To put it mildly, web sites belonging to local digital (and analog) television stations in Northern California are nearly all but useless, when it comes to finding helpful information, especially of a technical nature. With the sole exception of our local DTV PBS affiliate KEET, most local TV stations look as if they haven’t had a major website redesign in years, or have farmed-out web development to some third-party who has no interest in providing the community with any information at all.

Local NBC TV affiliate KIEM, has not made any major changes to their website in years. Last I checked, their only contact e-mail was being directed at the now-defunct local ISP Humboldt Internet. I have attempted to contact them in the past for information via e-mail, but have never received any type of reply. At first glance, it looks as if the station might be moving into the 21st century by offering streaming video of their nightly newscast. However, newscasts available on the site are usually outdated, often not adding any new material for several days at a time. To make matters worse, the station seems to be relying on some trashy third-party called VEOH to provide its streaming services. Why trashy? Just try clicking on the menu to watch any of KIEM’s previous newscasts. You’ll immediately be transported to a page that seems to specialize in streaming soft-core porn clips. As of last night, next to KIEM’s footage on VEOH are clips from the Marilyn Chambers hardcore XXX rated porn movie Behind the Green Door as well as nightly clips from The Naked News. Every single time I have viewed any of KIEM’s news broadcasts on this site, I have been bombarded with thumbnail images of pornography. The only part of KIEM’s website that seems to be updated regularly is Jim Bernard’s weather forecast. I’m guessing that Jim probably has to upload everything himself. There is also a link on the homepage to a video describing how to hook-up a DTV converter box. When you click on it, there are thumbnail previews of video clips titled “Two Girls, One Shower” and “How To Breast Feed“. Other than that, there isn’t much useful or up-to-date information to be found on the DTV switch, or anything else.

KAEF-TV, Channel 29, by contrast, offers nothing. No website. No technical information. Nothing. Their sister station KRCR in Redding has a website, but that is it. This local ABC affiliate is pretty much just a signal pumped-in from out of town, and they seem to have little to no interest in the local community or its viewers. If you want any information on DTV, HDTV or the digital television transition, you’ll need to keep looking.

This brings us to Eureka Television Group, which for some reason the Federal Communications Commission is allowing to own the majority of broadcast television stations in Humboldt County. ETG operates KVIQ (CBS), KBVU (Fox), KUVU (The CW), KEMY (MyNetwork) and KEUV (Univision). As of today, the site’s information page on the digital TV transition was last updated “Wednesday, 18 June 2008″. Yes, it’s been almost a year since they have added any new information. The rest of the site is pretty much useless. Some TV programming listings and what looks to be some syndicated, national news that is automatically added to the site via an RSS feed. No e-mail links or contact info, other than phone numbers. The “about us” page was last updated in 2006, and gives a brief bio of the station’s current owner Chester Smith. The only problem here is, Smith died in August of 2008.

The last stop on this mind-numbing journey through Humboldt County’s DTV broadcasters is local PBS affiliate KEET. Fortunately, KEET seems to be the exception to the rule among local digital TV broadcasters. Besides updated programming listings and offering wealth of information about PBS programming, you will find full contact information, along with updated news on the local DTV transition. Strangely, they even reply to e-mails! Going even further than that, KEET has actually gone out of their way to educate the public on DTV issues and seems to be the only broadcaster in the area that makes an effort to keep viewers and the local media informed as to what they are doing. Seeing as they are reliant upon public donations, one would expect them to want to keep the public tuned-in. It’s sad that they seem to be the only local broadcaster going so far out of their way to keep local residents informed though.

In closing, the Internet provides a fantasic opportunity for local television stations to keep the public informed on the DTV transition, as well as many other subjects. In most TV markets, stations take full-advantage of this fact. Updating a website is certainly much cheaper than providing airtime on their stations. Alas, KIEM is the only DTV station in the area that even bothers doing a local newscast anymore, so it appears that most local stations are not very interested in providing viewers with much more than straight “entertainment” these days.

UPDATE: As of this writing in mid-December of 2009, KIEM-TV’s website seems to be abandoned. The last newscast that was uploaded to the site was on October 12th. That was over two months ago. The contact e-mail address for the news department is now a @hotmail.com address. There are some error messages on pages due to broken scripts. I haven’t watched any of the local TV channels in months now, so I have no idea if they are even still on the air. Nothing surprises me anymore in Humboldt County.

Eureka, CA, February 24, 2009 - I was perusing KIEM-TV’s website earlier tonight when I ran across an interesting link to their policy on granting waivers to satellite television viewers (specifically DirecTV viewers) for reception of network programming at http://kiem-tv.com/waiver.html.

Basically, their policy is the same as the other local commercial television broadcasters in the area. If you need a waiver… you’re screwed. None of the local TV broadcasters will sign waivers for anyone, regardless of how bad their TV reception is.

KIEM specifically cites the FCC’s regulations about not needing to grant waivers in what are defined in Predicted Grade B Contour Areas. These are areas where anyone should supposedly be able to receive a TV signal, granted that they use an outdoor antenna placed 30′ above the ground. On it’s face, this rule actually sounds quite reasonable. Neither the FCC nor TV stations ever intended that viewers ever be able to view television programming from local broadcasters by using something as simple as a pair of “rabbit ears”, sitting on top of a television set.

Indeed, when early TV first began, there was a booming business in (outdoor) TV antenna installation. Over the years, the public has come to expect TV reception to be easy and hassle-free though. They don’t want unsightly antennas, ugly cables or silly wires cluttering their homes. This points to more of a need for a national attitude adjustment than it does a technical solution. If reception this simple is what Americans are waiting for, they are going to be sorely disappointed. It just isn’t going to happen. Not in our lifetimes, anyway. Those who want to receive a good over-the-air TV signal should be prepared to install a good antenna! It’s not politics; it’s simple physics, so get over it.

Back to the whole “Predicted Grade B Contour Area” issue though. As I stated, on it’s face, this policy seems like a logical and reasonable one. Unfortunately, the sad fact is, the technology used to create maps that show areas which fall into these contours is woefully inadequate. The standards that engineers use to create these maps has not really changed much in the past 100 years. Although computers are now used for map creation, they simply speed-up the same process that would normally take an engineer much longer to accomplish by hand.

With the exception of some very basic terrain calculations, very little real-world data is taken into consideration with these charts. Calculations are measured as if the earth existed inside a vacuum where no atmosphere, weather, earth curvature, man-made obstructions, vegetation, RF interference, multipath, solar flares or other factors ever enter into reality. To add insult to injury, these maps only show where it is allegedly technically possible to obtain “a signal”. This does NOT mean a watchable picture, or any type of signal that could reliably be used for the viewing of television pictures. It just requires that “a signal” of extremely minimal quality exists.

In fact, the FCC specifically defines the type of quality expected in a Predicted Grade B Contour Area. In one of its notices, it states: “…the values chosen for Grade B signal intensity account for location and time variability factors and predict that at least 50 percent of the locations along the Grade B contour will receive an acceptable picture 90 percent of the time. In this case, acceptable picture was considered to be TASO Level 3, defined as (passable) – The picture is of acceptable quality. Interference is not objectionable.”

Human Translation: In most areas, at best, your odds of receiving a “passable” signal by FCC standards (which most of us would probably define as a “really crappy picture”) – using an outdoor antenna placed on a 30′ mast, are 50/50… 90% of the time. Of course, these are only predictions, based upon completely inadequate data that is rarely accurate in real-world situations. Such an antenna set-up will likely set you back over $100, should probably be professionally installed and should have NO objects of ANY kind between itself and the broadcast station’s transmitting antenna. In other words, line-of-sight. Depending upon where you live, installation of a mast that extends 30′ from the top of your roof (which, for a two-story house, would be about 50′ off the ground) may also require you to obtain a building permit from your city or county, which could take months and cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars in building permits and increased property taxes. How many people can really afford that?

KIEM’s Grade B Contour Area is similar to that of other, local TV broadcasters (although, I believe that it might actually be outdated, and only show coverage areas for their older, and stronger, analog signal). Basically, if you live ANYWHERE in Humboldt, Del Norte or most of Trinity County, you are in a Grade B Contour area, according to the map. Those of us who have actually tried obtaining over-the-air TV reception in places like Trinity County will find maps such as those provided by KIEM-TV to be laughable, at best. With the new transition to DTV, the odds of obtaining a digital signal that could result in the reception of ANY type of TV picture AT ALL is diminished for the vast majority of viewers in outlying areas.

WHO’S TO BLAME FOR BAD RECEPTION?

It seems that everyone wants to point fingers in the broadcast industry. For it’s part, KIEM-TV seems to blame DirecTV for everything (strangely, they make no mention of DISH Network by name). Their position seems to be that since DirecTV promised their customers at one time that they would add local TV stations in every single U.S. market to their programming line-up, that they should be held to their word. Sounds fair enough, as DirecTV did, indeed backpedal on their promises. However, while KIEM makes it sound as if it they are blaming DirecTV out of their concern for viewers, that is almost certainly not the real reason for the finger pointing.

