Common Sense And Customer Support
Wow! Post number 50! and it’s December already. My months go by like seconds these days. If you don’t have your coupon yet, better get it now at www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-388-2009! Time is flying by fast!
You’d think in today’s business climate, that customer support would be stellar since they are trying to attract customers, and retain them. That may not seem to be the case, and in defense of some of them, they really aren’t prepared for some of the issues consumers are having.
It’s difficult for a phone service rep to work through all problems without actually seeing the symptoms. I can tell merely from looking at a picture what is causing the problem. It is often described to me in vague terms like the screen went black for a second, but when I see how the screen goes black, I know right off what caused it. I’ve been around a long time, and although I’m sure I haven’t seen everything, I’ve seen my fair share of problems.
I got a call today from a nice lady that has been using her box for six months, and wanted to know when we were going to begin broadcasting in digital. When I told her we have been on the air for about 8 years, she explained she was getting all the channels except us, and she called the customer support number for her set top box and they could not help resolve her problem. (Naturally, they told her we were not on the air yet and she would have to wait.).
OK, there’s no way this service rep could possibly know about stations in Raleigh unless they had an Internet connection and could pull it up on www.antennaweb.org or www.tvfool.com. I’m sure they are reading the same troubleshooting guide contained in the manual, and it may not list these sites. And to be totally fair, not everyone has access to the web yet. (The FCC is pushing for free wireless basic family friendly web service, and I hope they are successful in making it available).
I had to ask the basic questions like where she lived, how the analog channels looked, what type of antenna she is using and so on. Everything checked out, and I asked her about the other stations and how she was getting them. She said she had some break-up now and then, but adjusting her antenna corrected it. She said she had re-scanned several times, and still no NBC. I asked her to punch in channel 55 directly, and she almost broke into tears when our signal popped up. I then helped her go into the menus and manually add the channels for us. She was amazed, and extremely happy.
Your cable and satellite providers are in the same boat, and really don’t know exactly how different equipment reacts to these signals. As I have mentioned before, the signal in the data named PSIP is responsible for telling your box how to display the channels. The box should find us on channel 55, and tell you it is actually 17-1, etc. If you read my post on Kyle’s antenna at NC State, he had the same issue. An older set that did not map us to 17-1 but had us at 55-1. Another issue I have encountered is with Microsoft’s Media Center PC’s. They have us as digital 17 in their database on earlier versions, and you have to enter the correct channel 55 in it or download an updated database. It will be correct in 2009, but for now it may have the wrong data.
Give customer support a chance, and if you don’t get the answers you think are correct, get a second opinion. That why I’m here. That’s why we have email links to help you anyway we can. Sometimes you have to get more than one side of the story before you can resolve a problem. And don’t be embarrassed by asking for help.
Naturally, I tried to duplicate her problem using the old RCA box in my office, but it was displaying the info fine. I checked the PSIP generator PC and is was running fine. I really have no idea why some receivers do this, but it does pop up now and again. That’s also why I listed all the stations actual channel numbers in a previous blog. I guess it’s like an Easter egg hunt in the airwaves!
The Countdown To Better TV
Ever notice in old action movies the time bomb had an analog clock trigger, and today’s movies always have a digital timer? Even movie villains have converted to digital, and with less than 90 days to the big event, it feels like someone cut the blue wire and the clock is counting down at double speed! My days are a blur!
I’ve been with WNCN for 14 years now without a single boring day here. I’m getting more excited over the countdown to 2-17 than I did as a kid waiting for Christmas. We’ve made our list, and are checking it twice!
Maybe my time bomb analogy is a bit harsh, but when the NASCAR number 38 DTV Transition Ford Fusion wrecked two out of three races, catching on fire in one, it might help us to expect some bumps on the track to all digital TV. I have always expected the worst to happen and I am pleasantly surprised and relieved when it doesn’t. I think we’ll be fine judging from how it went in other countries. Just be aware every station has to make changes which affects other stations.
WRAL has the biggest job to convert by changing their antenna on top of the tower. Your OTA receiver may already have difficulty picking them up since they switched to a back-up antenna mounted lower and on the side of the tower. When they begin to remove their current antenna, and install the new antenna, all stations on the tower must shut down which includes our analog and digital signals. Crews can not be exposed to that level of RF radiation, and the only safe way to work up their is with the power off.
