As part of the Feb. 17 transition to all-digital TV broadcasts, KARE-TV is reducing its analog signal Wednesday to what it calls “half power.”

“‘Lowering the transmitter to half-power,’ doesn’t mean that half our audience will not get the KARE-TV signal – in fact, over 98.4 percent of our over-the-air audience will still get our signal, and most of our cable and satellite viewers will not be affected,” the local NBC affiliate explains on its website. “Unfortunately, viewers who live on the far edge of KARE-TV’s coverage area could be affected.”

In an on-screen scroll during the halftime show of Sunday Night Football, KARE was unequivocal in what those affected viewers, who use a roof-top or set-top antenna to receive over-the-air TV signals, must do: get a government-subsidized analog-to-digital converter box for their analog TV, buy a new digital TV, or subscribe to a cable or satellite service.

KARE-TV, along with Twin Cities Public Television, has been at the forefront of the switch to high-def broadcasts and the digital transition among local broadcasters, but this is still a bold move more than two months before the mandated transition. The station explained the timing by saying that its engineers need to make modifications to its analog transmitter in order to meet the deadline.

In the halftime message, KARE invited concerned viewers to contact the station through its website or at 763-546-1111.

Still confused about the Feb. 17 switch to digital TV broadcasts? Best Buy is teaming up Monday with local broadcasters to answer consumers’ questions about the switch. Of course, you’ll be conveniently situated in a store that sells everything you need for the transition, too. Topics will include the three options to prepare for the transition, an explanation of how the government’s coupon program works, tips on converter box installation and, most importantly, what you need to know about antennas for good over-the-air reception (assuming you’re not just subscribing to cable or satellite, which are unaffected by the transition).

Best Buy’s in-store DTV workshop will be held Monday (Nov. 17) starting at 10 a.m. at the following locations:

Mall of America Store
340W Market
Bloomington

Roseville Store
1647 County Rd B2 W
Roseville

Eden Prairie Store
11600 Leona Drive
Eden Prairie

I’ve had DirecTV for 10 years, so I thought I wouldn’t be affected by the DTV transition. I was wrong.

It turns out that the crush of new viewers switching to DirecTV in advance of the federally mandated transition to digital television on Feb. 17 has created a huge backlog of orders for installers. (I would imagine the same is true for Dish and cable TV.) How long? It took more than four weeks for an installer to come to my house to upgrade my setup to high-def. When I asked the tech if the DTV switchover was the reason for the delay, he said yes — but not for the reason I thought, sheer numbers. He said that DirecTV is giving those new customers priority and that longtime customers who “just need upgrades” are being sent to the back of the line. The reason is obvious: DirecTV wants to cater to new customers because it knows the old customers aren’t going anywhere.

The news isn’t all bad for loyal customers like me. Normally, an upgrade to a high-def setup costs $200 for DirecTV’s HD receiver with DVR. When I ordered it, I told the customer service rep that I thought that was too high, especially for a longtime customer. She said, “You’re right. How about $19.99?” I quickly said, “Sure!” That included installation, and I got her to throw in an HD add-on programming package free for six months, instead of $5.99 per month, with the option to get it free for six more months after that. That was a decent trade-off for the inconvenience of having to wait.

UPDATE: My deal was actually better. After I wrote this, I called DirecTV to confirm the services I was offered more than a month ago because I couldn’t view the HD Extra package I was offered. The friendly rep quickly fixed that problem. Then she threw in Showtime and Starz, which total 23 movie channels (some in high-def), for free for six months. They also gave me NFL Sunday Ticket’s SuperFan package, which is required for high-def games and normally costs $100 for the season, free for the remaining half of the season. Sweet!

The digital TV transition will affect many older viewers. There are loads of stats to back this up, but I know it firsthand based on all of the phone calls I get about it. The funny folks at Fox’s Talkshow with Spike Feresten know it, too, based on the unbelievably hilarious clip they put together about it: “Forget it, old people. No more TV for you starting in 2009.” The fake PSA shows a kind, old lady completely flummoxed by the technobabble associated with the transition — “digital” this and “analog” that. She tries to microwave her DTV converter box, holds it up to her ear like a phone and dons a hard hat to climb up on the roof. The funniest bit, though, is the clip’s frequent recommendation that she go online to get answers. At one point, she asks: “Will all of this make Jack Benny come back?”