In reality, the main motivation behind KIEM’s attack of DirecTV is most likely due to the fact that without DirecTV footing the bill to uplink KIEM’s TV signal to their satellite, the station is not only losing potential viewers (which equals ratings, which equals money) but much more importantly, not receiving a monthly royalty check from the satellite TV provider in exchange for rebroadcast rights. KIEM gets a fat check from Suddenlink for rebroadcast rights to their subscribers each month, but not from DirecTV or DISH. Unfortunately, current FCC rules actually encourage local TV broadcasters to limit the availability of their over-the-air signals, since those receiving their programming via TV antennas pay broadcasters nothing. Those who receive their network programming via satellite, Suddenlink or other cable television companies end up having to pay broadcasters for their programming (albeit, indirectly) through increased subscription rates.

For it’s part, DirecTV aand DISH don’t seem to have anyone to blame, at least officially. DirecTV in particular, just blows-off it’s own customers by suggesting that local TV stations in Humboldt County will be included in the programming lineup “some day”. Whether they are just playing stupid, or there are employees at the company dumb enough to actually believe this, is questionable. Call a DirecTV customer service rep, and it’s quite possible that they will make local TV broadcasters out to be the bad guys, saying that their refusal to grant local waivers is unfair to TV viewers (which it certainly is). They will not acknowledge the fact that their own motivation NOT to carry these stations is due to the fact that it costs them more money to set-up and maintain the equipment alone than they could ever hope to recoup through subscription fees to the limited number of homes here.

So, who’s to REALLY blame? In my opinion, the real blame rests with the Federal Communications Commission. If it were not for the FCC’s ridiculous rules requiring local TV broadcasters to only provide a “Predicted Grade B Contour Area” (B should stand for Barely any signal at all) quality signal to local viewers without fearing competition from out-of-market TV stations carried by satellite TV providers, we simply would not be in this mess. If local TV broadcasters were held to a standard that made them provide an actual WATCHABLE TV signal in these areas, it would encourage them to provide their viewers with reliable access to programming, out of fear that they would be able to get it from elsewhere. This could be achieved through several means, most notably being the increased use of translators or requests to broadcast using increased power levels with radiation patterns that optimize reception in rural areas. Although the FCC has examined these issues in recent years, nothing positive has come out of it thus far. As it is, the transition to DTV has led to over-the-air TV signals being available to far fewer Americans than before, which is forcing more and more people to switch to cable or satellite TV just to receive programming from their local TV stations.

Just count the number of houses on your block with outdoor, over-the-air TV antennas as opposed to dishes or drops from the local cable company to confirm this fact. Even in areas that SHOULD have good local TV reception, most are forced to turn to cable or satellite for local or broadcast network programming.

ALL CABLE CUSTOMERS PAY EXTRA FEES FOR “FREE” LOCAL CHANNELS

This also applies to anyone who is able to receive local, commercial TV broadcasts on satellite services such as DirecTV or DISH Network in areas where local stations are available.

If you think that getting local channels on your cable system is free, you’re just kidding yourself. All cable TV providers such as Suddenlink have to pay commercial broadcasters to carry their signal under federal law. Of course, these added costs are going to be passed on to the consumer. You don’t think that the cable company is going to pay these extra fees out of their own pockets, do you?

The FCC states as much in their FCC Cable Television Fact Sheet. Just to make it as clear as possible, here is a direct quote from the FCC’s own literature:

Q: Will my cable bill increase as a result of retransmission consent agreements?

A: In return for allowing a cable system to carry its signal, a television station may require the payment of a fee or other consideration (for instance, carriage of another programming service or advertising time). Any new or additional costs incurred as a result of retransmission consent agreements may be passed through to cable subscribers.

The FCC needs to reconsider the current scheme in place that allows local TV stations to charge cable and satellite TV providers for rebroadcast rights to their “free” signals. After all, in theory, all that the cable and satellite broadcasters are doing is extending the reach of a TV station’s broadcast area and potential viewership, which should bring in more viewers, which should make them more money from advertisements. At least, that’s how it SHOULD work.

Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that TV broadcasters see cable and satellite providers as alternative streams of income, and are positioning themselves to be more like pay cable channels than over-the-air broadcasters. Local TV stations used to rely upon the popularity of their programming in order to attract more viewers, which would generate better ratings, which would lead to increased profits. Under the current scheme, broadcasters don’t need ANYONE watching their programming in order to make money from cable and satellite TV providers. Rather than the public deciding through ratings what programming should stay on the air, this scheme encourages broadcasters to provide viewers with the least expensive programming they can find. Perhaps that’s why we only have a single local TV station in Humboldt County that bothers to broadcast local news (which is very expensive to produce) anymore.

The bottom line is, letting TV broadcasters charge rebroadcast fees to cable and satellite providers for their “free” signals only encourages these broadcasters to limit the quality and availability of local broadcast signals, hopefully forcing most viewers to resort to subscribing to cable or satellite, where they make much more money. This obviously runs contrary to their responsibility to serve the public interest, which they are obligated to do under federal law. This obligation results from the fact that they are using segments of the frequency spectrum, which are a limited, public resource.

Unfortunately, the FCC has all but forgotten that broadcasters are supposed to serve the public interest. Successive presidential administrations have made the Federal Communications Commission much more of a political policy tool than the enforcement and regulation entity they once used to be. Most major decisions at the agency these days are politically motivated, rather than being made on technical or legal grounds. United States courts have increasingly had to step-in in recent years to curb abuses of power at the FCC and force them to vacate their own rules, finding them to be unconstitutional. When it comes to the point where private citizens have to take federal agencies to court in order to prove that they are knowingly operating in direct violation of the United States Constitution, you really have to question their ability to act as an unbiased government regulatory agency.

WHY YOUR TV RECEPTION SUCKS… CONCLUSION

What it all boils down to is the fact that “free TV” isn’t really free for most of us anymore, especially for those caught in the middle of a pissing contest between the satellite and broadcast television industries. Unless Congress decides to step-in and force satellite TV providers like DirecTV to rebroadcast ALL local TV stations in the United States (which would result in skyrocketing satellite TV subscription prices, no pun intended), you can bet that those who live in areas with fringe reception will continue to be treated as second class citizens by both local broadcasters as well as satellite TV providers, and that the quality of television programming itself will continue to decline.

I ended-up unplugging the power cord of the receiver for a few seconds, then plugged it back in again. It worked, although it took the receiver a good 10+ minutes to cycle through a half-dozen or so status messages while it was “booting up”. The HD DVR actually took longer to boot than Windows 95! I had thought this to be an isolated incident, but it turns out that I wasn’t alone.

Below is an excerpt from an e-mail that I just received from DirecTV this afternoon. It seems that quite a few people must have experienced the same “glitch” that I did. DirecTV’s “official” method for getting your HDTV DVR and receiver un-stuck is to press the reset button. That should work just as well as the “unplug it, then plug it back in” method that I used. Fortunately, I didn’t lose any programming that was set to record on the HD DVR. Those of you who haven’t turned on your HDTV sets today may want to do so though, just to make sure that your DirecTV DVR or satellite receiver hasn’t turned into a zombie like mine did.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT YOUR HD DVR OR DVR RECEIVER

In our effort to improve and expand our service, we experienced a temporary technical glitch. If your HD DVR or DVR receiver is not responding to your remote control or front panel commands, you can resolve this issue by pressing the red “Reset” button located inside the small door on the front right corner of your receiver. Please allow about 15 minutes for your receiver to complete the resetting process. Once completed, your picture will return automatically. Unfortunately, any show you may have scheduled to record yesterday will not be available on your DVR.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. Our promise is to provide you with the best television experience, and to resolve any issues that might arise as quickly as possible. If you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate in contacting us at 1-800-347-3288.

We have been looking for a source of these DTV converter boxes locally for awhile now. The hard part wasn’t so much finding a store that stocked the boxes, but finding a model that included the analog pass-through feature that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Without this feature, we would lose access to about half of the channels that will be available locally after February 2009. This includes all local LPTV (Low Power Television) stations and translators. We’ve written plenty of articles on this feature in the past, so be sure to check our archives for more information.

So, what did we find, and where did we find it? Surprisingly, the store that finally came through for us was Target. The Target store in Eureka, California stocks three different models of DTV converter boxes. The first two are pretty much a waste of money, since they do not have analog pass-through. They always seem to have plenty of these boxes in stock, strangely enough. However, after making repeated trips to the store last week we finally found the model in stock that we wanted. It’s the Venturer STB7766G1.

Obviously, Venturer is not exactly a household name, but we have not seen a great deal of difference in quality between manufacturers when it comes to DTV converter boxes, so we’re not too worried as to the quality. The main thing we are interested in here are the features and the price, which is the lowest we have seen any DTV converter box sell for.

Assuming that you happen to arrive at a time when these boxes are in stock, the sticker price is $49.95. Of course, that’s the price before applying the discount from your $40 government coupon. Once you toss-in the sales tax of 7.25% (that’s what it is here), your final purchase price will be a little over $13. Of course, the state sales tax is calculated on the original sticker price of $49.95.

