Digital television has poor reception

The nationwide switch to digital television occurred in June, but problems still remain.

The nationwide switch to digital television occurred in June, but problems still remain.

Listen:
[audio: 091026tmtv.mp3]

The major problem is reception. People receiving their television over the air with a settop antenna or rabbit ears are having the toughest time. The digital signal is not as forgiving as the old analog one. Richard Paleski is head of broadcast operations of Channels 3 and 57 in Philadelphia.

Paleski: The standard was designed for an antenna that was to be mounted 30 feet above the ground and that where the data comes that shows that this system works well.

But few people have a rooftop antenna, and without that additional height to get a strong over-the-air signal, reception has suffered. That has been especially troublesome for WPVI Channel 6, which had to quadruple its power and is still hard to receive in some areas. TV Critic and Blogger Laura Nachman says viewers are frustrated and it could hurt station ratings because people just can’t see their programming.