DTV Transition Successful in San Diego

DTV Transition Successful in San Diego:

by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
February 20, 2009

           Although Congress had agreed to delay to digital TV transition until June of this year, many cities are going ahead with the switch. San Diego among these cities, the media feared black TV’s and pixilated images would take over the homes of its residents, but everything appears to have gone smoothly.

            Government officials and stations managers expecting a slew of angry phone calls said that fewer complaints were issued than anyone expected. Fox Broadcasting affiliate, KSWB-TV Channel 5, reported that only 20 calls had come in by mid-morning from individuals inquiring as to how to complete the transition.“I was expecting a lot more than this,” said Linda Garnica, the station receptionist.

            According to organizers of the DTV transition, several public service announcements, testing and advertising could be attributed to the success of Wednesday’s switch.”I feel like a politician,” said Barry Zears, field officer at the FCC, after paying KSWB-TV a visit. “Most of our outreach was done beforehand at senior centers, community centers and elsewhere. We’ve gone out to shake all the hands and kiss all the babies. And now we’re waiting for the votes to come in.”

            Tickers ran across the screens of many networks last week nearly every five minutes, notifying viewers without cable or satellite television of the switch. After two days, the broadcasts were lessened to 10 minutes every hour. “We only got about 20 or so phone calls and 30 e-mails,” said Ed Trimble, president and CEO og KFMB Stations. “This was a good testament to what we’ve been doing.”

            In the U.S., 5 million households still report that they are unprepared for the switch, equaling about 4.4% of households. 4.8% of San Diego residents were reported to be unprepared, perhaps assuring the nation that there won’t be a crisis come to actual transition date. Satellite television viewers that wish to keep local stations should also be reminded that a digital converter box is necessary.