The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 53

I THE GAZETTE montrealgazette.com SATURDAY, AUGUST 27,2011 Broadcasters 1 slowly getting the signal Extensions and exceptions acknowledge costs of switching to digital transmitters DARIO AYALA THE GAZETTE The television and radio antenna tower on Mount Royal: the CRTC has set Aug. 31 as the deadline for television stations in major cities to convert to digital. The freed-up frequencies will be auctioned off to wireless providers. How to connect a digital converter to your analog TV Q. would impose the deadline only in certain markets -capital cities or those with large populations.

In Quebec, there are eight such markets: Montreal, Quebec City, Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Trois Rivieres, Riviere du Loup, Saguenay and Rouyn NorandaVal d'Or. Stations outside these markets can keep transmitting in analog, provided they're using frequencies that won't be auctioned off (channels 52-69). The CRTC has not yet set a deadline for small-market stations to switch to digital. The concessions didn't stop there. In March, the CRTC removed territorial capitals from the list of mandatory markets when it became clear the broadcasters would rather shut them down than convert them to digital.

And on Aug. 18, with less than two weeks to the deadline, the CRTC allowed CBCRadio-Canada to keep 21 retransmitters in mandatory markets running for another year. This includes CBC stations in Quebec City, Saguenay, Sherbrooke outdoor) Connect the ditigal-to-analog converter box to the TV and the antenna. The converter will come with its own remote, which will be used to change channels. g) Set your TV to Channel 3 or 4 or set it to "video." to digital television Small-market stations in remote areas probably won't ever convert to digital.

has prioritized converting specialty channels like Space into HD first, CTV Montreal doesn't expect to have an HD newscast for another 12-24 months, Bas-tiensaid. Global has already switched its transmitters in Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke. The Global Montreal newscast produced out of Vancouver but with anchors and reporters in Montreal has only its weather reports in HD, since those are done in Toronto. Once it has new field cameras, new edit suites and a faster data connection, it should be all HD. "We are optimistic that our newscast will be produced in HD by the end of the year," said Dervla Kelly, senior director of communications for parent company Shaw Media.

CBC Montreal has had a digital transmitter since 2005, and its newscast has been fully HD since 2009. All four French networks have also been fully HD for sometime. The ninth station, the multicultural station Metro 14 (formerly CJNT), will swap its transmitters and retune its antenna on Saturday. Wayne Rabishaw, broadcast operations manager for parent company Channel Zero, said its coverage area is expected to almost double (though that's not saying much, since it's tiny right now). Global Montreal also expects a significant coverage boost, while CBC and CTV expect their range to be about the same as it is now.

That's not much comfort to the Montrealers who have to shell out money to buy new TVs or digital con- THE GAZETTE ception after the permanent transmitters are in place on Sept. 1, an outdoor or high-gain antenna could help. It might also allow you to get the American border stations, which have been digital-only since 2009. The biggest difference between analog and digital in terms of reception is that digital is all-or-nothing. If you get the signal, it will be crystal clear.

If you don't, you won't see anything at all. If you're on the fringes and the signal goes in and out, you'll see the picture freeze or become blocky and the audio will cut out. A footnote: Radio listeners may have noticed that audio from CBC television can be heard at 87.7FM. This is actually not an FM radio frequency, but the audio frequency for television Channel 6, which uses the same technology as FM radio. When CBC Montreal turns off its analog transmitter, this signal will disappear.

For more information on the digital TV transition, visit the government's website at digitaltv.gc.ca. CONVERSION CONVERSATION Is the switch to digital TV causing chaos in your home? Tell us about your experience in the comments section on this story online, at montrealgaietts.comirti STEVE FACUY THE GAZETTE Canal Savoir insists it would have made the deadline if it weren't for the asbestos and the baby peregrine falcons. The educational TV station on Channel 29 is the smallest of nine over-the-air television stations in Montreal, all of whom have been given a deadline of Aug. 31 to convert their transmitters to digital from analog. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which regulates broadcasting in Canada, is requiring all television broadcasters in major cities to convert to digital more than two years after the United States mandated the same change for all its stations as part of a plan that will free up frequencies to be auctioned off to wireless providers.

The frequencies, which correspond to TV channels 52-69, are expected to sell for about $4 billion. Despite having had four years to prepare, and despite the clearer high-definition picture and sound these digital transmitters provide, Canada's broadcasters haven't been very enthusiastic about the change. Many have asked for extensions or exceptions because of the prohibitive cost of installing the new transmitters. With less than 10 per cent of Canadian television viewers still using antennas, and many of them not yet equipped to receive digital signals, the cost of digital transmitters becomes even less justifiable. Many broadcasters are waiting until the last minute to make the switch.

Canal Savoir is largely run by volunteers and has a yearly budget of only $1.2 million, but general manager Sylvie Godbout said the station has been putting money aside for three years and the delay isn't because of a lack of money Its transmitter is in the tower at the heart of the Universite de Montreal campus, but it's inaccessible this month because the university is removing asbestos on the 21st floor. In July, the problem was the recent birth of four peregrine falcons whose nest is on the tower. Named Tawodi, Rick, Sole and Al-tius, all male, they were hatched in May (there's video on their blog at fauconsudem.blogspot. com) and could not be disturbed while still in their infancy For these reasons, construction work, which includes strengthening the support for the TV antenna, had to be delayed until September. Godbout said they expect the new transmitter to be running by the end of September, a month before the end of the extension "graciously" given by the CRTC.

