Tennessee: DTV may bring extra channels

Some Southeast Tennessee residents will have a few more options on their TV dials in February as digital television signals bleed over from other markets.

According to a report recently released by the Federal Communications Commission, Marion County television viewers will be able to pick up digital signals from Huntsville, Ala., while sets in Rhea and Meigs might receive broadcasts from Knoxville.

Antennas in parts of Grundy and Franklin counties will be able to receive programming all the way from Nashville, according to the report.

FCC spokesman Robert Kenny explained that, because digital signals take less power to broadcast than their analog forefathers, viewers in certain perimeter areas likely will be able to adjust their sets to bring in new channels after the February switch.

“It could just come down to positioning of antenna,” he said.

On Feb. 17, all television stations are required stop sending out analog signals and switch to a digital broadcasts, according to the FCC.

“You’re receiving computer code basically,” explained Graham Jones, director of communications engineering for the National Association of Broadcasters. Digital broadcasts only need to give the receiver a bit of binary code for the set to produce an image, he said.

“As long as you can detect whether the signal is there or not there, then that’s all you need to know,” Mr. Jones said.

In analog broadcasts, the clarity of the image is directly related to the strength of its signal, meaning that digital transmission can reach a wider audience.

That improved signal distance is evident when looking at the FCC reports for television markets neighboring Chattanooga. Huntsville-based WAFF picks up potential viewers in eight tri-state counties while WBIR in Knoxville will reach new sets in seven counties of the Chattanooga region.

Megan Pollock, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Electronic Association, said viewers in Wilmington, N.C., the FCC’s digital test market, noticed they could receive digital signals from stations in neighboring Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Fayetteville, N.C.

She said the concept of free television combined with the benefits of digital television appeals to many viewers.

“It’s sort of fun to kind of cheat the system and try and pick up other channels,” she said.