Be sure to have your government coupon handy with you when you go to the store, and be sure to pay attention to the total price when checking out. As we could have guessed, the Target employee at the check-out counter was totally clueless as to how to apply the coupon, and originally charged us full-price for the unit, even after having scanned the coupon! So, make sure that they actually apply the $40 discount while you are there, unless you plan on making a return trip to get your money back for being overcharged.

Interestingly, while checking out, I was also asked to sign some sort of piece of paper that was spat out along with my receipt. It basically stated (I didn’t get to keep a copy of the document, unfortunately) that I agreed that I had just used-up one of my government coupons, and that I was not going to get the entire purchase price back if I returned the item. I wasn’t really expecting to have to sign anything when paying for an item with cash, but whatever…

The unit is very basic, but does everything that you should need it to do, including allowing you to watch channels that continue to broadcast in analog after February 2009. I’ll have a full product review for you later this week. For the moment though, we suggest that you snatch one up with one of your government coupons while you can. At $49.95, you aren’t going to find a cheaper model anywhere else, and most certainly not one that includes analog pass-through. We’ll have more detailed information on it later this week. Stay tuned!

The below list was compiled from the U.S. Department of Commerce (NTIA), and is current as of January 2008. We’ve added an *asterisk in front of stations licensed in Humboldt, Trinity, Del Norte and Southern Mendocino Counties in Northern California. Keep in mind, these stations all transmit using very little power, so picking up any of them is rather tricky. As far as I know, this is the most comprehensive list of translators available for the area, and the only one that lists network affiliations and the names of the stations that operate invividual translators.

One fact that I find particularly interesting is that we have more LPTV stations and translators in rural Northern California than you will find in any major metropolitan area, such as Los Angeles or San Francisco. In fact, San Francisco seems to only have a single LPTV broadcaster. Also, the localities given do not always seem to reflect the actual location of the translators in all cases. Broadcasters are not required to disclose the “exact” location of their transmitting facilities, which can make it extremely difficult to determine which direction to point you antenna in for the best reception. This is especially true at UHF frequencies (channels 14 and up), where you likely won’t see any signal at all if you don’t aim an antenna in precisely the right direction.

Another interesting factoid is the large number of low-power television stations that have been licensed in the Eureka area. Despite having been granted construction permits, none of the channels currently assigned to “MS Communications” have ever broadcast a signal, to the best of our knowledge. Apparently, MS Communications holds the licenses for literally hundreds of LPTV stations across the country, none of which seem to be operational. It is doubtful that there will ever be any television programming on these stations.

We’ve added comments where appropriate, including network affiliations.

