‘Free’ television set to enter digital age

MAT-SU — For nearly a year now, television viewers have been warned that change is on the way, and now it’s just two months off.

On Feb. 17, all broadcast stations will switch from an analog signal to digital.

The change is due to a Federal Communications Commission mandate that over-the-air TV providers make the switch.

According to the FCC, the switch will allow stations to broadcast improved pictures, have better sound quality and create additional channels.

Officials also say digital signals will free up analog airwaves to make more room for emergency responders to use them.

But the switch to digital is causing headaches for some consumers who now have to either buy a new TV, switch to cable or satellite, or purchase a converter box.

The latter option, one the government will help with financially, converts the digital signal received by an antenna and makes it compatible with an analog TV set.

People who want to go with a convertor box can get a $40 coupon from the government to help off set the expense.

Estimates for certified convertor boxes put the price between $40 and $75, according to the FCC.

Still, some are asking if the digital switch will be worth it.

Kim Fitzgerald uses the old bunny ear antenna set on her TV.

“I love it,” she said Wednesday. “It works great. It’s got the round thing and the two ears that come out.”

Fitzgerald has had the antenna set-up for almost 20 years, and said she doesn’t see a reason to make a change now.

Come February, however, the Knik resident will have to decide what to do about her TV, and weigh the costs that come with it.

Fitzgerald sent away for the $40 government coupon and is waiting for it to arrive.

“If I don’t get them I will be in a rush to buy a TV, I guess, in February,” she said.

Of course, Fitzgerald could purchase cable or satellite service, but like many others, she said she doesn’t want to pay monthly for those services.

Also, applying for a coupon isn’t as straight forward as it seems for some.

Residents of nursing homes, intermediate care facilities and assisted living organizations must fill out a separate Nursing Home Application Form.

Also, the coupons will only be delivered to post office boxes if it can be verified that the post office does not deliver directly to households in rural areas, according to B.R. Forbes, a public affairs specialist with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Fitzgerald said she’d like the government to give more of an explanation as to why the switch is absolutely needed.

“It does really smack of materialistic stuff decreeing what we’re going to have in our house,” she said.

She added her current antenna TV works great, and she receives a clear signal with the channels she wants to watch.

The FCC maintains the switch to digital will enhance the viewing experience, and is well worth the trouble.

But what will happen to all those TVs people might throw away during the switch?

Local refuse experts say they can be recycled, and, like almost anything else in a home, thrown away.

While Valley Community Recycling Solutions will not take TVs, just down 49th State Street, the Central Landfill accepts them.

Audrey Jensen, the transfer site supervisor at the landfill, said residents interested in recycling their TVs can do so Wednesdays and Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the landfill.

Jensen said the landfill isn’t worried about a sudden rush to dispose of TVs, since the majority of people have cable or satellite service, and won’t be affected.

No matter what TV viewers decide to do if the switch affects them, it’s clear decisions will have to be made.

For some, it will be a time to go ahead and get a new television. While others will opt for the convertor to save time and money.

Either way, when the country’s TV signals go digital, people like Fitzgerald will have to decide: simple convertor box, or change the way they watch, and pay for, television.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.