State politics: idaho

Can You Watch Me Now?

By Sharon Fisher, 1-18-08

418,000 Idahoans have 396 days to take action, or they’ll no longer be able to watch television, Idaho Public Television Manager Peter Morrill warned legislators today.

On February 17 of next year – a date reportedly chosen to be after the NCAA basketball championships—television broadcasting will switch from analog to digital, meaning that users who receive broadcast signals through devices such as rooftop antennas and rabbit ears will no longer be able to watch television. Instead, they must switch to cable or satellite, buy televisions with digital tuners, or buy a converter box. (Viewers who watch television through translator stations are exempt, for now.)

Such an action will be particularly disadvantageous to rural viewers, Morrill said.

Retailers from major electronics stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City – who had enough trouble keeping Wiis in stock this past Christmas season – were starting to get nervous during last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas about the prospect of getting and keeping converter boxes in stock, as well as that of educating the public for the need to do so.

In addition, the Federal Communications Commission quietly announced on December 31 that broadcasters could convert to all-digital before February 17.

However, converter boxes are not yet available, and are not scheduled to be available until the end of next month, Morrill said.

Coupons to help defray the cost of the converter boxes are scheduled to be made available when the boxes themselves are made available. More than 1 million people nationwide have applied for almost 1.9 million coupons, worth $40 each, during the first week they were available. Morrill said it was not clear how much the converter boxes would cost but projected it to be $70-$90.

Viewers won’t have much of an opportunity to get the coupons once the transition occurs; they will not be available after March 1 of next year, and may run out before then. On the other hand, the coupons – which can be used only on an approved list of devices – expire after 90 days.

Converter boxes are starting to be announced; EchoStar announced at CES that it would ship one in limited quantities for $39.99 in March and “unlimited” quantities in June. Sansonic Electronics announced on December 13 that its box had received certification but did not say when it would be available nor how much it would cost.

There are a number of logistical issues that remain to be solved, including:

- Informing viewers that they need to deal with the problem
- How effectively the coupon distribution program will work
- How well the logistics between coupons and boxes work out – such as, whether boxes will come out in particular areas before the coupons expire
- How effectively the box distribution will work, such as how people in remote areas will be able to obtain one
- How complicated the boxes will be to set up

Stay tuned. If you can.

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