So now we have a “firm” shutoff date for the analog stations, something like 2027. Are Stations going to keep their analog numbers, switch to the digital number, or will the digital freq change back to the analog? For example: KFOR in OKC, is “4″, K4, we’ll keep you 4-Warned; K27 and we’ll keep you 27-warned just don’t have the same tone to it!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
DISH Network and DirecTV Satellite Retailer
Contact: Justin Walker
All-Digital ConnectionsStations highlighted in Green have operational digital television stations. Stations are listed in the order it was first reported here that they were testing or broadcasting over the air.
Networks highlighted in Purple broadcast at least some high definition programming some days and most nights.
Channel Numbers highlighted in Red are multicasting — offering multiple sub channels on one DTV station. If it's not listed, we just don't know about it yet. Contact us
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| NBC | 27 | KFOR-DT |
| IND | 51 | KSBI-DT |
| ABC | 7 | KOCO-DT |
| PAX | 50 | KOPX-DT |
| FOX | 24 | KOKH-DT |
| WB | 33 | KOCB-DT |
| TBN | 15 | KTBO-DT |
| PBS | 32 | KETA-DT |
| CBS | 39 | KWTV-DT |
| UPN | 40 | KAUT-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| NBC | 56 | KJRH-DT |
| CBS | 55 | KOTV-DT |
| PAX | 28 | KTPX-DT |
| FOX | 22 | KOKI-DT |
| IND | 49 | KGEB-DT |
| UPN | 42 | KTFO-DT |
| ABC | 10 | KTUL-DT |
| IND | 48 | KWHB-DT |
| PBS | 38 | KOED-DT |
| WB | 55-2 | KWBT-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| CBS | 20 | KXII-DT |
| NBC | 26 | KTEN-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| TBN | 15 | KDOR-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| PBS | 8 | KWET-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| IND | 35 | KRSC-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| PBS | 31 | KOET-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| IND | 29 | KQOK-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| ABC | 21 | KHBS-DT |
| CBS | 18 | KFSM-DT |
| NBC | 27 | KPOM-DT |
| PBS | 45 | KAFT-DT |
| Network | DTV | Station |
|---|---|---|
| ABC | 11 | KSWO-DT |
| CBS | 22 | KAUZ-DT |
| Fox | 15 | KJTL-DT |
| NBC | 28 | KFDX-DT |
Attention: This is the end of the usable page!
The images below are preloaded standbys only.
This is helpful to those with slower Internet connections.
My analog 6 ID’s use 9.1 and 9.2. DT broadcasts on ch 9. I believe ch 6 not to be in their future.
My analog 10 uses 10.1 and 10.2. DT is ch 53 which will be returned to government for auction. I believe the DT future is ch 10.
My analog 44 uses ID number 44 with no subchannel. DT 57 will return to government for auction. I believe the DT future is ch 44.
My analog 34 uses ID numbers 20.1 and 20.2. DT broadcasts on ch 20. Ch 20 is more desirable than ch 34. I believe the DT future is ch 20.
My analog 25 uses ID numbers 25.1, 26.2, and 25.3. DT broadcasts on ch 26. I’m really confused on this one. I wonder if Telemundo (26.2) will wind up on ch 26, and ABC (25.1) and Weather Now (25.3) will broadcast on ch 25.
I believe when analog goes dark, one’s frenquency and ch ID numbers will match. Am I wrong?
I’m really curious about this. Steve, can you enlighten us.
The cutoff date is set for February 17, 2009, not 2027. The bill was recently passed by Congress and has been signed by President Bush.
Most stations will go back to using their analog channel number. KWTV for example will go from broadcasting on UHF channel 39 to VHF channel 9.
Now I’m really confused. So this means all the VHF stations that had to buy UHF DT transmitters are going to need to scrap them and purchase DT VHF transmitters? (I know a UHF transmitter won’t broadcast a VHF signal and vice-versa.) How long will it take to make that transition back to the original VHF channel in DT? I know it’s not too difficult to "upgrade" to a different channel within the same band (like going from KOKH 24 back to their original KOKH 25), but I’m sure it would require major purchases to go from a UHF (KWTV 39) to VHF (KWTV 9). Sounds to me like among the VHF’s in town, KOCO would be the easiest to change back to their original channel of 5.
Well, all the VHF band stations (2-13) have the VHF transmitters already. KWTV (channel 9) for instance, will simply stop broadcasting NTSC on 9, and start broadcasting ATSC. At that time, they’ll have an excess UHF transmitter. I think KETA (13) is the only other OKC station considering abandoning the UHF channel for the VHF channel for ATSC.
Channels 2,3,4,5,and 6 will have other uses in 2009.
OKC 4 and 5 must abandon their original channels.
OKC 9 and 13 will be allowed to keep their original channels, and will almost certainly do so. (9 will abandon 39 and 13 will abandon 32)
OKC 4 will probably be stuck with their current digital channel, 27.
OKC 5 is now using 7 and will almost certainly keep 7.
By the way, OKC 13 will be on at 3 AM later this year when digital master control becomes operational, most likely before football season.
I’ve read that 2-51 will be in use after transition. But many broadcasters see 2-6 as undesirable.
Is there something more recent we don’t know about?
I don’t think that is correct.
