Well, KWTV's analog is now off...

[Joe Kimball]

...and just like that. Right after a Closed-Captioning advertisement, the signal immediately turned into snow before the CBS promo continued on the cable feed. Subsequent attempts to scan for the channel on my old handheld TV proved futile, as it passed right by. I was thinking there'd be a bit more pomp than the crawl over the past while.

[OKCisOK4me]

Was it last night at midnight? Or tonight at midnight?? I want to watch the 4.000 channel on my HDTV turn to snow!

[08hybridok]

Got this email this morning:
http://www.newsok.com/article/3346392

At 1 p.m. today, the digital age officially begins for several Oklahoma City television stations.

KWTV-9, OETA-13 and KAUT-43 plan to switch off their analog transmitters at that time. KOKH-25 and KOCB-34 will go digital at midnight.

Television sets not connected to a cable or satellite service or without a digital tuner or converter box won’t be able to tune to those stations.

KFOR-4, KOCO-5 and KSBI-52 plan to continue to broadcast in analog. Congress recently extended the deadline for making the digital switch to June 12, so the stations have to make the switch by then. But about 600 stations nationally are expected to make the switch this week.

Several Oklahoma City stations plan to operate phone banks to answer telephone inquiries.

"I’m sure that we’re going to get some calls,” said David Griffin, president of Griffin Communications, whose three TV stations — KWTV-9 and Tulsa’s KOTV-6 and KQCW-19 — are all going digital. "I wish KFOR and KOCO were going on the same day. I think it would be easier for the consumer.”

Some viewers have complained about the long wait in receiving government-issued $40 coupons for digital converter boxes.

Griffin said he just got his last week after a six-week wait.

Steve Bottkol, director of engineering for KOKH-25 and KOCB-34, said the stations will not shut off the analog signal entirely for a couple of weeks, but will provide information on analog on what viewers need to do to receive the digital signal.

OETA’s 15 translators also will continue to operate in analog until the fall. Bill Thrash, OETA station manager, said translators are a different category from transmitters.

As of two weeks ago, Nielsen reported that only 3 percent of viewers in the Oklahoma City area, or about 20,000 homes, were not prepared for the switch.

Personally I thing it's confusing. Tell people for months (years) today is the day, yet 1/2 the stations will continue to operate. I know a few older people that barely get the digital switch at all, now they'll be like why do some work, some don't??

[drumsncode]

They haven't stressed enough that you have to rescan for channels, even though you might already have a working converter box. I had to walk my mother through it today over the phone. I can only imagine the phone calls the stations will be getting!

[TaoMaas]

I can only imagine the phone calls the stations will be getting!

I think I would have at least waited until the soap operas were over, if I were them. lol

[TaoMaas]

By Soap Opera, are you talking about Obamas speach regarding his Spending Package that's falsely being called a Stimulus Package.

Why, is that what's on? I'm not near a tv so I don't know. If it is, then screw it...make the switch, because you're going to get angry callers anyway.

[db411]

I was a little disappointed that KWTV and KETA did not do anything for their sign off. I recorded KAUT and you can view the final minutes here:
KAUTsignoff video by db411 - Photobucket Nothing special really but it was better than just static. Maybe KFOR, KOCO, or KSBI will be a bit more creative.