The plan is to do it while most people are at work to minimize the inconvenience to viewers. We feed Time-Warner via fiber, so they will continue to carry our HD and SD programming. We do not have a direct link to Dish and DirecTV, or smaller cable systems, so they will be out during the day.
We do apologize for the OTA outages, but it is very necessary for all TV stations to cooperate during the change over. They expect the work to take 8 days to complete as long as the weather cooperates. Hopefully the Government’s prediction of a warm Winter is correct, and the two snow events we’ve had before Thanksgiving was Old Man Winter’s way of getting it out of his system early!
At the moment, expect this to occur beginning around December 10th. I’ll post the exact times and dates as soon as I get them from their engineers.
Crazy Days Ahead!
I still can’t figure out what this fat little mouse was up to, but we found him running in circles in the parking lot at NBC 17 last evening. Wayne and I watched him for several minutes and then I went inside and grabbed my camera to shoot this footage of it running around.
I hope it’s not an indication of how my next 90 days will be preparing for 2-17-09, but I’m afraid I will be moving just as fast. Hopefully not in circles, but you never know!
I did have the privilege of speaking to the Knightdale Lion’s Club last night about DTV and we had an engaging discussion on how people will be affected by the switch. Best part is they fed me first and man, that was a great meal! I talked about the “good ‘ole days” when I learned to turn our antenna at a young age with a pipe wrench, and found out I wasn’t the only one to experience that and how we’re getting back into the adventuresome exploration of early days when radio and TV were new.
Ever wonder why your first car had wings like the ‘57 Chevy or your first wagon was called Radio Flyer? Airplanes and radio were hot in the early days, so manufactures used the terms on their products to make them appear “cutting edge” new technology. Sure it was only a wagon, but as a kid it was a car, airplane, school bus, dump truck and parade float. Anything a young man’s imagination could perceive it to be.
Today it’s with antennas. Digital Ready! HDTV compatible! It’s just an antenna, but with modern twists. Amps and space age controls, looks, and what-nots. Still just an antenna and does the same job as it did in the Forties and Fifties, except with a little computer age design to work better for today’s signals.
We also had a discussion on remote controls and the need for an all-in-one remote, especially for the elderly. One for the TV, one for the converter box, one for the VCR, etc. Everyone chuckled when I said I buy batteries in bulk, but it’s totally true. I tried to get Mom a one-remote solution, but she’s a creature of habit like most of us, and has the remote button layout memorized, and adding functions just confuses her. The group determined it is possible to pare it down to two remotes minimal per TV. My problem with Mom is she had a universal remote, but it took a while to find the instructions on how to program it!
I really enjoyed talking with the Knightdale Lion’s Club and they are a great group of people that care for the community. I hope I get to do it again, as long as I’m not running in circles!
How NBC 17 will make the big switch
At midnight, we will throw a switch that will turn off channel 17 analog, and turn on channel 17 digital. At the same time, our current digital signal on channel 55 will be turned off forever. But converting a TV station to a different frequency is a bit more technical than flipping a switch. We will have to take some smaller steps leading up to the big event that requires quite a bit of work.
The analog transmitter on the right is actually four transmitters, each developing 60 K Watts 
of power. We can run them one at a time, or any combination of three if we need to service one of them. What we will do is shut down two of them in late January, and convert them to digital. That means our analog system will be at reduced power for a few weeks, but should not pose any issues except our near the edge of our coverage area. That’s another reason to have a good antenna now to minimize reception problems at that time. We will certainly wait until the last possible minute to do this, and alert you prior to it the best we can. If you have already converted to digital, you’ll have nothing to worry about as the digital side will not change until 2-17, and this only affects analog viewers waiting until the last minute to get their converter boxes. That’s another reason we urge you to go ahead and get your digital box now.
Our schedule is this:
- Equipment has been ordered and will be delivered in December.
- Late January, half the analog transmitter will be turned off and converted to digital on channel 17.
- We will be testing it off line, and may throw the switch overnight to take measurements and check performance.
- February 17 at Midnight, it hits the air for good, and the other half of the transmitter will be converted to digital the following weeks. That gives us a main and back-up digital transmitter system.
