Quiet Wilmington DTV transition

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We’re still waiting to get numbers from the FCC, and we’re also waiting for a poll of Wilmingtonians conducted by the NAB. But to all appearances, the switch to DTV in Wilmington NC went smoothly. There are 180,000 television households there, but so far it appears that consumer distress calls are numbering in the mere hundreds. Most of the calls are said to involve difficulty hooking up analog-to-digital converter boxes; almost no calls have come from citizens caught unawares. The second most frequent problem has involved making needed adjustments to antennae.


RBR/TVBR observation: We remain confident that most of the individuals who will need a converter box will know they will need one, because it is in the vested interest of the television stations they by definition are watching to make sure they know. And since the problem in Wilmington is not so much lacking a box, but rather, lacking the knowledge to connect it to the television set, we will repeat advice we offered long ago. Each station should put together its own group of volunteers from among its loyal viewers who will be able to go to the aid of others in their part of the community.