Community Served Station Call Letters Channel ALTADENA KTAV-LP 69 ALTURAS K20DE 20 ALTURAS, ETC. K47EH 47 ALTURAS, ETC. K60AR 60 ANDERSON/CENTRL VAL. K38FQ 38 ARROYO GRANDE KSSY-LP 20 ATASCADERO KASC-CA 7 BAKERSFIELD KTFB-CA 4 BAKERSFIELD K08MM 8 BAKERSFIELD KKEY-LP 11 BAKERSFIELD K18HD 18 BAKERSFIELD K21FP 21 BAKERSFIELD K24GS 24 BAKERSFIELD KBTF-CA 31 BAKERSFIELD KVPT-LP 34 BAKERSFIELD KBFK-LP 36 BAKERSFIELD KNXT-LP 38 BAKERSFIELD KZKC-LP 42 BAKERSFIELD K46II 46 BAKERSFIELD KEBK-LP 47 BAKERSFIELD KABE-LP 52 BAKERSFIELD KBFX-CA 58 BARSTOW KCIO-LP 6 BARSTOW K16GE 16 BARSTOW K28IE 28 * BENBOW, ETC. K12JJ 12 (KAEF Translator) BIEBER, ETC. K06GS 6 BIG BEAR LAKE K06MU 6 BIG BEAR LAKE KPCD-LP 40 BIG BEND, ETC. K04EZ 4 * BLUE LAKE K36BT 36 (KAEF Translator) BLYTHE K24FA 24 BLYTHE K26FS 26 BLYTHE K29EC 29 BLYTHE K31FE 31 BLYTHE K33FD 33 BOONVILLE, ETC. K57CT 57 BOONVILLE, ETC. K59CH 59 BOONVILLE, ETC. K61CH 61 BOONVILLE, ETC. K63CE 63 BOONVILLE, ETC. K67CC 67 BOONVILLE, ETC. K69CU 69 BRIDGEPORT, ETC. K02JX 2 BRIDGEPORT, ETC. K07QM 7 BRIDGEPORT, ETC. K11HS 11 BRIDGEPORT, ETC. K13EX 13 BURNEY, ETC. K05DQ 5 * BURNT RANCH, ETC. K12JL 12 (KIEM Translator) CALEXICO K36FO 36 CATHEDRAL CITY KDPX-LP 45 CATHEDRAL CITY-PALM KPSP-LP 58 CEDARVILLE K71AF 71 CHALFANT VALLEY, ETC K64CY 64 CHALFANT VALLEY,ETC. K55FD 55 CHALFANT VALLEY,ETC. K61EJ 61 CHICO K02OA 2 CHICO KEFM-LP 6 CHICO KXVU-LP 17 CHICO K19FY 19 CHICO KZVU-LP 22 CHICO KUCO-LP 27 CHICO KKPM-CA 28 CHICO KKTF-LP 35 CHICO KBIT-LD 51 CHICO KSGO-LP 59 CHINA LAKE, ETC. K14AT 14 CLARKS CROSSING KDAS-LP 48 * CRESCENT CITY K09VQ 9 (KEET Translator) * CRESCENT CITY, ETC. K22DS 22 (KOBI Translator) * CRESCENT CITY, ETC. K39EO 39 (Daystar Television Network) CROWLEY LAKE-LONG VA K15DP 15 CROWLEY LAKE-LONG VA K17DF 17 CROWLEY LAKE-LONG VA K19DI 19 CROWLEY LAKE-LONG VA K25EB 25 CROWLEY LAKE-LONG VA K27DV 27 CROWLEY LAKE-LONG VA K58BN 58 DAGGETT K15BZ 15 DAGGETT K19BS 19 DAGGETT K41CY 41 DAGGETT K48IP 48 DAGGETT K50HV 50 DAGGETT, ETC. KTSK-LP 17 DAGGETT, ETC. K23BP 23 DAGGETT, ETC. K35BQ 35 DAGGETT, ETC. K39DW 39 DAGGETT, ETC. K46HT 46 DUNSMUIR, ETC. K02CN 2 DUNSMUIR, ETC. K05BR 5 EAGLEVILLE K13IU 13 EAST WEED K33DI 33 EL CENTRO-HOLTVILLE K56GC 56 ETNA-FORT JONES K02HC 2 * EUREKA KUVU-LP 9 (CW Network) * EUREKA ** K27FX 27 * EUREKA KEUV-LP 31 (Univision) * EUREKA KEMY-LP 33 (MyNetwork) * EUREKA ** K41FD 41 * EUREKA ** K48GP 48 * EUREKA ** K50EQ 50 * EUREKA ** K52FK 52 * EUREKA ** K57HB 57 * EUREKA ** K59FW 59 * EUREKA ** K63GK 63 * EUREKA **** K67GU 67 (KKTF-LP Translator) * EUREKA ** K69IE 69 FALL RIVER MILLS,ETC K11JM 11 FALL RIVER MILLS-MCA K28DB 28 FORT BIDWELL K04GB 4 FORT DICK K36HM 36 FORT JONES, ETC. K04EQ 4 FORT JONES, ETC. K06KA 6 FORT JONES, ETC. K13HU 13 * FORTUNA K14MN 14 (KBVU/KTVU Translator) * FORTUNA/RIO DELL K20CN 20 (KAEF Translator) * FRESHWATER, ETC. K45DS 45 (KAEF Translator) FRESNO K03HK 3 FRESNO KVHF-LP 4 FRESNO K12OZ 12 FRESNO K15ET 15 FRESNO KHSC-LP 16 FRESNO KZMM-CA 22 FRESNO KJKZ-LP 27 FRESNO KBID-LP 31 FRESNO KJEO-LP 32 FRESNO KSDI-LP 33 FRESNO KMSG-LP 39 FRESNO KTFF-LP 41 FRESNO K56DZ 56 * GARBERVILLE K10HX 10 (KVIQ Translator) * GARBERVILLE, ETC. K04NX 4 (KIEM Translator) GONZALES KOTR-LP 2 GRASS VALLEY K16CX 16 * GREEN POINT, ETC. K05EQ 5 (KRCR Translator) HAPPY CAMP K07IX 7 HAPPY CAMP, ETC. K09PI 9 HAPPY CAMP, ETC. K11GO 11 HAPPY CAMP, ETC. K13GL 13 * HAYFORK K05CR 5 (KIXE Translator) * HOOPA K07GJ 7 (KIEM Translator) * HOOPA K11NE 11 (KVIQ Translator) HOPLAND K06FA 6 HOPLAND K10FZ 10 HOPLAND K11TD 11 HOPLAND K13ID 13 HOPLAND K35DO 35 INDIO KVER-CA 4 INDIO KEVC-CA 5 INDIO K06MB 6 INDIO KVPS-LP 8 INDIO KUNA-LP 15 INDIO K19DH 19 INDIO K25GW 25 INDIO/PALM SPRINGS KDFX-CA 33 INLAND EMPIRE KHTV-LP 48 INYOKERN K19CL 19 INYOKERN, ETC. K47AE 47 JOSHUA TREE K25GK 25 JOSHUA TREE, ETC. K14JT 14 * KLAMATH K25CI 25 (KAEF Translator) LA JOLLA K35DG 35 LA JOLLA K59AL 59 LA JOLLA K67AM 67 LAKE CITY, ETC. K06FF 6 LAKE SHASTINA K27BH 27 LAKEHEAD K02FF 2 LAKEHEAD K14HX 14 LAKEPORT K15FJ 15 LAKEPORT K26GK 26 LAKEPORT K33CH 33 LAKEPORT K46DR 46 LAKEPORT K54CY 54 LAKEPORT K56AW 56 LAKEPORT K58AW 58 LAKEPORT K64AZ 64 LAKEPORT K68AL 68 LAKEPORT, ETC. K52AJ 52 LAKESHORE, ETC. K04FL 4 LANCASTER K26GN 26 LANCASTER KEDD-LP 50 * LEWISTON K06EX 6 (KHSL Translator) * LEWISTON K28CY 28 (KIXE Translator) * LEWISTON, ETC. K03CT 3 (KRCR Translator) LIKELY K05ET 5 LIKELY K11LD 11 LITCHFIELD K13RZ 13 LITCHFIELD K46HL 46 LITCHFIELD K48DI 48 LITCHFIELD K50HJ 50 LOMPOC K10OG 10 LOMPOC KLDF-CA 17 LOMPOC K23CL 23 LONG VALLEY K05FR 5 LONG VALLEY K49EA 49 LONG VALLEY K56BS 56 LONG VALLEY REGION K60BR 60 LOS ANGELES KVTU-LP 3 LOS ANGELES KNET-LP 25 LOS ANGELES KSMV-LP 33 LOS ANGELES KNLA-LP 68 LUCERNE VALLEY K15CA 15 LUCERNE VALLEY K19BT 19 LUCERNE VALLEY K33DK 33 LUCERNE VALLEY K41CB 41 LUCERNE VALLEY K43EE 43 LUCERNE VALLEY K48AD 48 LUCERNE VALLEY K50EW 50 LUCERNE VALLEY K54AD 54 MAMMOTH LAKES, ETC. KSRW-LP 33 MARIPOSA K27GZ 27 MARTINEZ K49HV 49 MINERAL K05JK 5 * MIRANDA K08LD 8 (KVIQ Translator) * MIRANDA K10NU 10 (KIEM Translator) MODESTO KAZV-LP 14 MODESTO KEXT-CA 27 MODESTO K49EO 49 MODESTO KACA-LP 61 MONTEREY KMUV-LP 23 MONTEREY KYMB-LP 27 MONTEREY KMCE-LP 43 MONTEREY, ETC. K29AB 29 MORENO VALLEY KRMV-LP 45 MORONGO VALLEY KHIR-LP 3 MORONGO VALLEY K13WJ 13 MORONGO VALLEY K14AB 14 MORONGO VALLEY K16AA 16 MORONGO VALLEY KJHP-LP 18 MORONGO VALLEY K21GI 21 MORONGO VALLEY K30GU 30 MORONGO VALLEY K32EM 32 MORONGO VALLEY K34EU 34 MORONGO VALLEY K36GO 36 MORONGO VALLEY K40HX 40 MORONGO VALLEY K48EM 48 MORRO BAY K09UF 9 MORRO BAY K22EE 22 MOUNTAIN GATE, ETC. K03FU 3 NATIONAL CITY K61GH 61 NEEDLES K30BQ 30 NEEDLES, ETC. K17BN 17 NEEDLES, ETC. K31HY 31 NEWBERRY SPRINGS K03EK 3 NEWBERRY SPRINGS K06IQ 6 NEWBERRY SPRINGS K08IA 8 NEWBERRY SPRINGS K10IX 10 NEWBERRY SPRINGS K12JI 12 NEWELL, TULELAKE K13IV 13 * ORLEANS K08HJ 8 (KVIQ Translator) * ORLEANS K11IQ 11 (KIEM Translator) OROVILLE K08NH 8 OROVILLE K15CX 15 OROVILLE K42HL 42 OXNARD KSKP-CA 25 PALERMO K04QC 4 PALM DESERT KDUO-LP 43 PALM DESERT, ETC. K09XW 9 PALM SPRINGS KCWQ-LP 2 PALM SPRINGS KYAV-LP 12 PALM SPRINGS KODG-LP 17 PALM SPRINGS K20HZ 20 PALM SPRINGS KVES-LP 28 PALM SPRINGS K40ID 40 PALM SPRINGS KPSE-LP 50 PALM SPRINGS DK77AV 77 PALM SPRINGS/INDIO K21DO 21 PALMDALE KPAL-LP 38 PALMDALE K67AO 67 PARADISE K05EM 5 PARADISE K49CT 49 PASO ROBLES K17GD 17 PASO ROBLES KPAO-CA 22 PASO ROBLES K23ED 23 PASO ROBLES KJCN-LP 36 PASO ROBLES K44DN 44 PORTERVILLE K15CO 15 PORTERVILLE KVVG-LP 54 POTTER VALLEY K06DK 6 POTTER VALLEY K08EE 8 POTTER VALLEY K10EQ 10 POTTER VALLEY K12DV 12 POTTER VALLEY K66DQ 66 POTTER VALLEY K69DI 69 POWAY, ETC. KUAN-LP 48 REDDING KMCA-LP 2 REDDING KVFR-LP 4 REDDING KRDN-LP 5 REDDING KFMD-LP 6 REDDING KRVU-LP 21 REDDING KGEC-LP 26 REDDING KMSX-LP 29 REDDING K33HH 33 REDDING K40HE 40 REDDING K46HI 46 REDDING KRDT-CA 47 REDDING K50GP 50 REDDING KRHT-LP 58 REDLANDS KLAU-LP 66 REEDLEY KCWB-LP 13 RIDGECREST K41GO 41 RIDGECREST K43AG 43 RIDGECREST K45GQ 45 RIDGECREST, ETC. K02HY 2 RIDGECREST, ETC. K04HX 4 RIDGECREST, ETC. K05FO 5 RIDGECREST, ETC. K07NH 7 RIDGECREST, ETC. K09MG 9 RIDGECREST, ETC. K11ML 11 RIDGECREST, ETC. K13NF 13 RIDGECREST, ETC. K49AA 49 RIDGECREST, ETC. K51DD 51 RIDGECREST, ETC. K53AB 53 RIDGECREST, ETC. K55AB 55 RIDGECREST, ETC. K57AK 57 RIDGECREST, ETC. K59AO 59 * RIO DELL K04NY 4 (KIEM Translator) * RIO DELL, SCOTIA K10FS 10 (KVIQ Translator) RIVERSIDE KZSW-LP 27 SACRAMENTO KBTV-CA 8 SACRAMENTO KMMK-LP 14 SACRAMENTO KMUM-CA 15 SACRAMENTO K22FR 22 SACRAMENTO KEZT-CA 23 SACRAMENTO K27EU 27 SACRAMENTO KSTV-LP 32 SACRAMENTO KCSO-LP 33 SACRAMENTO K45HC 45 SACRAMENTO KRJR-LP 47 SACRAMENTO KSAO-LP 49 SALINAS KMMD-CA 3 SALINAS K15CU 15 SALINAS KLFB-LP 21 SALINAS K38JP 38 SALINAS/MONTEREY,ETC KDJT-CA 33 SAN BERNARDINO KSGA-LP 64 SAN DIEGO KBNT-CA 17 SAN DIEGO KDTF-LP 36 SAN DIEGO KZSD-LP 41 SAN DIEGO KBOP-CA 43 SAN DIEGO KTCD-LP 46 SAN DIEGO K63EN 63 SAN FERNANDO VALLEY KSFV-LP 26 SAN FRANCISCO KMMC-LP 40 SAN FRANCISCO, ETC. KFTL-CA 28 SAN LUIS OBISPO K16FC 16 SAN LUIS OBISPO KMMA-CA 18 SAN LUIS OBISPO KKFX-CA 24 SAN LUIS OBISPO K28FK 28 SAN LUIS OBISPO KSBO-CA 42 SAN LUIS OBISPO KFUL-LP 44 SAN LUIS OBISPO K47GD 47 SAN LUIS OBISPO KCCE-LP 50 SAN LUIS OBISPO KPXA-LP 60 SAN LUIS OBISPO,ETC. K57BC 57 SAN MARCOS KSKT-CA 43 SANTA BARBARA KZDF-LP 8 SANTA BARBARA KSBB-LP 17 SANTA BARBARA KWHY-LP 22 SANTA BARBARA K26FT 26 SANTA BARBARA KVMM-CA 41 SANTA BARBARA KTSB-LP 43 SANTA BARBARA KBAB-LP 51 SANTA BARBARA K59CD 59 SANTA BARBARA, ETC. K28GY 28 SANTA CLARA-SAN JOSE KAXT-CA 22 SANTA MARIA K07TA 7 SANTA MARIA KKDJ-LP 8 SANTA MARIA KQMM-CA 14 SANTA MARIA KLFA-LP 25 SANTA MARIA KDFS-CA 30 SANTA MARIA K35ER 35 SANTA MARIA KWSM-LP 40 SANTA MARIA K46GF 46 SANTA MARIA K51GB 51 SANTA ROSA K25HI 25 SANTA ROSA KDTV-CA 28 SANTA ROSA KTVJ-LP 36 SANTA ROSA KQRM-LP 40 SEIAD VALLEY K04NU 4 SEIAD VALLEY K08EQ 8 SEIAD VALLEY K12JD 12 * SHELTER COVE K02OD 2 (KIEM Translator) * SHELTER COVE K10KY 10 KVIQ Translator) * SHELTER COVE K12OV 12 (KEET Translator) * SOUTH EUREKA/LOLETA K51EG 51 (KAEF Translator) SOUTH LAKE TAHOE K12PP 12 SOUTH LAKE TAHOE K33CN 33 SOUTH YREKA K47DV 47 STATELINE, ETC. K43DB 43 STOCKTON KMMW-LP 47 STOCKTON KDTS-LP 52 SUSANVILLE KREN-LP 29 SUSANVILLE, ETC. K36HH 36 SUSANVILLE, ETC. K42GV 42 SUSANVILLE, ETC. K61EN 61 SUSANVILLE, ETC. K63CM 63 SUSANVILLE, ETC. K69FS 69 SUSANVILLE-HERLONG K59ET 59 SWAUGER CREEK K51CP 51 SWAUGER CREEK K54CX 54 TAHOE CITY K23DT 23 TAHOE CITY K56BW 56 TEMECULA K12PO 12 * TRINITY CENTER K39DG 39 (KIXE Translator) TWENTYNINE PALMS K18FH 18 TWENTYNINE PALMS K38EE 38 TWENTYNINE PALMS, ET K51DU 51 TWENTYNINE PALMS,ETC K16FI 16 TWENTYNINE PALMS,ETC K29GK 29 TWENTYNINE PALMS,ETC K47IB 47 TWENTYNINE PALMS,ETC K49DC 49 UKIAH K17CG 17 UKIAH K21CD 21 UKIAH K27EE 27 UKIAH K29DF 29 UKIAH K31GK 31 UKIAH K39AG 39 UKIAH K41AF 41 UKIAH K43AF 43 UKIAH KTJH-LP 44 UKIAH K45AH 45 UKIAH K47AL 47 UKIAH K51AQ 51 UKIAH K55GX 55 UKIAH K69DF 69 VAN NUYS KWJD-LP 25 VAN NUYS KSKJ-CA 38 VAN NUYS K55KD 55 VENTURA KIMG-LP 23 VENTURA K45DU 45 VICTORVILLE K39GY 39 VICTORVILLE K47CC 47 VICTORVILLE, ETC. K21AC 21 VICTORVILLE, ETC. K25AD 25 VICTORVILLE, ETC. K27AE 27 VICTORVILLE, ETC. K31AD 31 VICTORVILLE, ETC. K51AN 51 VICTORVILLE, ETC. K55CW 55 VISALIA KFAZ-CA 8 VISALIA KMCF-LP 35 VISTA K26FA 26 VISTA KHAX-LP 49 * WEAVERVILLE, ETC. K02EE 2 (KIXE Translator) * WEAVERVILLE, ETC. K04DD 4 (KHSL Translator) * WEAVERVILLE, ETC. K05CF 5 (KRCR Translator) WESTWOOD, ETC. K54EE 54 * WILLOW CREEK K08GR 8 (KIEM Translator) * WILLOW CREEK K10EN 10 (KVIQ Translator) * WILLOW CREEK K34BW 34 (KRCR Translator) YREKA K06GP 6 YREKA K41JB 41 YREKA K53DY 53 YREKA, ETC. K04HE 4 YREKA, ETC. K13LO 13 YREKA, ETC. K17BA 17 YREKA, ETC. K35DE 35 YUCCA VALLEY K27DS 27 Source: Stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, January 23, 2008
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** Also listed, but unable to confirm:

