Rural TV Viewers May Soon Be In The Dark
As we expected, TV viewers in rural parts of Humboldt County may very well be left in the dark after the switch is made to digital television (DTV) in February 2009. The Times-Standard reported this week that viewers in the Orleans area may lose access to KIEM-TV, the area’s only NBC affiliate, when analog transmissions cease and DTV is made mandatory. The problem? Reception in that area is currently only available via a low-powered analog translator, which relies upon solar power and batteries to broadcast a signal. The only way to keep translator service available would be for the station to install a new DTV translator or convert the station’s main signal from digital back to analog in order to be rebroadcast. The station’s current solar system does not produce enough electricity for either option though.
