But if you are still having trouble receiving 6ABC or other channels, here is some information to help you understand the changes, and troubleshoot any problems. 6abc will continue to answer your DTV Inquiry emails and phone calls, however the large number of correspondences we've received may prevent an immediate personalized response.
VIDEO: DTV transition difficulties
RELATED: DTV Transition Help
WILL ADDING AN AMPLIFIER IMPROVE THE RANGE OF MY ANTENNA?
Amplifiers can only amplify the signal they receive, so they will not enhance your antenna's reception, amplifiers only make up for signal loss from long cable lengths or splitters. If you have cable lengths over 70 ft or if you are splitting to multiple TV's an amplifier would improve your signal strength to overcome any signal loss.
WHAT TYPE OF CABLE DO I NEED TO CONNECT MY ANTENNA?
We recommend quad shielded RG6 coax cable. Quad shielded cable has about the same signal loss per foot as regular RG6, but eliminates a lot of the interferences that can hurt your reception. If you are running RG59, then it's probably over 15 years old and should be replaced.
I THOUGHT THEY WERE GETTING RID OF VHF ALL TOGETHER?
Most areas of the country will still have at least one VHF station after the digital transition, at least for now. In most areas of the country, all broadcasts will use channels 7-51.
VHF broadcasting will be substantially reduced with the digital transition. Low band VHF, channels 2-6, will be completely eliminated in most areas of the country. Most areas of the country will still have some stations that will broadcast in high band VHF, channels 7-13. The UHF range will be reduced to channels 14-51.
FILING A COMPLAINT
Should you wish to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, here is some infomation that will be helpful:
- ONLINE: Follow this link to fill out an online complaint form for the FCC
- PHONE: The FCC has people available to talk Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to answer your questions and assist you in filing a complaint. Call toll-free at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL- FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY.
For all other methods, you'll need to print out and fill out this official FCC Complaint Form.
- MAIL: You can send a letter to the FCC at the following address
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Complaints
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554 - FAX: The completed complaint form may be faxed toll-free to: 1-866-418-0232. Be sure to include all required information to prevent delay in the processing of your complaint.
- EMAIL: You may email your completed complaint form and supporting documents to fccinfo@fcc.gov
WHY ARE WE SWITCHING TO DTV?
An important benefit of the switch to all-digital broadcasting is that it will free up parts of the valuable broadcast spectrum for public safety communications (such as police, fire departments, and rescue squads). Also, some of the spectrum will be auctioned to companies that will be able to provide consumers with more advanced wireless services (such as wireless broadband).
Consumers also benefit because digital broadcasting allows stations to offer improved picture and sound quality, and digital is much more efficient than analog. For example, rather than being limited to providing one analog program, a broadcaster is able to offer a super sharp "high definition" (HD) digital program or multiple "standard definition" (SD) digital programs simultaneously through a process called "multicasting." Multicasting allows broadcast stations to offer several channels of digital programming at the same time, using the same amount of spectrum required for one analog program. So, for example, while a station broadcasting in analog on channel 7 is only able to offer viewers one program, a station broadcasting in digital on channel 7 can offer viewers one digital program on channel 7-1, a second digital program on channel 7-2, a third digital program on channel 7-3, and so on. This means more programming choices for viewers. Further, DTV can provide interactive video and data services that are not possible with analog technology.