Digital Television Transition Joint Broadcaster/Cable Information Exchange May 27, 2008.

Digital Television TransitionJoint Broadcaster/Cable Information Exchange

May 27, 2008

AgendaAgenda

• Overview of the transition

• Information that cable providers need from broadcasters - discussionInformation that cable providers need from broadcasters - discussion

• Information that broadcasters need from cable providers - discussionInformation that broadcasters need from cable providers - discussion

• Lunch – box lunches provided courtesy of Time-WarnerLunch – box lunches provided courtesy of Time-Warner

• Breakout meetingsBreakout meetings

D-Day: February 17D-Day: February 17thth, 2009, 2009

• Last day of analog broadcasting – Tuesday, 2/17/09Last day of analog broadcasting – Tuesday, 2/17/09

• Full-power analog transmitters all over the US will go dark for the last time at Full-power analog transmitters all over the US will go dark for the last time at midnightmidnight

• Low-power stations and translators can continue to broadcast in analog for the Low-power stations and translators can continue to broadcast in analog for the time beingtime being

• Analog televisions not connected to cable or DBS, or connected to a digital Analog televisions not connected to cable or DBS, or connected to a digital converter box, will lose all reception from full-power stationsconverter box, will lose all reception from full-power stations

266 Days and counting…266 Days and counting…

How Viewers Get TVHow Viewers Get TV

• Greenville Market – 74% Cable (Cable World 2001)Greenville Market – 74% Cable (Cable World 2001)

• Columbia Market – 61% Cable (Cable World 2001)Columbia Market – 61% Cable (Cable World 2001)

• Charleston Market – 69% Cable (Cable World 2001)Charleston Market – 69% Cable (Cable World 2001)

• National Average Cable Penetration – 58% (NCTA 2007)National Average Cable Penetration – 58% (NCTA 2007)

• DBS Penetration – Approximately 15%DBS Penetration – Approximately 15%

• Over the air – Estimated 15% to 25% of householdsOver the air – Estimated 15% to 25% of households

• Most homes, even with cable or DBS, also have at least one over-the-air TVMost homes, even with cable or DBS, also have at least one over-the-air TV

The Day After: Cable CarriageThe Day After: Cable Carriage

• On the 18On the 18thth, digital “Must Carry” rules take effect for all full-power stations , digital “Must Carry” rules take effect for all full-power stations who who were entitled to must-carry beforewere entitled to must-carry before

• Cable providers will down-convert each local broadcaster’s “primary” program Cable providers will down-convert each local broadcaster’s “primary” program service, convert it to analog and place it on their lower tier (for at least service, convert it to analog and place it on their lower tier (for at least 3 years).3 years).

• Cable providers will also carry local station’s “primary” service on their digital Cable providers will also carry local station’s “primary” service on their digital tier (in HD if transmitted in HD), and hopefully multicast SD services as tier (in HD if transmitted in HD), and hopefully multicast SD services as well.well.

• PTV has agreements with NCTA and other cable associations to carry up to PTV has agreements with NCTA and other cable associations to carry up to four programming services from one PTV station in each market.four programming services from one PTV station in each market.

The Day After: Cable CarriageThe Day After: Cable Carriage

• It is absolutely critical that broadcasters and cable providers exchange information ASAP to ensure a smooth transition

• This is not a broadcaster’s concern only…cable operators’ phones will ring as This is not a broadcaster’s concern only…cable operators’ phones will ring as well as broadcasters’ phones on the 18well as broadcasters’ phones on the 18thth if we don’t all get it right if we don’t all get it right

• Cable engineers and broadcast engineers need to be in close contact now Cable engineers and broadcast engineers need to be in close contact now more than evermore than ever

• This is a good opportunity to form relationships that will be advantageous to This is a good opportunity to form relationships that will be advantageous to both industries for years to comeboth industries for years to come

Suggested Timeline from NCTASuggested Timeline from NCTA

• June 15, 2008 – Start internal transition planning and begin contacting broadcasters for coordination and planning.

•August 1, 2008 – Coordination with broadcasters completed. Equipment needs and negotiations with vendors begun.

• August 30, 2008 – Equipment orders placed.

