The June 12 conversion to all-digital TV can be a complex issue. Want proof? In my recent write-up on Channel 45’s early switch to all-digital broadcasts, I mentioned that KTCI, Channel 17, had stopped broadcasting altogether and moved some of its programming to Channel 2’s digital bands. That was about everything I wrote. Unfortunately, that aside was way too simplistic a way to describe Channel’s 17’s convoluted status.

Fortunately, Stephen M. Usery, Twin Cities Public Television’s vice president for marketing and communications, sent an e-mail to set me straight. Here’s his explanation:

“Analog KTCI, Channel 17, is still on-the-air and (barring unforseen circumstances) will continue to broadcast until the mandatory shutoff date of June 12. The programming on the channel did change in February – we now broadcast coverage of the MN Legislature when it is in session and switch to the new tpt LIFE channel at all other times.

On the digital side, we still broadcast using the KTCI frequency and transmitter, but the two channels on that transmitter show up as channels 2.3 (tpt LIFE) and 2.4 (tpt WX, full time MNDOT weather radar). In the analog world, there was direct correspondence between call letters, frequency, and channel number (KTCI = frequency 17 = channel 17), but in the digital TV world that is not the case (KTCI = frequency 16 = channels 2.3 and 2.4.) To further complicate matters, later this year, we plan to change the frequency on which our digital KTCI channels are broadcast in order to increase their power (so KTCI = frequency xx = channels 2.3 and 2.4.) We’re working with the FCC now to identify what the new frequency will be. Over-the-air viewers will have to rescan their receivers when we do this, but the channels will still show up as 2.3 and 2.4.”

Well, that sounds simple — not. Obviously, my casual mention of Channel 17 deserved its own story. Whichever, I can’t disagree with Usery’s closing comment: “This is such a radical shift in the way TV works that almost no-one (including us) can keep it all straight!”

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 1:29 pm and is filed under DTV switchover. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.