Check it out here.

I wrote about lingering issues over the DTV switchover today, which means I have received many calls and e-mails from readers with even more questions.

The biggest problem is that many people simply don’t like a change in their routine, especially when it deals with technology. (Just take a look at the comments after my article.) Take VCRs, for example. The analog tape-driven devices were mainstays in U.S. homes for decades but have essentially become obsolete. Still, longtime users are not willing to find an alternative as part of the DTV switch, coming Feb. 17. Gordon Abel of Minneapolis, who says he’s “bordering on outraged,” wrote to say:

“In the past few weeks I’ve been seeing a lot of programs about the coming switch to Digital Broadcasting. What I have yet to see addressed in all of this propaganda is the dirty little secret that a VCR will be rendered almost useless unless one can find a converter box with a multiple event timer! (So far I have only been able to find one such animal — The Digital Pal — and it’s not widely available and reviews on it have been mixed at best.) It’s time viewers are told the truth. Would you please address this issue in a column soon. People need to understand that they will no longer be able to time-shift their viewing the way they used to. As a journalist you owe it to your readers to keep them informed.”

You can still obviously record using a VCR with a DTV converter box; you just have to set the converter box to the proper channel as part of the setup. You are out of luck, though, if you want to record programs on different channels while you’re away or if you want to wtach another program at the same time. This is actually no different than how VCRs work with basic cable setups that use a cable converter box that doesn’t have a built-in DVR.

People might want to consider DVD recorders or stand-alone DVRs with built-in digital-TV tuners that can record using over-the-air antennas. My in-laws use the former and have been very happy with it, although even it is being phased out. Wal-Mart is clearancing out a Pansonic model for $140.

Finally, a few readers have pointed out that Channels 9 and 11 plan to return to those numbers on the VHF band once the switch occurs. This is the opposite of data that the NAB showed me for my write-up. Regardless, if you follow the recommendations for an antenna setup at Antenna Web, as I recommended, you should be fine.

There’s good news for the 7.4 million people waiting to redeem their converter-box coupons in advance of the switchover to digital TV on Feb. 17: Amazon.com is now selling DTV converter boxes. Since Amazon includes free shipping, it might be a good option for those having trouble finding converter boxes in stores or looking for a bigger selection. Amazon carries 10 models ranging from $60-$80 ($20-$40 after using the $40 coupon). Note the shipping times, though; some models have four- to six-week fulfillments.

But anyone going the converter-box route — instead of simply upgrading to a newer TV with a digital tuner, or getting cable or satellite — should keep in mind that the other key component of the process is to make sure you have a decent antenna setup (especially the UHF portion, which receives current DTV signals) and that it’s pointed in the right direction. Don’t be like this customer at Amazon, who left the following comment:

“The installation is confusing. It doesn’t work once you get it hooked up. I got 3 channels with my antennae cable and now the converter box can find none. I went through all the steps and scanned it several times. “No Programs Found!” is all it says. I will be returning this product to Amazon.”

There’s probably nothing wrong with the converter box. He probably just needed to redirect the UHF portion of his antenna to point directly at the broadcast tower — because with DTV, there’s either a perfect signal or nothing — or get a better antenna. When all is said and done, upgrading to a new TV might be the easiest option.

Finally, if you’re wondering where I got that 7.4 million figure, it’s part of the latest DTV statistics from the federal government. Here are its data from the converter-box coupon program, as of Sept. 10:

Approved households that have applied 14,215,538
Coupons requested 26,686,001
Coupons mailed 25,273,593
Coupons expired 7,866,676
Coupons redeemed 10,006,793
Coupons active 7,400,124
Average daily orders last week 121,876
Average daily orders last 30 days 111,577
Participating retailers/Locations 2,340/29,127

Source: The U.S. Department of Commerce’s NTIA, which manages the TV converter box coupon program. “Apply for coupons at www.DTV2009.gov or call the 24-hour toll-free hotline at 1-888-388-2009 (1-888-DTV-2009).”