In the interest of endangered native birds who nest atop Haleakala, the Hawaii Association of Broadcasters says its members will switch to digital broadcasting on Jan. 15, a month ahead of a federal deadline.
On Maui, an estimated 5 percent of households rely on over the air signals. The remainder get their TV via cable or satellite dish.
The national transition from analog signals is set for Feb. 17. The analog-to-digital switch is not the same as high-definition TV, although the digital signal will allow broadcasters to enhance high-definition images.
The switch to digital will be simultaneous with the removal of broadcasting equipment from atop Haleakala to an antenna farm at a lower elevation at Ulupalakua. That move was to have occurred this month, but Mike Rosenberg, who heads a hui of broadcasters who are paying $2 million to move, said plans have changed.
"Hawaii's early transition was prompted by consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where they recommended that Hawaii broadcasters deconstruct their present Maui analog facilities prior to mid-February to avoid the Hawaiian petrel breeding season in that area," said Rosenberg, president of KITV, which has been broadcasting over the air as Channel 12 on Maui.
By disconnecting the summit analog transmitters at noon Jan. 15, contractors will have two or three weeks to remove antennas before the endangered uau, or dark-rumped petrels, begin returning to Haleakala, where they nest in burrows around the crater.
The move to Ulupalakua is not being done for the birds but for the astronomers at Science City. The TV broadcast signals interfere with the sensitive instruments recording the images from the telescopes used by civilian and military astronomers at the summit.
The switch to transmitting digital signals will be made on Maui, the Big Island and Oahu, where the TV stations have high-power transmitters. Kauai is served by low-power translators and will not make the transition to digital over-the-air broadcasts on Jan. 15.
Televisions connected to cable, satellite dishes or other pay services are not affected by the transition and will continue to receive programs as usual after Jan. 15.
Chris Leonard, president of the Hawaii Association of Broadcasters, said the early changeover "will also serve as a model for the rest of nation as they make their transition in February."
Viewers who have newer, digital receivers will hardly notice the switch unless they are among a minority who will not be within line-of-sight of the antennas at Ulupalakua. Owners of older TVs will need to replace them or to purchase a converter that will adapt the digital signals to older analog televisions.
Rosenberg said records indicate Hawaii residents are procrastinating about acquiring the converter boxes. They shouldn't, he said, because it takes awhile for them to be sent.
People can order converter boxes any time, he said. In ordering the switch by broadcasters, the Federal Communications Commission also is issuing coupons that reduce the cost of a converter by $40.
To learn more, visit www.HawaiiGoesDigital.com. The $40 coupons can be obtained by calling (888) DTV-2009 or at www.dtv2009.gov.
The converter box issue is separate from the line-of-sight issue. TV signals are blocked by terrain, and the Ulupalakua antenna farm will not cover as much ground as the summit antennas.
Rosenberg says television viewers most affected by the move will not be on Maui but in the windward valleys of Oahu, where over-the-air antennas can receive signals from the Haleakala summit but are blocked by the mountains from broadcast signals from Central Oahu.
In Maui County, receivers depending on antennas in Kaunakakai on Molokai and in Haiku, Makawao and Kula may not get the Ulupalakua signal.
In general, Rosenberg said, if you cannot see Ulupalakua, you may be cut off. The numbers expected to be cut off will be "very small," he said.
Based on engineering surveys of the areas affected, viewers in the Kula area may be the most affected by relocating the broadcast transmitters to the lower elevation. Based on the survey of where individuals are located, an estimated 890 people in Kula would no longer have an over-the-air signal.
The survey also estimates the change will affect 474 people on Molokai, 73 in Haiku and 26 in Makawao - although the survey did not determine if the individuals likely to be affected already have cable or a satellite receiver.
* Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.
This story includes a correction from the original published on Oct. 16, 2008, reflecting the correct switchover time to digital television broadcasting on Maui.