K13MD Channel 13 Hyampom (KIEM Translator?)

k09PM Channel 9 Covelo (KEET Translator?)

K09MS Channel 9 Hoopa (KEET Translator?)

K04EM Channel 4 Hayfork (KRCR Translator?)

K05FZ Channel 5 Trinity Center (KRCR Translator?)

K05EX Channel 5 Burnt Ranch (KRCR Translator?)

*** Construction permit applied for by MS Communications, Inc. No word on what, if anything, will eventually be on these channels. Channels currently vacant.

**** Supposedly belongs to KKTF-LP, a Spanish language broadcaster in Chico, which plans to offer Telefutura. Currently vacant.

Whether you are shopping locally, or online, the story seems to be the same. Even online retailers who have attempted to carry every single converter model manufactured today have a harder time keeping these things in stock than Ticketmaster does holding on to tickets for a Hannah Montana concert.

The few converters that linger on the shelevs of electronics retailers seem to fall into one of two categories. The first category consists of DTV converters that are wildly overpriced compared to the competition. Since there are few differences between a top-of-the-line DTV converter box and a generic, no frills unit, consumers seem hesitatnt to shell out twice as much money for a product that is no better than cheaper units that are constantly out of stock. Can you really blame them?

The second category of DTV converters still available are ones that we will label as “functionally obsolete”. Even though they are priced the same as more capable units, these DTV converters lack the basic functionality needed to continue watching existing television stations in most U.S. markets after February 2009, or even today. In particular, their lack of ability to pass-through analog TV signals makes them only slightly more useful than a paperweight in communities like Humboldt County, where close to half of all stations will continue broadcasting in analog long after February 2009 has passed.

So, why are so many of these “duds” left in stock, while the “functional” models are in short supply? You can bet that it all has to do with money. It costs slightly less to manufacture the cheaper converters with fewer features. Because these units sell for about the same retail price as their superior quality counterparts, retailers make much more money on the cheaper units. Most retailer pre-orders have been for the the low-end units, and the industry has accordingly followed suit, leaving consumers with few decent models to choose from. The small number of consumers actually buying these units today are informed enough to snatch-up the good models while they are stock, leaving the shelves littered with converters that no one would ever purposefully want to buy. This has led to quite a bit of “bait and switch” selling by retailers, who either believe that the public is too stupid to know what features to look for or have sales associates that are too dumb to know themselves just how worthless these products will be to their new owners.

We had hoped to bring you a product review this week on a very decent, low-priced DTV converter box that was advertised at a national chain store this past week. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, they were all gone. Assuming that they will ever be back in stock, we will attempt to do a full product review and provide you with information on where to get the best possible deal on them. Stay tuned!

Much to their credit, the paper made a point to mention the sorry state of affairs when it comes to trying to find DTV converters in local stores, and how retailers seem to never have them in stock for very long. The Eureka Reporter gets double bonus points for going out of their way to point out how important buying a DTV converter with analog pass-through is. For once, someone in the media seems to “get it”, when it comes to understanding what a big problem this is for small communities such as ours. I just wish that more of the mainstream media would start picking-up on this story, and start warning people away from the vast majority of digital converters out there that will result in loss of TV service availability to their users.

For those of you who haven’t read the article yet, we highly recommend that you read last week’s story Don’t Buy These Converter Boxes. It points out what features your box will need to have in order to be able to watch ALL local channels on your TV set after February 2009.

In the next couple of days we will be publishing a first look at DirecTV’s new Video On Demand (VOD) service, which uses your high-speed Internet connection to automatically record your choice of thousands of programs directly to your DVR (digital video recorder). All movies, news clips, documentaries, etc. are available exclusively to DirecTV customers who subscribe to the company’s HDTV service. It’s quite likely an even better advancement in TV viewing than HDTV service itself, and probably the neatest TV innovation since TiVo. Stay tuned!

First of all, filling out the online form is easy. There are a minimal number of questions. You can fill out the entire form online at http://www.DTV209.gov . It takes only a few minutes. You can also call their toll-free number at 1-888-DTV-2009. You will be walked through the application status over the telephone. Either way, the application process asks pretty much the same questions, and you will get your coupons just as fast one way as the other.

