Are You Ready for the Digital Transition in February?
MANCHESTER, NH – (December 9, 2008) New Hampshire Public Television, WMUR-TV and Comcast today hosted an informational session at the Carol Rines Center in Manchester to help educate local residents about the digital broadcast transition scheduled for February 17, 2009. This federally mandated transition, which marks the end of analog TV broadcast transmissions, will make older television sets that rely on antennas for reception unable to receive digital broadcast TV signals unless they have a special converter box installed or subscribe to a cable or satellite service.During the forum, local residents whose TVs are not yet equipped to receive digital signals or connected to cable or satellite service learned they have three options to get ready: (1) replace older TVs with newer TVs equipped with digital tuners; (2) purchase and install a converter box that will allow their current antennas to receive the new digital broadcast signals; or (3) subscribe to a cable or satellite service.Local residents who already subscribe to a cable or satellite service learned that no TV connected to that service will be affected by the digital broadcast transition.This evening’s informational session on the digital broadcast transition was the first of several such events that NHPTV, WMUR-TV and Comcast are hosting in New Hampshire as the transition approaches. NHPTV, WMUR-TV and Comcast each also have been doing extensive public outreach on the digital broadcast transition, holding educational forums at senior centers, town halls and community centers across the state and providing information on TV and online. Callers to NHPTV also can receive information and assistance from our Viewer Services team at (603) 868-1100.“Holding town hall meetings around the state, in conjunction with on-air, website information and caller/e-mail assistance, will help us reach those people who depend on over-the-air viewing and could lose their signal in February,” said Peter A. Frid, CEO and General Manager of NHPTV. “Depending on where they live in New Hampshire, the digital broadcast transition may be different for viewers. The town hall meetings will help us address community-specific questions.” The next DTV Town Hall Meeting will be held Monday December 15, 2008 in Nashua at Nashua High School North at 6:30 p.m., 10 Chuck Druding Drive, Nashua, NH.Tonight’s town hall meeting took place on the same day that many stations in the Boston television market conducted a simulated shutdown of their analog signals. New Hampshire stations did not participate in this test, however, New Hampshire viewers watching any of the participating Boston stations via an analog signal would have seen, at specific times, a graphic alerting them that they are not ready for the digital transition and urging them to take action. On February 17, 2009, all regional local broadcast channels including WMUR 9, NHPTV 11 and Boston broadcast channels WGBH 2, WBZ 4, WCVB 5, WHDH 7, WFXT 25, WSBK 38 and WLVI 56, will discontinue analog broadcasting on their full-power transmitters and begin broadcasting exclusively in digital. As a result, TV viewers who do not subscribe to cable TV or satellite service, do not own a television set equipped with a digital tuner or do not have an older TV set equipped with a digital broadcast converter box, will not be able to receive television signals. [One exception will be that WMUR’s low power transmitters serving viewers in New Hampshire’s Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties on Channels 38, 27 and 29 will continue in analog.] Individuals interested in installing digital converters for their antennas also learned that the federal government is providing up to two (2) $40 coupons per household to offset the cost of the digital to analog converter. To apply for a coupon, call 1-888-DTV-2009 or go to www.wmur.com/digital or call NHPTV at (603) 868-1100.Contacts:Grace Lessner NHPTV (603) 868-4328Mark Laliberte City of Manchester (603) 490-4098Alex Jasiukowicz WMUR-TV (603) 669-9999Marc Goodman Comcast (617) 279-7521
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