Why don’t you try phoning your local 2 through 6 stations and see if they think they can reclaim their old channels, or if the FCC has taken them away.
I called my local 6 a few months ago and they told me they preferred 9. In the beginning they were issued ch 50. They requested 9 and the FCC approved. 6 is more susceptible to electrical interference which can cause tiling. I didn’t ask about low VHF shifting to other uses.
In the beginning I did indeed read that 2-6 would be reclaimed for other uses. But, I’ve read 1000 times since, that DTV would use 2-51.
I would hope they would keep transmitting on their digital UHF stations for the most part. The signals are strong for those stations and they rarely break up, unlike KOCO-DT, which has lots of problems due to multipath.
The physical channel they use to broadcast is mostly irrelevant because their traditional analog channel numbers is what shows up in the PSIP info.
Dennis
Oklahoma City stations have told me that their UHF electric bills are double or triple what their VHF bills were, and they also said this amounts to five or ten grand EVERY MONTH (fifty or one hundred grand each year).
That would be serious if you were a commercial station which can pass on the cost to the advertisers, up to a point. It applies just as much to PBS, which has to get it from the government, from public-spirited corporations, and FROM US.
Does anybody know whether the FCC is really going to remove channels 2 through 6 from the TV band, who will get to use that band, and whether channel 4 will get to call itself channel 4 if channel 4 ceases to exist???? (3 separate questions).
I don’t know what the answers are you to your questions, but it doesn’t matter how much they save on the bill if half their audience can’t receive the signal. The NBA playoffs were unwatchable for me here in Stillwater today. Sure, tuners will improve, but the UHF channels are rock solid now with existing tuners.
Dennis
Here is the text of Doug Lung’s reply to my inquiry: (THE ALL-CAPS COMMENT IS MINE)
Hi -
At one point in the DTV process, the FCC had proposed taking away channels 2-6. However, in the end, broadcasters kept those channels when it became clear it would be tough to find enough channels for all stations without them. One of the ideas proposed by some groups was to expand the FM band into channel 6 and possibly channel 5, but I never saw any FCC indication they were willing to consider that.
As part of the transition, stations can choose to leave their digital operation on the channel they are on now or move it to their analog channel after analog TV is shut off in February 2009. However, in both cases the channel has to be between 2 and 51 and not cause interference to other TV stations on the channels they have selected. This process is a bit complicated.
The channel a station chooses depends on many factors. One is power consumption. The maximum power allowed on channels 2-6 is much less than that allowed on other channels,(FOR EXAMPLE, AS LITTLE AS TEN THOUSAND WATTS, DEPENDING ON TOWER HEIGHT) for what should be equivalent coverage (assuming viewers use outdoor antennas and there isn’t much electrical noise or thunderstorms), which means big savings in power bills. On the other hand, channels 7-13 are more easily received on portable sets and still don’t need as much power as UHF stations, so these are considered by many to be the best channels. In urban areas, UHF channels work well with small antennas and while they don’t get through buildings as well, the higher power allowed for UHF offsets this somewhat. UHF also opens the possibility of broadcasting to handheld devices like cell phones at some point in the future. The technology, from what I saw at NAB last week, might be practical in a few years.
Hope this answers some of your questions!
Regards…
…Doug
(MY APOLOGIES…2-51 IS CORRECT)
From what I’ve seen, it’s the low band VHF freqs (2-7) that are problematic. Unfortuneately, KOCO-DT has chosen to use 7, and seems to want to stay there, to the detriment of all the OTA digital viewers.
Dennis:
According to Doug Lung (see his message above) channels 2-51 will be allowed in 2009, and FCC will only be closing 52-69.
Channel 5 can choose between retaining channel 5 in the low VHF or retaining channel 7 in the high VHF, and neither choice is going to put a solid picture on your screen.
Channel 4 can choose 4 (low VHF) or 27 (UHF).
You are hoping for 27 but it is possible they might choose 4.
Remember how much fuss Sinclair Broadcasting raised in the period before DTV went on the air?
They claimed that the chosen modulation scheme, 8VSB, was going to make reception very difficult.
Now we are in the toddler stage of the digital age, and it is looking like Sinclair Broadcasting was right.
Apparently everybody not close to the stations will have to subscribe to greedy cable or greedy satellite in order to get decent digital, or else we’re going to have to find an empty UHF channel for KOCO?
(Answers to my earlier questions: NO!, MOOT, and
MOOT.)
I just got off the phone with engineer Gerald at KCEN-DT ch 9. DTV will be 2-51.
KCEN will abandon analog ch 6 because of lower power and higher suceptability to electrical interference, which may cause tiling.
Time Warner in Waco has fiber link to ch 9 and Grande picks ch 9 off air. Time Warner in Kileen and Temple pick ch 9 off air, all flawlessly.
Mocek’s Satellite Service installs antennas locally and has virtually no issues with recieving ch 9.
I believe when analog 7 in Lawton goes dark, much of KOCO-DT ch 7 problems can and will be solved.
Station ID’s for KCEN-DT will be 9.1 and 9.2 when analog goes dark.
In the beginning FCC assigned KCEN ch 50. KCEN asked and recieved approval for high VHF ch 9, where everybody and their brother wants to broadcast.