Pretty simple, right? Well, at your house when we switch the digital to channel 17, you should have a much easier time receiving the signal. You will need to re-scan your channels at midnight, or first thing when you wake up the 18th. These digital receivers in your house will not know we changed until you do. That’s another reason to get used to the menus on these receivers and do the scan-scan!
Phone Bank Day Five
A little slower tonight, but steady calls coming in, and people seemed to be very thankful we did this again. We’ll certainly step things up in the next three months, so hopefully everyone will be ready.
I have been impressed with the number of viewers that already have the converter boxes, and just had general questions about them. We’ve been able to help a lot of folks this week, and we;ve all had a good time doing it.
Monday we will be participating in the monthly soft test that the North Carolina Association Of Broadcasters coordinates on the 17th of each month until the analog cut off. During that test we usually put up a graphic on the analog that informs you if your TV needs to be upgraded. Be aware if you are on some smaller cable or satellite systems, the test will appear on those system, even though they will be ready by February.
DirecTV and Dish Network will be upgrading their systems in December, so you don’t have to worry if you get your programming from them. Time-Warner has already converted on the major systems, but some smaller outlying systems will be upgraded later. The people affected are over the air viewers, and they need to get ready as soon as possible.
Antennas are still a big issue, and many people are unsure what to use. I suggest to use what you have first. If it does not work reliably, then shop around in your area and ask the sales people what seems to be working. They have been very knowledgeable lately, so check around and see what your neighbors are using.
The main thing now is to make sure everyone has ordered their coupons at 888-388-2009 or www.dtv2009.gov It takes 6-8 weeks for the coupons to arrive, so get them in the mail as soon as possible!
Phone Bank Day Four
This morning the Elon University Communications class presented their research to North Carolina stations via a phone conference and online presentation. I told you earlier they were in Wilmington, NC for the Big Switch, and they had some excellent data to share for all areas on the state.
Did you know Raleigh has the highest percentage of over the air viewers in the state? I didn’t! I am aware of many folks upset with cable and satellite operators for this and that, but as Donald Jones’ package tonight on “dead spots” points out, they may be your only option.
We are learning almost daily where the “trouble spots” are, and this is our main reason for you to try it now and see what needs to be done before February. I will be posting our exact plans later, but I am having so much fun talking to our viewers this week I want to stay on topic with what they are saying. Almost like tossing an Internet Pumpkin, but verbally.
I talked with several folks out on the fringe areas tonight. A couple of calls from Virginia that get analog fine, but little or no digital signals. I heard from Roanoke Rapids, Goldsboro, Smithfield, Fayetteville, Durham, Chapel Hill and Moore County tonight. Most of these viewers are in good shape, and just needed reassuring.
The Elon University students found that nearly 80% of the calls in Wilmington could have been prevented if people knew what I have been telling you in this blog since July. It’s all about antennas and trying it early to resole any issues are the key. Don’t wait until the analog signals are gone to try to switch.
We know Apex and the Northwest quadrant are going to have challenges due to the hills and valleys. Other directions seem to be in good shape as far as reception goes. As for the fringe areas? I don’t know exactly where that is, but they may be the best prepared as they already have rooftop antennas. It remains to be seen where the holes are, but I do recommend the www.tvfool.com site where the signal pattern is displayed over the Google maps. www.antennaweb.org is a great site to help you with antenna selections. Like Donald Jones points out, what works for me may not work for you. We all have to experiment a little!
Phone Bank Day Three
Once again it was a great night talking with viewers on the phone bank from all over the area. Tonight’s topic reported by Donald Jones, was on portable TV’s. Those battery operated sets we use in emergencies, in the kitchen, and tailgating. This is the heart of the ACC and you can believe that tailgating is as popular as red, or the right shade of blue, shirts in the stands.
We wanted to cover this subject because there’s really not many portable sets in the stores at the moment. A couple of months ago, I circled the city’s big box stores and found none on the shelves, but they are becoming available and more choices will soon be found all around.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get a chance to interview yours truly tonight, but I had another option ready for show and tell. These coupon eligible converter boxes are very versatile and only slightly confusing. If you want a box you can connect to an existing portable TV, look for one that has an external wall wart power supply. This is an external adaptor that powers the box from an AC outlet and supplies 12 volts DC to run the box. A handy person can run to Radio Shack, buy the proper connector, build a cable and plug it into any 12 volt car adaptor outlet, or existing 12 volt battery pack. A really handy person could tap into the TV’s built in battery to run the box!
