When the U.S. House of Representatives voted to delay the shutdown of analog television signals, local Baton Rouge networks decided Monday to delay making the switch to digital broadcasts.Television stations have the option of making the switch at the original Feb. 17 date or waiting until the June deadline. WBRZ originally said they were going to make the switch in February, but Rocky Daboval, WBRZ general manager, said the station will continue to broadcast analog because of concerns that users are not ready for the switch. According to the Nielsen Co. research, 5.1 percent of American households are still not ready to make the necessary changes for digital signals.
The study was broken down by major U.S. cities, and New Orleans statistics show 84.3 percent of households are completely ready for the change. The majority of television viewers in Baton Rouge already have cable or satellite or are familiar with the changes.
 But the station is concerned about rural areas, Daboval said.
“The station feels a responsibility to make sure as many people as possible are ready for the switch to digital television,” Daboval said. Louisiana Public Broadcasting is waiting to make the switch until at least March, said Steve Graziano, LPB deputy director.LPB viewers have between nine and 30 percent of viewers using only antennas to access the broadcast, Graziano said.
The other major Baton Rouge networks are also waiting to make the switch. WAFB general manager Sandy Breland said in an e-mail the station is waiting to make the switch.
Currently televisions receive analog signals the same as AM and FM radio by using an antenna. When the switch is made, a converter must be used to switch the signal to digital on the television.Last year, when the announcement was made about the switch, National Telecommunications and Information Administration started offering $40 coupons for the converters, said Bart Forbes, NTIA spokesman.
So far, the government funded coupons have used $22.6 million of the $33.5 million funding, Forbes said.
The Advocate along with other media outlets reported NTIA ran out of funds.
“We have more money,” Forbes said. “We’ve started a waiting list.”
People on the waiting list, which started at the beginning of 2009, will receive coupons after more coupons are used, Forbes said
Henry Aleernan, owner of Baton Rouge electronic store, Alterman Audio, said he does not sell converters in his store because he doesn’t think it’s worth it for the consumers.
The converters are expensive and complicated to hook up, Aleernan said.
“Most of my consumers don’t want a converter, they want a new [digital] TV,” he said.
He said about 35 percent of his costumers buying a new television are making the switch from an older television to a digital one.Analog signals for televisions are outdated, said Shuangqing Wei, electrical and computer engineering professor. From the technology point of view the switch is necessary, but it is a costly change, he said.
The digital signals can be compressed to free up some of the crowded airwaves, Wei said.
“Digital can be more efficient,” he said. “[The airwaves] can be used for more emergency services.”
Cox Communications already receives both analog and digital signals, and consumers won’t notice the difference when the switch is made, said Will Hinson, Louisiana Cox Communications spokesman. Any satellite or cable consumers will not notice the change, he said.
“We know that there are customers who’ve started receiving our service because of the transition,” he said, explaining the company is in the process of calculating the numbers.–
Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]