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September 1, 2011
Last night while you slept, a digital wave swept across Canada. It barely caused
a ripple in Kamloops. At midnight on August 31, as mandated by the CRTC, a
window of opportunity opened for millions of TV viewers.
Some Kamloopsians got a hint that something was happening in a full page ad from
Telus in last Thursday's Kamloops Daily News. "On August 31, the CRTC is
mandating that all broadcasters switch from and analog to a digital signal.
Which means, if you still want to enjoy your favourite TV programs, you'll have
to switch to digital too."
Despite the urgency suggested in the ad, nothing had to be done. It's business
as usual in Kamloops. When you turn on your TV today, regardless of how you
receive the signal, it will look exactly the same as yesterday.
Not so for big city dwellers. They have the opportunity of saving hundreds of
dollars a year by switching to free over-the-air TV.
Even Canadians in small cities will benefit if they are close to the U.S. border
or big cities. Michael Snider of Ajax, Ontario, saved $80 a month in cable fees
by simply putting up a roof-top antenna. Now he receives 24 high definition
channels and about 50 standard channels from Buffalo, Toronto and Hamilton. Ajax
is has the same population same as Kamloops.
Many of those 50 standard channels will convert to HD. Some, like CBC analog
transmitters, have been given a reprieve. CBC was supposed to shut down old
transmitters but the CRTC allowed them to transmit until 2012. Don't worry about
the CBC transmitter in Kamloops shutting down because we don't have one. And
don't worry about switching to digital to watch CFJC because they are not.
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Citizens of the small city Wilmington, North Carolina, were thrilled three
years ago when they became the first U.S. city to switch to digital.
Wilmington, with the same population of Kamloops, was picked as a test city
for the new technology.
It could have happened here. The Canadian Media Guild in cooperation with
the local lobby group Save Our CBC Kamloops (of which I am a member)
proposed that Kamloops become a test site for digital TV but the proposal
was virtually ignored. Like many other small centres, the CRTC left Kamloops
with few options but to pay for TV.
What's good for big cities is apparently not good for small ones. Instead of
following the U.S. lead, the CRTC caved in to political and corporate
pressure to leave us in the dark.
Elsewhere, antennas are popping up across the land but these are not your
father's rabbit ears. Homeowners are putting up all kinds of antennas and
not just those who live near the U.S. border. Peter Warner, an electrical
engineer in Calgary, now has four antennas on his roof that pick up all the
local stations. "It was really great getting the Olympics HD," he told the
Globe and Mail, "The images are incredible." If you don't want to climb on
the roof, professional installation is available.
It doesn't have to be this way. Kamloops could follow the lead of small
communities across Canada they are putting up their own transmitters. Places
like Valemount, B.C., where a community-owned transmitter broadcasts six TV
channels for about $40 per household per year. New digital technology would
allow all six to be broadcast on one channel. They belong to the Canadian
Association of Community TV Users and Stations (CACTUS).
Kamloopsians don't have to be fleeced like sheep by dishing out big bucks
for high quality TV. I think you get the picture.
David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at
dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca
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