There are some “catches” with the application process. Considering the fact that this program is administered by the federal government, the whole system runs fairly smoothly though. The biggest “catch” is the fact that if you want to get the coupons in the first place, YOU HAVE TO APPLY FOR THEM! You won’t get them automatically if you fail to apply. There are only a limited number of coupons that are being produced, although the feds won’t tell us the exact number. Either way, availability is on a first-come, first-served basis. Once they are gone, they’re gone.

The second “catch” can be a bit of a pain for many rural Americans. This is rather ironic, since those in rural areas are the ones most directly affected by over the air signal reception of DTV signals. In a nutshell, you will have to give the government a physical “street” mailing address in order to get your coupons mailed to you. You can NOT use a PO Box as a mailing address. You can NOT use a business address to send your coupons to. You can NOT use a service such as Mailboxes, Etc., The UPS Store or other private mailbox provider. You can NOT have the coupons shipped to you overseas or to any domestic address that does not match-up with a (very buggy) database of residential addresses maintained by the U.S. Postal Service. This is a rather unforgiving process, unfortunately. You will need to enter your street address information EXACTLY as it appears in the USPS database, otherwise your application will be rejected. So, what do you do if you live in a remote area and you do not have a “street address” that is serviced by the U.S. Postal Service? At this point, insofar as we can tell, you are just out of luck. Sorry.

The same goes for any legitimate street address that the USPS has “mucked-up” in their database. From previous experience, I can tell you that this database is horribly inaccurate in many cases. For example, the business address that I have used for 10 years to receive postal mail, UPS shipments, FedEx deliveries, freight deliveries, my income tax and voting materials, driver’s license, etc. does not exist at all in the USPS database. Funny, I still get mail there every single day though. Go figure! In cases like this, you may want to try calling their toll-free phone number at 1-888-DTV-2009 instead, since you will not get anywhere with the online application system.

So, you’ve called or filled-out the DTV converter box application online. Now, what? Sit. Wait. Check your mailbox again, and be prepared to wait a bit longer. A very informal survey we did recently indicated that it took approximately 20-30 days for consumers to receive their DTV converter box coupons in the mail. You will eventually receive a standard sized #10 envelope with a couple of pages of information and (usually) two “coupons”. They don’t look like your average coupon though. They look more like credit cards. There is a mag stripe on the back of each plastic card, as well as a serial number on the front. The mailing will most likely come from TV Converter Box Coupon Program, PO Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208-2000.

The first page (see above) contains your name and address, the coupon(s) and a list of local retailers where you can supposedly buy a CECB digital TV converter box. These locations are most likely automatically generated from a database that matches your zip code to that of nearby registered CECB converter box retailers. It is far from a complete list though. The one we received (see above) listed eight locations in Humboldt County where the digital television converters are available. They consisted of SEARS, Radio Shack, K-Mart and Target. We do not have a Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart or a number of other participating electronics chain stores in our area, or they most likely would have been listed first.

The second page (see left) contains some general information about the DTV converter box program. This page also has a list of the most recently approved CECB DTV converter box models that are eligible for the program, although we are guessing that the list will probably be less than 100% up-to-date by the time you get it. Lastly, the insert contains a list of about a dozen or so mail order and online retailers that will accept the coupons and who presumably have the decoders in stock. If you want to read the entire list, see the end of this article for a link to download a digital copy of the insert, which you can print out for yourself.

Lastly, and most importantly!!! If you take away only a single fact to remember from this entire article, it should definitely be to take a close look at the expiration date on each coupon. At most, you will only have 90 days in order to use your $40 DTV converter coupons before they expire. Once they expire, they are absolutely worthless. The government will not give you an extension or re-issue you new coupons. In other words, use them, or lose them! You have 90 days to use the coupons from the day the coupons are printed, NOT from the day that you receive them. As with most bulk mailers, this agency quite likely only sends out their mailings once per week in order to get a bulk discount from the U.S. Postal Service. So, you may find that up to two weeks has been shaved off the 90 days you have to spend the coupons by the time you actually receive them. The government has caught quite a bit of flack over the entire 90 day expiration date issue, but it’s too late for them to make any changes to the program at this point. So, buyer (and taxpayer) beware!

Below are links to graphic copies of the materials you will receive once you register to receive your free government Digital Television (DTV) converters, or CECB boxes. They have been “Photoshopped” to remove certain parts of the serial numbers. Needless to say, you can’t just print these pages out on your inkjet printer and try to pass them off as real coupons. Each DTV converter box coupon has it’s own individual serial number and mag stripe. The information on these pages is for reference and display purposes only.

Free DTV Coupon Insert Page1

Free DTV Coupon Insert Page 2

We will soon publish an updated list of online retailers that can actually process the $40 DTV digital converter box coupons via the Internet. Most online retailers have no way to accept these coupons at present, and most likely never will. A handful of companies have stepped forward to fill this gap, and they are the only ones you should consider buying from online, since you will most likely be overcharged (no discount given) if you try ordering from a merchant that hasn’t made special provisions to deal with these specific coupons.

UPDATE: President Obama and the U.S. Congress officially extended the deadline for broadcasters to switch to DTV to June 12, 2009. You can keep applying for coupons via phone or the Internet until that time. Keep in mind that the extension is basically voluntary, meaning that broadcasters can switch their signals to DTV and STOP broadcasting in analog anytime that they want to. There are very few stations that are waiting until June to make the jump to DTV, due to the high cost associated with simulcasting both digital and analog signals. So, chances are that the only analog broadcasts still remaining in your area are most likely that of translators and low-power (LPTV) stations, which are not required to transition to digital, anyway.

Stay tuned!!!

Among the channels listed is KBVU, a local broadcast station that is affiliated with the FOX Television Network (FOX 29). Strangely, KBVU does not actually broadcast a signal in HDTV, nor has it announced any plans to do so in the near future.

Unfortunately, SuddenLink Communications has no local phone number to contact them at. Every published number available for the company goes to an out-of-state call center and it is generally impossible to reach anyone locally by telephone. The company does not generally publicly disclose what rates they charge for their cable services, other than limited-time “teaser” rates, so we have no idea what any of their services cost. I receive (junk) mailings on the average of about once per week from SuddenLink, and I have never seen them make any mention of what their rates actually are.

We were unable to contact Eureka Television Group, the owner of KBVU-TV, by the time this article was published. We will let you know of anything we find out from them subsequently about the situation though. Fortunately, they do have a local telephone number.

As for a “review of the review”, I can’t say as I am all that impressed with the article. Besides only listing a small number of the units currently available to the public, the article really does not provide any type of technical specifications to back-up their claims. Simply saying that Brand A gives a better-looking picture than Brand B is not at all useful to those of us who want to know the real facts. Unfortunately, the reviews seem to be “dumbed down”, so that the average consumer with an IQ in the double digits can feel like they’ve actually learned something.

I’ve typically found Consumer Reports articles to be of limited value, if not being downright misleading in many cases. Exactly how it is they go about choosing which brands they will or will not test seems to be a trade secret. They commonly review a lot of “brand name” products while completely ignoring smaller companies that produce much better products and carry much better warranties. So, don’t expect to find any leading edge technology, a focus on small manufacturers that do not participate in mass marketing via chain stores or actual technical data that would allow you to compare apples to apples. A huge part of their ratings are based up their own personal opinions, rather than simply giving people the “numbers” they need to make decisions for themselves. Opinions aren’t really worth much, in my opinion. :-) I just want the technical specs, so I can decide for myself.

You will need to pay a yearly subscription in order to view most of Consumer Report’s website. This particular page happens to be on the non-subscription side though. The page is at:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/televisions/digital-tv-converter/ratings/dtv-converter-boxes-ratings.htm.

NOTE: Since we first publishe this story, Consumer Reports has removed the DTV converter box rankings from their website.

ETG currently owns the vast majority of television stations in the Eureka, California market. These include KVIQ Channel 6 – a CBS affiliate, KBVU FOX-29 – a FOX Television Network affiliate, KUVU – the local CW affiliate and KEMY – a low-power station broadcasting material from the “MYTV” network.

In a nutshell, there are no TV stations in the Eureka, CA, market that are uplinked to, or available from, DirecTV or DISH Network. These are the only two companies legally allowed to offer network satellite television services to consumers in the United States. ETV will NOT grant satellite viewers waivers in order to receive network programming from other stations. So, if you live just about anywhere in Humboldt County where cable television or a broadcast signal is not available, you will likely not be able to view any type of broadcast network programming (legally).

For those of you who happen to live in “wired” areas of Humboldt County, SuddenLink Communications offers all local Over The Air TV channels (albeit in analog, with no plans for HDTV on their basic tier) for approximately $15 per month. SuddenLink is the only major cable television provider in Humboldt County, and covers most areas in and around the cities of Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna, Rio Dell, McKinleyville and a number of smaller, unincorporated areas. The majority of residents in Humboldt County have access to cable, since the majority live in and around the county’s major population centers. However, this is not to say that cable TV is available in most of the area of Humboldt County in a geographic sense. Travel more than 500 feet from any major road or street, and there is a 99% chance that cable television will be completely unavailable to you.

