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Thursday, February 3, 2011

February 2011 RMT

ARCS Television successfully received and relayed the RMT at 0752. 

Audio, though intelligible, was distorted and partially obscured by static.  It was not the correct audio for this test, a problem that has been traced to the equipment at the site responsible for generating this month's test.  Information in the video crawl generated by the ARCS equipment was correct as to time and type of test.  EOM tones from the originator were delayed, causing some decoders to timeout, as shown on the tape from APBI's confidence decoder.  The ARCS decoder at the uplink did not abort and stayed connected until EOM tones were relayed (they are heard at the end of video).  




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ARCS, Digital Television, and The Future


You have probably heard a lot about Digital Television and the upcoming February deadline when “all TV must be digital”. Well, not exactly. Even after February 2009, ARCS will still be “Analog” and your current TV will work just the same way it does now. You won’t need to make any changes to keep watching because ARCS is a “low-power” television system that is not required by the FCC to convert to digital at this time.

The FCC has required some 1,700 full-power stations nationwide to meet this conversion deadline. However there are nearly 7,000 low-power transmitters across the USA, just like ARCS, which are not yet required to convert. Most of these transmitters serve viewers in rural communities.

ARCS probably will convert to digital in the next three to five years, so eventually you will need to do something. One thing you can do right now is check out the TV Converter Box Coupon Program. Created by Congress, this program allows households to get up to two coupons, each worth $40, for use in obtaining a box that will convert over-the-air digital television signals for viewing on an analog television set. Even though you won’t need a converter to watch ARCS in the near term, you can still get your coupons, use them to purchase converters at the reduced cost, and then keep them for future use. You can find out more at http://www.dtv2009.gov/ or by calling toll free, 888-388-2009.

Meanwhile we continue to work with volunteers across the state, in more than 230 communities, to repair and maintain the ARCS system.

Would you like to help keep ARCS going in your community? Send an email to arcstv@gmail.com.