Batteries Plus can also custom build you a battery pack you can use for this purpose, so don’t feel like you have to throw away that old 5″ TV, because with a little ingenuity, it can be saved for the digital future of portable TV.
DTV is a very flexible system and new features can be incorporated as they develop. One major developement that will hit the airwaves next year is M.P.H. or mobile pedestian handhelds. It’s a system stations can add to the DTV signal that allows fairly good resolution on several streams of programming that can be picked up much easier than the high quality pictures beamed into homes. The cool thing is it is robust enough that cell phones will be able to tune in DTV programs even in moving vehicles.
So don’t fret the future of tailgating, it will be around as long as Baseball, Apple Pie and Chevrolets. Oh wait, what was GM’s stock price today?
Phone Bank Day Two
I hope you’ve been watching our 6 and 7 PM News this week as we have our phone bank up for DTV questions. I’ve had a great time talking to “my kind of people”. Everyone has been so nice and and grateful for getting real information they can undersdtand. Tonights highlights were amazing, and I’m expecting more fun this week. Yeah, I’m on the front row being interviewed “Live!” from time to time making a fool of myself, but if it helps, let it be!
Most callers do not have a computer. “I wouldn’t know how to operate it if I had it” said one very nice lady, and it’s a reminder that my mom isn’t the only person in the world with no internet! I’m surrounded by folks that really can’t relate to “no computer” households in this Twitter-Facebook-MySpace-cellular mosh pit of digital gotta know data junkies. Seriously though, do you really want to know my current location and mood every minute of the day?
Optomistic! My current mood is good, even though I ran out of happy pills and am battling manic depression and severe mood swings due to the full moon.
Oh wait, back to the topic at hand. I was surprised at the number of folks that had their boxes, and were waiting until February to open it and connect it up. WAKE UP! We are less than 100 days away and the DTV signals have been on the air for almost 10 years! We went on the air in May of 2000, so hook those boxes up now and see what you get.
Those of you that have been following this blog know by now I forced my 70-something Mother into the digital age. This past Sunday she was sitting quietly with the TV off when I arrived, fed me roast beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and the best sweet tea on the planet. Normally, we tend to sit and pass the time catching up on gas prices, obituraies and the entire family falls asleep in unison. Life is good in the country! This weekend we fought sleep as my sister wasn’t there for lunch, and Mom turned on the TV and the converter box by herself. With no prompting from me at all! She flipped through the channels and when WCTI froze, blocked, and glitched, she quietly went to the next channel searching something to put us to sleep by. Not a bad word did she utter about the new fangled box, except how to turn the volume down. We still can’t find the instructions on the universal remote for her TV, DVD and VCR to program the box into, so she gets mixed up which remote to use for what, but she’s trying and that’s what it’s all about right now.
try it. If it doesn’t work perfectly, you can still use the analog stations to watch TV, but you need to try the digital first. Now, not later, and if you are having reception problems address it now while the weather is nice.
One last point a nice couple in North Raleigh brought up was the hills and trees were causing issue at their house. I covered in one of my blog entries that the main reason we picked our homes were the main problems for DTV: hills, trees and you name it. We joked they’d have to move to get better reception, but honestly, I can’t guarantee everyone will be able to continue to receive free TV. Both nights though, I talked with a couple of folks that live in a motor home. Man that’s the way to retire! I envy those people because if you can’t get good reception, move your house!
Seriously, we’re going to be answering the phones all this week between 6 and 8 PM, so call in and we’ll be glad to answer your questions and help any way we can.! Here’s tonight’s package by Donald Jones, which I personally taught everything he needed to know about DTV:
You’ve Got Questions, but….
Tonight was the first of our 5 part series on DTV and the analog shutdown this week, taking your calls live during our 6 PM and 7 PM Newscasts. We really enjoyed taking your calls and talking with each of you, and a few actually stumped me, the “Digital Expert”.
