Jun 12, 2009 5:17 pm US/Central
Some Viewers Get CBS 2's Help With DTV Changeover
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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With a little help from CBS 2, Chicagoan Sharon Ritzert was able to successfully make the switch to digital television.
CBS
In the several hours since the switch to digital television, by most accounts things seem to be going OK.
If you have satellite or cable, you didn't have to take any special action, but those of you receiving a signal from an antenna had to hook up a new converter box to your set. CBS 2 operators were standing by most of the day to help troubleshoot viewer problems.
Some of the viewers even got an extreme makeover: digital edition.
Why are these people smiling? Because after confusing converter-box and antenna moments they have a clearer high-definition picture, a bit sharper and crisper than what they were used to.
It started with a call to our help line and ended with a visit from our trouble-shooting team.
Sharon Ritzert's story jumped out because it was unique.
The distorted picture plagued her older living room console and even the newer set in the kitchen. What's more, for her kitchen TV, "If I turned on the light so I could see what I was eating, Channel 2 would disappear," she said.
In walked CBS 2 engineer Tom Pawalko, who re-scanned Sharon's converter boxes and pointed out the new digital signal isn't distorted by nearby electrical currents -- in Sharon's case, the kitchen light.
"Since last fall I've been eating in the dark so I can watch Channel 2," Sharon said.
Just up the road in Rogers Park we paid a visit to Rosa Nolano.
"I was worried I wasn't going to get Channel 2," she said.
"Scan and scan again, this is the key," says camera crew member Lana Hinshaw-Klann, who went along on the service calls.
In Rosa's case, to even get the scan started, we had to play with the rabbit ears. Remember, you might, too, in order to get the new high-definition signal.
"It wouldn't come in until you guys came, so thanks a lot," Nolano said.
Charles Foster grew up in Chicago and has been a Channel 2 viewer all his life. "I wake up in the morning with Channel 2 news. And evenings I look at the news," he said.
Before the switch to digital at noon, Foster saw CBS 2 perfectly, but after the transition, it wasn't coming in clear. After being assisted by Tom Schnecke, vice president and director of broadcast operations and engineering, Foster said, "I feel great. I can see all my stories tonight, this evening -- prime time."
Foster's neighbor, Maggie Williams, saw us in the building and wanted help. Fifteen minutes later, she was watching Channel 2.
We can't stress enough how important it is to scan and rescan to get the signal clear. Also, high-tech digital signals don't mean you don't have to play with the rabbit ears.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole and Suzanne Le Mignot contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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