The deadline doesn't come out of nowhere. The CRTC set it back in 2007 after concluding that the market wasn't moving fast enough on its own. After a report concluded that converting all of Canada's 738 analog TV transmitters to digital would cost more than $100 million (CBCRadio-Canada and CTV put the figure higher, saying it would cost them $400 million each), the CRTC decided in 2009 that it Your guide STEVE FACUY THE GAZETTE If you get your television service through a cable or satellite company, the digital transition doesn't affect you. Your service will continue uninterrupted and there's no need to buy or change anything. If you have a television set with a digital tuner built-in, you're also good to go.

Most HDTVs built in the past five years have such a tuner. If you're unsure, check the manual or manufacturer's website for mention of "digital tuner" or "ATSC tuner." If you're already picking up HD signals over the air, your TV is ready If you have an analog television set (most non-HD TVs and just about anything built before 2000) and you hook it up to an indoor or outdoor antenna, your local channels are soon going to go dark (you might have noticed that the American channels and Global Montreal already have). You'll need to either buy a new TV, subscribe to cable or satellite service, or buy a converter. A digital-to-analog converter is a small box that is connected between the TV and the antenna. You can buy one at electronics stores like Future Shop or The Source for $50 to $100.

(The United States offered a coupon program to offset the cost of these boxes in 2009, but Canada isn't following suit.) The converter box comes with its own remote, which CBC's Steven Cuiton and Trois-Rivieres, which rebroadcast CBC Montreal and produce no original programming. CBC vice-president and chief regulatory officer Steven Guiton said last week the public broadcaster's plan is "to keep the analog going as much as we can a few years maybe." This will probably mean asking for a second extension when the first one runs out on Aug. 31, 2012, Guiton said. For small-market stations, many in remote regions like Chibougamau and lies de la Madeleine, Guiton doesn't expect they will ever be converted to digital. "We'll never be able to put the same footprint that exists in analog," he said.

Instead, other technologies will be used to get programming to remote regions. For CTV Montreal, which has only one transmitter in Quebec on the huge Mount 1 1 1 selects between channels. The box converts the digital signals into analog ones and sends them to your TV on Channel 3 or 4 or via audiovisual cables (whichever you prefer). Because your TV is still analog, you won't get HD, but the image will be similar to what you'd get with cable or satellite service. Before they can show you your digital channels, new TVs and converter boxes have to perform a channel scan to find them.

Check the manual for the procedure. This should need to be done only once (though you may have to do it again after Sept. 1 when some transmitters change channels, or if the first scan misses a station because it can't hear it). Although most transmitters are moving to new channels, they should appear on your TV or converter box under their old channel numbers. CBC will appear as 6.1, CTV as 12.1, etc.

(Global is the exception, it's at 15.1). The point-one refers to the subchannel. American networks offer alternative programming like 24-hour weather or alternative networks on subchannels, but so far this technology isn't being used in Canada. Though all the "HD" antennas for sale in stores might give you the impression that you have to chuck your rabbit ears, that's not necessarily true. A simple antenna could be more than enough to capture local stations.

If you're having trouble getting re a temporary digital channel STEVE FAGUY if JjJ "We are optimistic that our newscast will be produced in HD by the end of the year." Dervla Kelly of Shaw Media Montreal TV stations mk IPE A Analog TV channel Temporary digital channel (before Sept. 1) Permanent digital channel (after Sept. 1) Virtual digital channel (appears this way on TV screens) verters (electronics retailer Future Shop wouldn't give any hard numbers, but said sales of digital converters "are exceeding Those with less money are more likely not to have cable or satellite service, and unlike the U.S., which provided coupons for digital converters, the Canadian government is not providing any financial assistance to broadcasters or consumers to make this transition. It "wasn't deemed necessary" because of the small number of people affected, said Chaouki Dakdouki, director of distribution and access policy for the Department of Canadian Heritage. sfaguy montrealgazette.com Royal antenna tower, everything is on schedule.

"We're ready to hit the button," said general manager Don Bastien. At 12:05 a.m. on Sept. 1, just after the late newscast ends, CFCF-TV which has been broadcasting in analog on Channel 12 since 1961, goes off the air for good, and a digital transmitter will replace it on the same channel. While the transmitter will be high definition and carry HD programming, CTV's flagship newscast won't be making the switch to HD soon.

The station is building an "HD-ready" studio, set to launch Sept 6 at noon, but replacing studio cameras, field cameras and editing and control systems is a much more elaborate and expensive proposition. Because Bell Media Callsign Name A Digital transmitter site Transition date CBFT Radio-Canada 2 19 19 2.1 Mount Royal tower Aug. 31 CBMT CBC 6 20 21 6.1 Mount Royal tower Aug. 31 CFTM TVA ,10 NA 10 10.1 Mount Royal tower 12 a.m. Sept.

1 CFCF CTV 12 51 12 12.1 Mount Royal tower 12:05 a.m. Sept. 1 CIVM Tele-Quebec 17 27 26 17.1 Olympic Stadium 12 a.m. Sept. 1 CFTU Canal Savoir 29 NA 29 29.1 Universite de Montreal by Sept.

30 CFJP 35 42 35 35.1 Sherbrooke St. Aug. 29-30 CKMI-1 Global 46 NA 15 15.1 Mount Royal tower Aug. 13-17 CJNT Metro 14 62 NA 49 62.1 near Mount Royal tower Aug. 27 Station was assigned, but never used, 1.