I certainly expected antenna questions, and there were plenty of those, and lots of questions about getting coupons and where to buy boxes. A couple of the callers had legitimate issues about the coupons which I can’t figure a way around.
One person stated she had 3 families living in one house, and each family needed coupons. The way the program is set up though, is one set of coupons per address. The address must be a valid street address, and not a Post Office Box. Once a coupon was issued for that address, the other’s couldn’t apply. I asked if she could try (house number) -A, -B, and -C, and she said she tried. They were not legitimate mailing addresses. I’m stumped on how to get around that issue. She said she’d talked to several folks, and I suggested she contact the FCC directly on their website, www.FCC.gov
Another man allowed a friend to use his phone to order his coupons, and when asked if the address of that number was the correct address, his friend said yes. But when he tried to order his coupons, that address was already assigned, and he could not apply. In his case, he may be able to give his friend’s address and get it that way. Making matters worse, both of these viewers were disabled and really have no way to turn.
Another topic people brought up was trying to determine if they needed a coupon. I say yes, every American household should get the coupons, even if you have cable or satellite. Early on I posted these systems do fail, bills may not get paid on time, and after Feb. 17, 2009 you will be out of luck. Even worse, after the coupon program ends, you’ll have to pay full price for the box! Go ahead and get those coupons now, even if you don’t use it, you may be able to help people in a jam like those I just mentioned.
I got a lot of calls from folks who were having issues with the boxes, scanning channels, and general reception issues, but few with my station. Fortunately I know what is happening at the other stations, and assured them things should be fine after 2-17-09.
The rest of the calls ran from young people asking about reception in downtown, and older folks trying to make sense of the menu structure. Clearly, we’ll need some help, so I’m urging everyone to pitch in and help each other. Not everyone has a computer, and can see this blog and the various sites offering help. Wilmington’s transition proved the need for hands on help. We are going to do the best we can to organize that help. I will be on a conference call with those Elon University students I wrote about earlier, Friday morning as they disclose the data they collected in Wilmington. I can’t wait to hear what they have to tell us.
We’ll be taking calls all this week during our evening newscasts, so please call in and we’ll do our best to help, and if you have any suggestions about the address thing, please let me know!
Scan, Scan, Scan! It is the thing to do!
I love the Spring and Fall seasons, but Fall will always be my favorite time of year. After the leaves from the neighbor’s tree falls in my yard, (and no, they are not those large leaves easy to deal with, but Pin Oaks with the long narrow leaf the blower has a hard time moving). Cool thing is I get my sight back, line of sight that is between the transmitters and my antenna. Trees are retaining water now in preparation for their Winter’s nap, which does block UHF signals, but now is a good time to check the airwaves for hidden treasures.
I’ve mentioned this before, but with digital receivers you need to re-scan the channels from time to time, even on cable. Time-Warner moved our signals to a new QAM frequency last week, and often make upgrades requiring rescans. Just do it. I have sit there watching the progress bar as it scans, but I suggest starting it before bedtime, and it will be ready in the morning, or do it while you’re doing something else.
I’ve had a couple of people contact me recently that did not want to rescan for channels. I’m not too sure why, but it is somewhat normal and a good thing to do.
The power company lines run through the woods and down highways, and from time to time a glitch in the power will come into your home. These glitches can affect the memory in your set or box, causing some data to be corrupted or lost. Only a rescan will bring it back. If you have a small UPS laying around, it could be handy to plug your new TV or box into it. These devices are basically computers, and a UPS can protect it from losing data the same as with your computer. Also the lamp life in a DLP set could be increased dramatically!
For my main point on why to scan now, reception conditions are ideal in the Fall, and you may discover hidden channels you did not know were available.
Don’t be scared and just accept it is normal. Most boxes have an option to add channels without losing channels. Some TV sets have it as a quick scan versus a full scan. It’s not that hard to do, and something I recommend you do a few times a month until things settle down.
Yes, we are entering a “messy” time with over the air signals while stations make their last minute preps we walk through this month. Some stations recently switched to alternate antennas to enable replacement of their final systems, and there will be a flurry of activity in the next several weeks to be ready to throw the switch in February.
Go ahead and scan for new channels today. You might find a surprise or two hidden in the leaves!