Broadcast availability is another matter altogether. This is largely dependent upon how far you are from the TV station’s broadcast transmitter, terrain and what type of equipment you are using for reception. The vast majority of Humboldt County falls into what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) describes as a “Grade B Contour Area”. Generally speaking, this is defined as an area where a “watchable” signal should be available using an outdoor TV antenna placed at a height of 30′ above the ground.

Like most TV and FM stations in Humboldt County, ETG’s stations broadcast their signals from a transmitter facility atop Kneeland Mountain, which overlooks Eureka, Arcata and the more populated areas of Northern Humboldt County. The further away you are from Kneeland, the weaker your signal will be, generally speaking. When it comes to UHF and HDTV or digital television signals, you will most likely need line-of-sight in order to actually get a watchable signal. This is even more important when talking about low-power television (LPTV) stations, which 3 of ETG’s stations happen to be.

Having installed antennas in many parts of Humboldt County, I can say from experience that the FCC’s entire “Grade B Contour” requirement is entirely inadequate when it comes to checking for signal availability. These charts are generated by engineers using computers to determine where a signal should be available, but fails to take into account quite a number of variables that are detrimental to receiving a signal. Having a line-of-sight view of the transmitter tower on Kneeland, along with an adequate antenna system, is the only way to assure that you will have a watchable picture.

ETG’s signal coverage maps give at least a rough estimate of whether a TV signal will even be possible to receive in your area, so I highly recommend taking a look at them before spending any money on an antenna system.

HDTV Is On The Way

HDTV and DTV service is coming soon to a television set near you, even if you live in Humboldt County. In February of 2009, most broadcasters across the county will be changing the frequencies that they currently broadcast at and start transmitting their signals in an all-digital format called DTV (Digital Television). The only over-the-air analog TV signals remaining will be that of Low-Power Television (LPTV) stations.

U.S. Government To The Rescue?

Many would argue that the Federal Government seems to be helping its citizens adjust to digital television in much the same manner as it helped the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Too little, too late. Few people seem to know what the transition to DTV will mean, or how it will affect them.

For those of you who do not have HDTV-ready television sets, the federal government has coupons for you. That’s right, every household in the United States is eligible to receive up to two (2) coupons good for $40 each towards the purchase of a government-approved “CECB” converter box. This box will allow you watch digital TV (DTV) signals on older, analog TV sets. Think of this as a bonus on top of your IRS “economic stimulus” check. Unfortunately, all of the CECB receivers we have found currently retail for $50 and up. It is highly questionable whether these converters will ever reach the $40 mark, making them free to consumers.

You can receive your coupons via mail from a program run by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Why the program is not administered by the Federal Communications Commission, I have no clue. In any event, you can apply to receive your coupons online at the website address: https://www.dtv2009.gov/ApplyCoupon.aspx , or call 1-800-DTV-2009 to get the forms mailed to you.

Once having filled out the form, you will be placed on a waiting list to receive your coupons. You will have less than 90 days to make use of the coupons once you receive them. Locally, you should be able to buy one of these CECB converters at Radio Shack, if they are in stock. I have even seen them sold at Walgreen’s in Fortuna recently. If you want to purchase a box over the Internet, the situation is a bit more muddled, since most online checkout systems have absolutely no clue as to how to handle discounts from a government coupon. You can currently find many units available on Amazon.Com though.

What Will Happen

If you are a cable television subscriber, you will not need a new converter in order to watch channels on cable, before or after February 2009. Most cable channels are already transmitted in a proprietary digital format that can only be decoded by their own cable converters. If you already have a cable converter that is leased or sold to you by your cable company, that should be all you need. On some cable systems, channels on “basic” tiers will continue to be transmitted to subscribers in the pre-2009 (NTSC) analog format. If a local station switches to digital, the cable company may decide to “downconvert” the station’s digital (DTV) into analog, which would allow you to continue receiving local channels without a DTV converter box. That decision is up to your local cable television provider though.

If you subscribe to television service via satellite (i.e. DirecTV or DISH Network) you will not need a new converter to watch HD signals, because satellite broadcasters also use their own type of proprietary digital format. The DTV switchover should not affect you at all.

If you receive TV broadcasts via “rabbit ears”, an outdoor antenna, an antenna built-in to your television set or even just a coat hanger, you WILL need a CECB converter box in order to watch most local television stations after February 2009. If you already have an HDTV-Ready television set, it already has a digital tuner built-in. No converter should be necessary in that case. Almost all plasma and LCD flat screen TV sets sold in the past two years have digital tuners built-in. You will only need a converter if you have an older set that only tunes-in analog TV signals.

DTV VS. HDTV

So, what is the difference between DTV and HDTV? All full-power (non-LPTV) broadcasters will be switching to DTV in February 2009. DTV simply stands for Digital Television. It produces a picture that is arguably equal in quality to a traditional analog TV signal, which is what most broadcasters currently use.

On the other hand, High Definition Television (HDTV) is unlikely to be used by the majority of broadcasters for some time to come. It produces a much higher quality picture than traditional analog or standard DTV broadcasts. However, it is still a very expensive broadcast technology to deploy, and few stations will be switching to it in the near term. All television stations that broadcast HDTV signals will be doing so via a digital signal (DTV). However, few who broadcast in DTV will have HDTV. Clear as mud?

What You See…

You will NOT be able to see the “High Definition” version of DTV broadcasts (if HDTV is broadcast locally) any more than you would be able to listen to a stereo TV broadcast with a TV that has only one speaker, or a color broadcast with a black-and-white TV, even if you have a converter box. Only HDTV ready televisions are capable of displaying the higher definition picture.

The CECB converter boxes will at least allow you watch DTV programming in standard resolution after the old VHF and UHF analog channels have switched to digital in 2009 though, and you will be able to use them to receive most local TV stations in Humboldt County right away. Keep in mind, these converters are only meant to pick up OVER-THE-AIR, local broadcasts. So, you will still need an external antenna of some type to pick up a signal. If you are not currently within range of analog TV reception, a converter will not likely be of much use to you.

Recent Experimentation

I currently use a standard HDTV set at my home in Eureka and receive most of the local stations in DTV using a fairly large, outdoor, mast-mounted UHF Yagi antenna. I can’t say as I am all that impressed with the type of signal that I receive from most local broadcasters, but it is a better picture than I could get on many of the older analog simulcasts. My house actually resides BELOW sea level, so I am probably lucky to get any signal at all.

Unlike with analog broadcasts, DTV is an “all-or-nothing” type of proposition. You will either get a perfect signal, or none at all. In that regards, it is much like satellite television. Gone will be the days of watching TV in fringe areas with weak reception. You will either get a signal, or you won’t. Occasionally, you may see the signal fading in quality due to weather conditions. When this happens, you will typically start to see what is called pixelation on the screen. This may be followed by the screen “freezing” on a single frame, or going black altogether.

This “all-or-nothing” DTV quality has its obvious downsides, but in most cases much can be done to improve the chances of receiving a signal just good enough to keep the tuner “locked” on a channel. By far, the best investment you can make is in a high-gain, directional, outdoor UHF TV antenna. These come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Generally speaking though, the bigger, the better. A 10′ long “ugly” rooftop antenna will always outperform a “cute” looking circular antenna or pair of rabbit ears.

What Type of Antenna?

First of all, I highly advise you NOT to buy any antenna that is small enough to set on top of your TV set, even if it has an amplifier built into it. The whole concept of adding an amplifier to an antenna that is only inches away from your TV set makes little sense. While the signal of the DTV stations may be increased by the amplifier, so will any background noise or interference. To make matters worse, indoor antennas suffer from what is called “multipath”. Indoors, a TV signal will bounce off walls, doors and other objects much the same as light will bounce off a mirror. Unfortunately, DTV does not handle multipath situations very well. You will be infinitely better off with an outdoor antenna that has a line-of-sight view of the station’s transmitter.

So, what will you need in order to set up a proper antenna for DTV reception? The materials are much the same as are used when installing a home satellite dish. The majority of the cost will be in the antenna itself.

Most high-quality, directional, outdoor antennas are referred to as Yagi antennas. The name came from the designer of the original antenna concept. These antennas will give you the most DTV bang for your buck. The outdoor antenna should be connected to your television or converter box via high-quality RG-6 coaxial cable, which is the same cabling used in satellite and most cable television installations. Each end of the cable must be fitted with “F” connectors, which are available from any hardware store. You can usually buy coaxial cable with F connectors already fitted to each end in 25′ lengths.

You will also need an antenna mast. These can typically be found at Radio Shack or at local hardware stores. They usually come in heights of 6′ and 10′. You may be able to save a few bucks by substituting metal pipe for an antenna mast. In that case, look for pipe that has around a 1.5″ outside diameter.

Lastly, you will need some type of mounting bracket. There are numerous types of mounting brackets for antenna masts, depending what you plan to mount the mast on. There are mounting brackets specially designed to affix your mast to a chimney, among other things. Typically, you will be mounting the antenna on the side of a house though. These brackets are easy to find online and locally at places like Radio Shack.

