Can Cincinnati do for HDTV what it did for color TV?

The National Association of Broadcasters and local TV stations are launching a seven-week campaign Monday to promote digital TV and the sale of HDTVs in Cincinnati, which was dubbed "Color Town U.S.A." in the 1960s for its lead in selling color sets.

"There's a lot of history here," says John Orlando, NAB vice president.

And there's a lot of digital TV broadcasting in Cincinnati, which "is farther ahead than most markets," says Chris Sehring, WKRC-TV (Channel 12) general manager.

Channels 5, 9, 12, 19 and 48 all broadcast digital signals - and soon Channel 64 will - though most people are unaware of them. So Mr. Orlando and TV managers will declare Cincinnati a "Digital TV zone," the first in Ohio, at a 10 a.m. Monday press conference at Cincinnati Museum Center. They will announce locations for public HDTV demonstrations, in addition to promoting the TV ads.

DIGITAL FAQs

Question: What is digital TV?   Answer: Digital TV is the new broadcasting format that enables stations to broadcast movie-quality pictures and CD-quality sound in high-definition television (the 16-by-9 ratio wide-screen format), or to simulcast three or more standard-definition (4-by-3 ratio) programs at once (called "multicasting").   Q: Will consumers pay to receive digital TV?   A: No. Digital TV signals will come free through the air.   Q: How can I get digital programs?   A: Over-the-air from local stations; by cable; or by satellite dish.   Q: Is every digital TV set a HDTV set?   A: No. Digital TVs come in many types and sizes. Most digital TVs require a separate set-top digital tuner box to receive digital broadcasts. For true HDTV, the picture must have 1,080 lines of resolution.   Q: Will my current analog set get digital TV?   A: Only if you buy a digital tuner decoder box.

Digital TV is the new format mandated by the Federal Communications Commission. All TV stations have to convert from analog to digital service by 2006. Consumers will have to buy digital TVs, or digital converters, when the 50-year-old analog TV signals go away sometime after that date.

Digital provides movie-quality pictures and CD-quality sound. It also allows stations to "multicast" - to broadcast multiple DTV channels at once - or to broadcast a single program in 16-by-9 ratio high-definition TV. Think of HDTV as the difference between looking at a Polaroid or a post card.

"The local Cincinnati broadcasters are anxious to promote their efforts, to let consumers know what's out there," says Mr. Orlando of the NAB, which has conducted similar promotional campaigns in Houston, Indianapolis and Portland, Ore. TV stations have invested more than $3 million each in new digital equipment, he says.

During the peak TV buying season - Christmas through the Super Bowl - local stations want to advertise the new format and answer viewers' questions about HDTV.

"We really want to try to clear up the confusion," Mr. Sehring says. "I've heard people ask: What is digital TV? What can it do?"

Demand less than predicted

The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that 2.5 million "digital TV products" will be bought by consumers this year. But that figure lumps together wide screen HDTVs with digital TV monitors that need additional digital tuner boxes to receive DTV.

Digital demand has been slower than some predicted as consumers and broadcasters wait for the other group to make a move. Stations and networks have been reluctant to add HDTV programming because so few viewers have HDTV receivers; consumers have been reluctant to spend thousands of dollars on a HDTV set that wouldn't get much HDTV programming.

Prices have dropped, allowing a viewer to purchase a "an entry-level HDTV set for about $1,000," Mr. Orlando says. When HDTV was introduced in 1998, sets ranged from $3,000 to $10,000. The average digital TV price has dropped by half since 1998, from $3,497 to $1,733, the CEA says.

Promoting HDTV sports

More HDTV programs fill the air each month. All CBS' prime-time series are broadcast in HDTV, plus CBS coverage of the Masters Golf Tournament, the NCAA men's basketball tournament and some college football games.

ABC plans to do the Super Bowl in HDTV on Jan. 26, in addition to more than a dozen prime-time series. NBC airs The Tonight Show and eight series in HDTV.

As many as 15,000 HDTV sets already could be in Tristate homes, says Joe Martinelli, WCPO-TV (Channel 9) chief engineer. Jack Dominic, senior vice president and COO for WCET-TV (Channel 48), credits Time Warner cable with boosting the new format by providing digital cable HDTV converter boxes for the same fee as its digital cable box. Time Warner has agreements with Channels 5, 9 and 12 to carry their HDTV signals.

"If people are interested in digital, we're interested in being their HDTV provider," says Virgil Reed, Time Warner Cincinnati division president.

Lots of confusion

NAB officials are quick to point out that some of consumers' confusion comes from "digital cable" service. "Digital cable" is not HDTV; it is a description on how those channels are transferred across cable wires.

In addition to the commercial stations' on-air NAB campaign, Channel 48 plans a series of HDTV question-and-answer meetings for the public next year.

"This is something we're doing because we just think we should," says Colleen Harris, Channel 48 marketing manager. "We're trying to position ourselves as the neutral place to get information."

For five years, TV executives have been waiting for HDTV to catch on, and 2003 could be the year. Mr. Martinelli says he wants to convince sports bars to show Super Bowl XXXVII on HDTVs.

"I want to generate some interest with businesses out there. The people I've talked who have seen HDTV, go crazy over it," he says.

He predicts Cincinnati again will be a leader in TV technology. Already many Dayton residents have discovered that Cincinnati is more advanced in HDTV, because Cincinnati's digital signals "saturate Dayton," Mr. Martinelli says. "Some people question whether HDTV will be here by 2006, but I know it will be here," Mr. Martinelli says. "Cincinnati absolutely will be high-definition by 2006."

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com