Analog viewers lose Faith Channel [Louisville Courier-Journal]
Over the weekend, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported on two channel changes - one that has already happened and one forthcoming - that involve the migration of analog channels to digital. The Faith Channel was changed to a digital signal after working with us to accomplish the conversion. In the words of Reed Yadon, the Faith Channel's general manager:
"With the competition being what it is for viewers, (we felt) we needed to have the best technical presentation that we could," Yadon said. "At some point, analog is going away anyhow." By moving the channel to digital, 30 percent of our subscribers who subscribe only to analog service need an option to receive the Faith Channel. For those subscribers, Insight is offering, for one year, a specially programmed set-top digital converter that will allow analog subscribers to continue to view the Faith Channel. Analog customers with a digital television can receive the Faith Channel by performing a channel reset on their TV.
In addition to the Faith Channel, Insight will be converting Univision, the Spanish-language channel, to digital on Wednesday of this week with the same opportunities available for analog customers who wish to continue to receive the network.
These changes are not related to the current broadcasting digital transition. That's the ongoing transition of broadcast television stations to digital, which is ongoing until June 12th of this year. The digital migration that Insight is performing will allow us to free up bandwidth that is currently being used by analog channels. By reclaiming that bandwidth, we can offer our subscribers enhanced programming options like more standard and high definition video channels and faster cable broadband speeds. The bandwidth that one analog channel takes up can be replaced by up to a dozen standard digital signals.
These types of changes will continue to be made on cable systems throughout the country as the cable industry proceeds with its own digital transition, unrelated to the broadcast transition that is now scheduled for completion on June 12.
Does this mean we can expect a follow-up announcement of Insight planning to add more HD channels? Well I'm hoping.
Posted by: CableTech Student | Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 02:27 PM