On Tuesday, December 9th at 6:30pm, the City of Manchester Digital Television Taskforce will be hosting a town hall style meeting at the Carol Rines Center, located at 1528 Elm Street. The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss the upcoming digital television switch taking place in February of 2009. Representatives from the City of Manchester's Digital Television Taskforce will be on hand, as well as WMUR and Comcast, to discuss the transition phase and answer any questions that the public might have.
On February 17thof next year, television stations will begin to broadcast exclusively in digital. If you currently are a cable subscriber then you are already prepared for the switch, but if you still receive your television signals through a traditional antenna, or “rabbit ears”, then you will have to take steps to prepare for the switch to digital. This meeting will help to instruct you on the proper and easiest way to transition from your existing analog television setup, to the new required digital system.
Our taskforce has been diligent in their efforts to make the switch as seamless as possible, but we still have several concerns. The most important of these involves getting information about the transition to the elderly community and to families where English is a second language. These groups may have limited access to information that is already being presented on the digital switch. As a community, we need to reach out to those who may not have heard about the switch, or are confused about how it may impact their ability to receive television signals.
It is important for the City of Manchester's Digital Television Taskforce to hear first hand your questions and concerns about the digital television transition taking place in February of 2009. We all have parents, grandparents, relatives and friends who may be unaware that the switch is taking place, or have questions and concerns about what they need to do to be prepared. My goal is that, come next February, all of our citizens are able to make a seamless transition from analog to digital cable, and continue to view their programming without interruption. I welcome and encourage you to come take part in Tuesday's meeting, and help make the digital television transition a flawless success in Manchester.
