliver analog signals to their customers. (Cable companies would prefer to carry only digital signals since they get several times the capacity with digital rather than analog and they can use the additional capacity for new channels and pay services.)
• Another detail that gets loss in this mess of public information is that the NTIA-subsidized set top box is useless if you have cable service and an analog TV set since most cable services will carry digital signals in 64-QAM format, not the over-the-air 8-VSB format. (Try to explain that to you grandmother!)

So of all the statements above, NTIA's www.dtv2009.gov's is probably the best. I see how the senior FCC official had problems in the prepared speech. The official's staffers were probably hopelessly confused by the murky statements out there. But if they were confused, image the sonsumers, particularly older Americans who are also confused.

Hopefully the 9/8/2008 switchover in Wilmington, NC will show the problems here and allow corrective action before the national switchover.
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After I posted this today, FCC announced 2 new unprecedented moves to help spread the DTV message:

An Extensive Nationwide Initiative for DTV Outreach

DTV Speakers Bureau

However, these new efforts will have to get the facts right on the issue of cable TV users that do not have set top boxes, a category that probably includes a lot of elderly Americans who don't watch MTV and use basic cable service.
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Response on NCTA blog