• December 1, 2008 – Equipment installed and tested

• January 1, 2009 – Final planning and coordination with broadcasters completed

What Cable Needs From Broadcasters What Cable Needs From Broadcasters (1)(1)

• Administrative Information

• Station call letters

• Community of license

• Licensee name

• Network affiliation

• Station address information

• General Manager contact info

• Engineering contact info

• Chief Engineer (Office and cell)Chief Engineer (Office and cell)

• Transmitter Engineer (Office and cell)Transmitter Engineer (Office and cell)

• Master Control / OperationsMaster Control / Operations

• Location of transmitter (coordinates) Location of transmitter (coordinates)


• Transition Plan

• Date / time of termination of analog operations• Midnight @ 2/17 or other?• Stations can terminate up to 30 days early with public notification

(FCC approval not required)• Stations can terminate after November 16, 2008 with FCC approval

and public notification

• Any plans for test periods prior to transition date?

• Wilmington test – noon on September 8th

• Be aware there may be a technical need to reduce or terminate current digital transmissions before the transition date, or that operations

may commence early on post-transition digital channel


• Delivery to Cable Head End

• Delivery method after transition date

• Off-Air• Transmitter location, ERP, antenna height, antenna pattern• Any changes from current?• Backup transmitter? Location?

• Fiber• Does fiber exist currently? If not, when planned?• Type of transport – ASI, SDI, Gig-E, RF, ?

• Other…• Microwave, translator, ?


• Delivery to Cable Head End

• Are there any changes planned in the current analog or digital delivery method BEFORE the transition date?

• Are there any changes planned in the current digital delivery method AFTER the transition date?

• If delivery is off-air, any signal level or antenna pattern changes planned?• Move side mounted digital antennas to top of tower, etc.• Can stay on temporary side-mounted antenna for up to 6 months if 85% of assigned coverage area is served, 3-4 months if not.

• Can the digital signal be used for the primary cable feed early?• Newer digital transmitters may be more reliable • May mitigate interference problems


• Channels

• What will final digital channel be?

• Staying on current DTV channel (1178 stations – 60%)• Moving back to analog channel (517 stations – 27%)• Moving to a new channel (117 stations – 6%)• Flash-cut (7% - mostly low-power & translators)

• If changing from current digital channel, when will that occur?

• Stations can stay on an in-core temporary digital channel for up to one year (2/17/2010)

• If signal delivery is off-air, how will the signal level and antenna pattern be changed by the channel change?


• Digital Content and Formats

• What will the service lineup be after transition date?• Is it different from current? If so, date of change?• Will the lineup change during the day? How?

• Which service will be considered the “Primary”?• What mode – SD or HD? 1080i, 720p, 480i? Aspect Ratio?• If HD, will you provide an SD version for the lower tier? How?• What format for down-conversion?

• Letterbox• Center cut• AFD

• Multicast services• What mode – SD or HD? 1080i, 720p, 480i? Aspect Ratio?


• Technical Details

• PID’s and/or PSI’s for each service component• Video, primary audio, secondary audio, etc.

• Dolby Digital audio• What mode for each service – 2.0 or 5.1?• Dialnorm value for each service

• SAP / DVS – how to map

• Closed captioning


• EAS

• Does station have the ability to originate local EAS alerts or do all alerts come from a central location?

• If needed would station sign a non-interrupt agreement?


Discussion…other ideas…

What Broadcasters Need From Cable What Broadcasters Need From Cable (1)(1)

• Administrative Information

• Name of MSO and corporate contact info for person responsible for transition

• Local cable operator contact info

• Local engineering contact info


• Technical Information for Off-Air pickup

• Locations of head end and receive sites

• Type of antenna and height used for off-air reception

• Is antenna dedicated or shared to receive other stations?

• Areas served by each head end and receive site

• Contact info for each head end and receive site


• Technical Details

• Channel placement – lower tier, digital tier

• Can you enable PID-locking on your receiver?

• Bandwidth – How is it handled?• Is the bandwidth of HD reduced?• Are the multiplexes from broadcasters mixed in a stat-mux pool or

kept independent?

• PSIP / EPG• Is the broadcaster’s EPG passed through to the cable EPG?• How are new rules for dynamic EPG to be handled? How often is

EPG updated?

• Reconstruction of VBI data on analog tier?• Closed captioning• XDS data including “V-Chip”


Discussion…other ideas…

Information Resources Information Resources

• Station Transition Details

• FCC Form 387 (DTV Transition Status Report)• Required to have been filed by all stations by February 19, 2008• http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta-sear.htm• Enter call sign and select “Submit Station Search” • BDTRCT indicates commercial stations• BDTRET indicates non-commercial stations

• FCC Table of Allotments• Master List of all stations required to make the transition • Appendix B, DTV Table of Allotments Information to FCC 08-72, Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration of the 7th Report and Order and 8th Report and Order, released March 21, 2008.

