The Foote Files: A Decade Of Digital TV

(CBS 11) - The title of today's blog takes a look back to the date when federal law required all U.S. television stations to shut off their analog signals and commence broadcasting exclusively with high definition digital quality.

I have been in the television business since 1978, and this to me ranks as one of the most significant events in broadcasting history since the development of color television in the 50s and 60s. Yet with all of its advantages, there is still one item that over the air viewers sometimes face: the consistency of signal reception.

The deadline to cease analog broadcasting changed twice from its original date of December 31, 2008, to February 17, 2009, and then to June 12, 2009, to allow consumers to obtain coupons good for getting a converter box that would allow one to watch a digital signal on older analog sets. That was the one item consumers needed to watch digital TV who had not yet purchased a digital set.

Over the air digital television service is actually the best way to watch your local stations as they are technically unaltered. It is immune from static generated by a thunderstorm (which you saw and heard on analog TV). The quality is far superior to the old analog picture with a higher resolution and better aspect ratio. It also allows for subchannels that can be viewed, such as StartTV on KTVT 11.2 and MeTV on KTXA 21.2. Yet, we still receive calls and emails from viewers about inconsistent, poor or no over-the-air reception.

One reason for this is that a digital signal is "either there or not." Factors such as tall buildings, wind, storms, and heavily wooded areas can affect reception. So can your distance from a station's transmitter site. And today's over-the-air viewer has to rescan their channels today every so often, which was not the case in the analog days. So, if you are an over-the-air viewer and you're having reception issues, the first step is to try rescanning. If that doesn't help, you might need to do what's referred to as a "double rescan." You should also ensure that your antenna is pointed toward Cedar Hill, Texas, where our transmitters (and many other local stations) are located.

We at CBS11 & KTXA are most happy to assist anyone who is experiencing reception issues. You can email us at cbs11@ktvt.com or call us at 817-451-1111, Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. -5:30 p.m.