February 19, 2009
HuskyTV is ready for the switch to digital
The UW’s HuskyTV system is ready for the switch to digital television (DTV).
Beginning Feb. 17, some full-power broadcast television stations in the United States stopped broadcasting on analog airwaves and began broadcasting only in digital. Other stations may stop broadcasting analog sometime between March 14 and June 12, the final deadline for terminating analog broadcasts.
The announcement has raised many questions about DTV, converter boxes, antennas and more. But if you tune in via HuskyTV, the UW’s housing cable service, you’re set for the switch.
Engineers with UWTV, the UW’s television channel, have already enabled the campus cable system to receive and transmit both analog and digital signals so there will be no interruption of service to viewers with either analog or digital cable ready television sets. In fact, local channels 4, 5, 7, 9 and 13 are already available on HuskyTV in both digital and analog, with high-definition channels now available for those with digital cable ready TV sets.
“HuskyTV viewers who own older analog televisions don’t need to worry about installing a converter box or buying a new television set,” said UWTV engineer Tim Holmgren. “Those viewers won’t see a change in service at all. HuskyTV viewers who own newer digital-ready televisions will also receive digital programs from the five local channels in both standard and high-definition, as well as all the analog channels they receive currently.”
