La Crosse-area Packers fans lucky enough to have high-definition televisions will have to settle for a regular old picture when their team plays in the NFC championship Sunday.

That’s because the game is on Fox and local affiliate WLAX isn’t able to transmit high-definition signals yet.

Adam and Jennifer Fleis of Onalaska look over the selection of HD TV's at Best Buy. Erik Daily

The good news for viewers: The station is “very, very close” to finishing the switch, said program director Barb Quillin.

Quillin said they are waiting for some equipment to be delivered and hope to start installing it next week. They are optimistic Channel 25 could be broadcasting an HD signal in La Crosse in time for the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, which also is on Fox.

Of course, that’s only if everything arrives on time and the weather cooperates, said station manager Bob Weinstein. “It’s not as simple as plugging your TV in.”

The reason for the delay is money, Quillin said. “You do things as you can afford to do them.”

For the past five years, since other area stations started broadcasting in HD, viewers have been asking when they could get the sharper picture — especially during football season, Weinstein said.

“We want it, too,” he said. “It’s not like I don’t want to watch it.”

Digital conversion

In an effort to free up airwaves for other uses, Congress voted in 1996 to make full-power TV broadcasters switch to a digital format. The Federal Communications Commission required all small market TV stations to broadcast in digital by May 2002, but three quarters missed the deadline nationwide.

Area stations now broadcasting digitally, though they continue to send their programs over analog frequencies as well.

But come Feb. 17, 2009, they will have to quit broadcasting analog signals.

By then, most viewers won’t even notice. New TVs made since March 1 must have digital tuners, and area retailers say they long since have sold their last analog sets.

Cable subscribers don’t need to worry, since the cable companies take care of converting the signals.

But those people who still get their TV programs through antennae will have to buy a converter if they don’t have a new digital set. That’s more than 500,000 homes in Wisconsin, or nearly a quarter of households, according to Nielsen figures provided by the National Association of Broadcasters. About 11 percent of viewers in the La Crosse area get their reception over the air, well below the 23 percent statewide.

Those people, as well as those in nearly 15 million American homes where secondary sets are not hooked up to cable or satellite service, will need to buy converters, which are available locally for about $160, though the cost is expected to drop to less than $75 in the coming year. The Federal Communications Commission is offering each household two $40 vouchers to offset the price.

Bigger, sharper pictures

Though the conversion is costly for TV stations — roughly $2 million, including the cost of broadcasting parallel analog signals — digital broadcasting offers benefits, too.

Digital signals are clearer, and broadcasters can offer high-definition programming and double their offerings by splitting their digital channel.

Though broadcasters aren’t required to transmit high-definition signals, most area stations say they pass along whatever high-definition content they get from the networks because the cost isn’t significantly more and viewers expect it.

“With CBS football, if we don’t switch the high-def on right away, we get a lot of phone calls,” said Dennis McSorley, chief engineer at WKBT, which has been broadcasting digital and HD signals since 2003.

Football isn’t the only thing that’s better in high definition, but fans do appreciate the sharper images — up to four times the resolution of an analog broadcast — and the wider format, which allow them to see more of the action.

Besides Christmas, retailers say January is one of their best periods for TV sales. Dan Riemer, a home theater specialist at Best Buy, said now is a big time for HDTVs, which sell for $300 to $6,500.

“We do still see business after holidays,” said Brian Rooker, TV department manager at Wettstein’s. “How well the Packers — or Vikings — do affects that.”

Chris Hubbuch can be reached at (608) 791-8217 or chris.hubbuch@lee.net.

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