If you have to run at least 75′ of cable between your antenna and DTV receiver, it might be a good investment to purchase a mast mounted pre-amplifier. The best place to amplify a signal is as close to the antenna itself as possible. The closer to the receiver an amplifier is located, the less good it will do you. If you are unsure of whether you will need a pre-amp, you can always buy one after installing the antenna, later on. They are relatively simple to install and will mount on the mast directly below the antenna itself. Your money will be best spent investing in as big an antenna as possible first though. Only if you still can not get a watchable signal should you then consider adding a pre-amp.

One other option that you may want to consider if you are in a very “fringe” DTV area is an antenna rotor. What does it do? To put it simply, an antenna rotor allows you to rotate your outdoor DTV antenna at a 360 degree angle without having to go outside and move it manually. While the majority of television broadcasters in the area transmit their signal from somewhere high atop Kneeland Mountain, there are stations like KIEM-TV that place their main transmitter and low-power translators in alternative locations. It might be necessary in some cases to change the direction your antenna is pointing in to get a decent signal from each station. A good quality rotor is a significant investment, so you will definitely want to see if you can get decent reception without using one at first. Most rotors these days come with a wireless remote that will store the position of your favorite channels in memory. If you are unsure of what type of antenna rotor you will need for your particular installation, it is best to ask a professional. As is the case with most antennas, the bigger, the better. An underpowered or cheap-o rotor is the part of your system that is most likely to break-down first, especially if you live in an area with high winds.

What NOT To Buy

If you rely solely upon advice from a salesperson at a local electronics store, you are bound to be disappointed with what you have paid for. The majority of salespeople have never installed an antenna, and most are paid a higher commission for selling you the most expensive solution possible, NOT the BEST solution possible. If you need advice, go to a website or shop locally with a dealer that specializes in selling Over The Air antennas. If you can’t find one, look for dealers or installers that handle satellite television equipment. Many of the older satellite dealers have extensive experience in installing Over The Air antennas.

Some items that you should definitely steer clear of are things such as worthless gold-plated connectors and accessories. None of these will improve your signal significantly. In fact, most brands only use gold plating for the ground portion of the connector, which doesn’t even carry the signal! These overpriced items exist for one reason only. To sucker people out of their money. If you meet a salesperson claiming that anything gold-plated will improve your signal, don’t walk away… RUN!

Another nearly worthless contraption is the small, indoor antenna that is shaped like a satellite dish. You will be no better off with these than with a 99 cent pair of “rabbit ears”. Like gold-plated connectors, these things are for cosmetic purposes only. The “dish” portion of the antenna serves absolutely no functional purpose whatsoever.

You should also avoid in-line amplifiers on short runs of cable (i.e. 75′ or less). Line amplifiers are only meant to help in conditions where there is a significant loss of signal between the antenna and the receiver. Unless your antenna is a very long distance away from the receiver, a line amp is not going to do you much (if any) good. It might even make the picture worse.

“Flat antennas”, circular antennas and omnidirectional antennas will only work well in limited situations, where you are very close to a TV station’s transmitter. A traditional, directional antenna will always outperform these, and usually at a lower price. The bigger and uglier the antenna, the more likely it is to work well. The less something looks like an antenna, the less it tends to perform like an antenna. The only situation where I would recommend these types of antennas are in situations where zoning restrictions do not allow you to erect a real antenna, or if you live in an apartment building.

“House wiring” antennas are also just a gimmick. They claim to use your home’s electrical wiring as an antenna for television reception. There are many, many reasons why these devices do not work as advertised. They might sound good in theory to the average consumer, but anyone who knows anything about antennas knows that you would be better off just using a coat hanger and saving your money.

Snap-On F connectors are completely inferior to threaded, crimped on F connectors. Avoid any cable with connectors that are not threaded. Similarly, you should avoid bargain-brand RG-6 coaxial cable if you want good reception. Good quality coaxial cable is the second most important part of any antenna system, next to the antenna. Belden makes quality cable. That brand is usually a safe bet. The more shielding coaxial cable has, the better. Typically, high-quality RG-6 coaxial cable will feel a bit “stiff” and you will have a difficult time bending it at a 90 degree angle. Never use cable that has a “floppy” or “rubbery” quality to it, or that appears smaller in diameter to other RG-6 cable. Do NOT use RG-59 or other types of coaxial cable that are cheaper, but inferior in design.

How To Get HD On Your HDTV

So, you’ve spent a lot of money on a fancy, new flat panel, HDTV ready TV set. The picture may have looked great when you saw it in the store at Costco, but it looks lousy in your living room. What’s the deal? First of all, you can bet that the picture you were watching at the store was from either satellite or a Blu-Ray DVD player. If you want the best picture you can possibly see on your HDTV set, you will need to buy a Blu-Ray DVD player or a Playstation III console that has one built in to it. At the moment, these players are still rather pricey. Eventually, they will replace most home DVD players. For the moment though, you will have to shell out some serious cash for both a player and the limited number of discs that are available for it.

If you thought that you might be able to get an HDTV signal over the air for free with an antenna, you are in for a long wait. No local broadcasters have yet announced plans to offer their signals in HDTV. They are not required to do so by law, and it will likely be years before any stations are broadcasting in high definition.

So, what are your alternatives? Right now, cable and satellite subscription services are your only real options. The local cable company in most of Humboldt County is SuddenLink Communications. They claim to currently have up to 21 channels available in HD. Pricing for their services are not published, so we can’t give you an apples vs apples comparison to satellite TV providers whom openly advertise their subscription rates.

The United States currently has two DBS satellite providers who offer service to consumers via small, pizza sized antennas. They are DirecTV and DISH Network. Currently, DirecTV has the most HDTV channels and programming available. When comparing the two side-by-side, DirecTV is definitely the leader when it comes to the number of channels available, number of sports packages available and in receiver technology. DISH Network mainly advertises themselves as an alternative to cable and is a bit more competitive on price.

Little Known Alternatives

There are a few sources of HDTV programming that the majority of the public is totally unaware of. They are usually more expensive than cable or standard DBS service, but are worth considering if you can afford it.

The first alternative is a C-Band satellite system with a 4DTV receiver. C-Band satellites operate on different frequencies than that of DBS providers. These were the first satellite systems available to home users, and generally require a dish antenna that is at least 6′ wide. In Humboldt County, which has marginal reception of most U.S. satellites, I would not recommend anything smaller than a 9′ dish. Next to Blu-Ray, the HDTV picture you will get with C-Band 4DTV programming is the best you can find. Programming packages are much more flexible than with DBS providers and subscription services are the cheapest you will find anywhere. The trade-off is the expense involved in setting up a C-Band system and the amount of space it will take-up in your yard. Expect to spend in the neighborhood of $1,500 or more to have such a system installed. This is definitely NOT a “do-it-yourself” type of project if you are unfamiliar with how these systems work. The biggest upside with these systems is the fact that you can get a lot of programming “in the clear”, which means free and unscrambled, that is quite simply unavailable anywhere else. With the proper hardware you can pull-in hundreds of TV channels and radio stations across North America and even some from Central America. A C-Band system is the ultimate in home entertainment. No cable or DBS system in the world provides as much programming as is available using a “Big Ugly Dish”. Still, only a small percentage of it is currently broadcast in HD.

Another alternative that is well beyond the reach of most consumers is the unadvertised DirecTV Titanium package. For $7,500 a year, you get every single channel that DirecTV broadcasts. This includes all HDTV channels, all pay-per-view movies and events, all local network affiliates… everything. I can’t imagine anywhere else that you could possibly get more HD programming from. It certainly isn’t cheap though.

Lastly, the most obscure programming source for HD comes from our neighbors to the North… Canada. There is a little-known “grey market” in satellite television programming that involves StarChoice, which is a DBS programmer that is only legally allowed to sell it’s services in Canada. StarChoice is one of two DBS providers that serve Canada. Neither DirecTV nor DISH Networks are legally allowed to be sold there, so Canada has it’s own version of DBS. Many of the channels on StarChoice are just American cable channels and broadcast networks, much as you would get from a U.S. satellite or cable provider. However, there are a number of exclusively Canadian channels on StarChoice as well. You can also receive the U.S. broadcast networks in both Eastern time AND Pacific time. The number of HD channels is currently limited, but growing. So, what’s the catch? The catch is… you can’t “legally” buy the programming in the U.S. However, there is at least one company that will act as a “broker” and resell you the service for a yearly fee. They take care of all the billing, and provide StarChoice with a phony Canadian address and contact name in order to get your service authorized. The company is able to do this through a loophole in current international law. While being technically a copyright violation, you are still paying for the programming, so shutting down these types of services is not a big priority for law enforcement and I’ve never heard of anyone being prosecuted for such a “crime”. Still, it involves some amount of risk. Try searching Google for more information on these services. You will be amazed at the amount of original programming you can get for a rather modest price.