•http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-72A2.xls

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta-sear.htm

Facility ID State City NTSC Chan

DTV Chan

DTV ERP (kW)

DTV HAAT

(m)

DTV Antenna

ID

DTV Latitude (DDMMSS)

DTV Longitude (DDDMMSS)

61003 SC ALLENDALE 14 33 427 241 67765 331115 812350

56548 SC ANDERSON 40 14 310 311 30073 343851 821613

61007 SC BEAUFORT 16 44 440 365 70516 324242 804054

61005 SC CHARLESTON 7 7 12 562 70358 325528 794158

416 SC CHARLESTON 24 24 283 583 74554 325624 794145

21536 SC CHARLESTON 4 34 630 522 43263 325528 794158

9015 SC CHARLESTON 36 36 50 583 74514 325624 794145

71297 SC CHARLESTON 5 47 1000 521 45846 325528 794158

10587 SC CHARLESTON 2 50 1000 581 66300 325624 794145

60963 SC COLUMBIA 25 8 43.7 529 34078 340658 804551

13990 SC COLUMBIA 10 10 18.1 462 74559 340729 804523

37176 SC COLUMBIA 19 17 1000 500 43474 340549 804551

61013 SC COLUMBIA 35 32 62 316 340706 805613

136750 SC COLUMBIA 47 47 50 192 74780 340238 805951

19199 SC COLUMBIA 57 48 520 464 43955 340658 804551

61004 SC CONWAY 23 9 20 230 335658 790631

66407 SC FLORENCE 13 13 22.4 594 84834 342202 791922

17012 SC FLORENCE 15 16 421 602 342153 791949

3133 SC FLORENCE 21 21 384 581 74438 342153 791949

61008 SC FLORENCE 33 45 45 242 341648 794435

Facility ID

State City NTSC Chan

DTV Chan

DTV ERP (kW)

DTV HAAT

(m)

DTV Antenna

ID

DTV Latitude (DDMMSS)

DTV Longitude (DDDMMSS)

82494 SC GEORGETOWN 38 500 171 66448 335012 785111

61010 SC GREENVILLE 29 9 65 378 64722 345629 822438

9064 SC GREENVILLE 16 16 98.4 337 345626 822441

72300 SC GREENVILLE 21 21 164 765 84836 351056 824056

53905 SC GREENVILLE 4 36 1000 610 84818 350640 823617

60931 SC GREENWOOD 38 18 49 230 342219 821005

27245 SC HARDEEVILLE 28 28 1000 455 75003 320245 812027

9054 SC MYRTLE BEACH 43 18 1000 459 39594 341119 791100

83969 SC MYRTLE BEACH 32 32 165 186 77954 334350 790432

61009 SC ROCK HILL 30 15 403 212 67767 345023 810107

20624 SC ROCK HILL 55 39 200 595 352144 810919

66391 SC SPARTANBURG 7 7 20.5 657 74611 351012 821727

61011 SC SPARTANBURG 49 43 50 302 345311 814916

61012 SC SUMTER 27 28 98.4 364 335251 801615

40902 SC SUMTER 63 39 500 391 66995 340658 804551

Time –Warner StationsTime –Warner Stations

WACH – Columbia WHHI – Hilton Head

WLTX – Columbia WJWJ - Beaufort

WIS – Columbia WCBD - Charleston

WOLO – Columbia WCSC - Charleston

WRLK – Columbia WTAT - Charleston

WZRB – Columbia WITV - Charleston

WNXG – Columbia WCIV - Charleston

WBTW – Florence WMMP - Charleston

WWMB – Florence WRJA - Sumter

WJPM – Florence WKTC - Sumter

WPDE – Florence WTGS - Hardeeville

WFXB – Myrtle Beach WGSI – Murrels Inlet

WHMC – Conway WMYT – Rock Hill

Charter StationsCharter StationsWSPA – SpartanburgWSPA – Spartanburg

WRET – SpartanburgWRET – Spartanburg

WYCW – AshevilleWYCW – Asheville

WLOS - AshevilleWLOS - Asheville

WYFF – GreenvilleWYFF – Greenville

WHNS – GreenvilleWHNS – Greenville

WNTV – GreenvilleWNTV – Greenville

WGGS – GreenvilleWGGS – Greenville

WMYA – AndersonWMYA – Anderson

WRLK – ColumbiaWRLK – Columbia

WIS – ColumbiaWIS – Columbia

WOLO – ColumbiaWOLO – Columbia

WLTX – ColumbiaWLTX – Columbia

Questions / Comments / DiscussionQuestions / Comments / Discussion

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Digital Television Transition Joint Broadcaster/Cable Information Exchange May 27, 2008.

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