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Overview of DTV Transition The digital television (DTV)
transition refers to the switch from analog to digital broadcast television.
When the DTV transition is completed on June 12, 2009, all U.S. full-power
TV stations will stop broadcasting in analog format, and will transmit only
in digital instead. After that time, consumers who subscribe to pay
television services (for example: cable, satellite) will continue to receive
broadcast (“over the air”) television programs through these subscription
services. Consumers who do not have subscription TV services will have two
choices: (1) they can purchase a digital TV (either a stand alone digital TV
or separate digital tuner set-top box) or (2) they can acquire a
digital-to-analog converter box for each of their analog TVs to continue
receiving free over-the-air digital television programming. The converter
box will convert the over-the-air digital signals into signals that analog
TV sets can receive and display. Starting in 2008, a government program run
by a separate agency – the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) – will make available $40 coupons, two per household,
to help consumers pay for converter boxes. (Please note that these coupons
will expire 90 days after mailing). More information on the
digital-to-analog converter box coupon program is available online at
www.dtv2009.gov, or by calling 1-888-DTV-2009
(voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY).
Some consumers have expressed concern about how the
converter boxes will work and whether consumers will continue to receive
closed captions after the transition to digital television takes place. The
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wishes to reassure consumers that
its rules do require digital-to-analog converter boxes to pass through
closed captions. This advisory explains how consumers will be able to access
closed captions using these converter boxes.
Closed Captioning and the Digital-to-Analog Converter
Box
Closed captioning displays the audio portion of a
television program as text on the television screen, enabling people with
hearing loss and others to better access television programming. FCC rules
require DTV equipment such as converter boxes to be capable of passing
through closed captioning. The digital-to-analog converter box receives
closed caption signals and passes those closed caption signals to your TV
automatically. In addition, many converter boxes will generate captions
through the converter box itself, thus enabling you to change the way your
captions look.
How to Control Closed Captions Through Your TV
Analog TVs that are 13 inches or larger, and were
manufactured after July 1993, can display closed captions. When using any
digital-to-analog converter box on one of these TVs, you can follow the
instructions that came with your TV to turn closed captions on/off through
your TV or TV remote control, just as you always have. If you were able to
see closed captions on your TV before you got the converter box, you will
continue to see closed captions on your TV the same way after attaching the
box. As before, captions will appear as white text on a black background.
Analog TVs that are smaller than 13 inches and TVs
manufactured before July 1993, are not required to display closed captions.
If your converter box is equipped to generate closed captions itself,
however, you may be able to see closed captions on these TVs by following
the instructions below.
How to See Closed Captions Through Converter Boxes
Equipped Themselves to Generate Closed Captions
In addition to passing through closed caption signals,
many converter boxes also include the ability to take over the captioning
role that the tuner plays in your analog TV set. To determine whether your
converter box is equipped to generate captions in this way, you should refer
to the user manual that came with the converter box. If your converter box
is equipped to generate captions in this way, then follow the instructions
that came with the converter box to turn closed captions on/off via your
converter box or converter box remote control. When you access the closed
captions in this way, you also will be able to change the way your digital
captions look. The converter box will come with instructions on how to
change the caption size, font (style), caption color, background color, and
opacity. This ability to adjust your captions is something you cannot do now
with an analog television and analog captions.
What To Do if You Have Problems with Getting Captions
If you turn on the digital-to-analog converter box and
see a double row of overlapping captions, it may mean you are seeing
captions through both your TV and your digital-to-analog converter box. You
should turn off the closed captioning function either on your television or
on the converter box.
If you are able to get captions when you tune to one
station, but not another, most likely this is not a problem with your
converter box. You should contact the television station airing the program
that does not have captions.
If you are using a digital-to-analog converter box with
an analog TV set and cannot see any captions, you should contact the
manufacturer of the converter box.
Filing a Complaint with the FCC
If you have tried to resolve your problem viewing
closed captioning in any of these ways but it continues, you can file a
complaint with the FCC alleging a violation of the Television Decoder
Circuitry Act and the FCC’s implementing rules. There is no charge for
filing a complaint. If your complaint concerns the inability of your
converter box to deliver captions, you may complain directly to the FCC. If
your complaint concerns the lack of captioning on a specific program or
channel (i.e., you receive captions on some channels, but not others), you
must first complain to the programming distributor (meaning the broadcast TV
station). For more information on filing a complaint with your programming
distributor and the information to include in such complaints, see the FCC’s
closed captioning consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/closedcaption.html. If you are uncertain
where to file your complaint, contact the FCC’s Consumer Center using the
contact information provided for filing a complaint with the FCC below.
You can file your complaint using an FCC on-line
complaint form found at
esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm. You can also file your complaint with
the FCC’s Consumer Center by e-mailing
fccinfo@fcc.gov; calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice,
1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20554.
Note: On November 3, 2008, the
Commission adopted rules revising the procedures for filing closed
captioning complaints. These rules, however, will not take effect until
approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Therefore, consumers must
continue to follow the instructions for filing complaints that are contained
in this advisory until further notice. Under the new rules, consumers will
no longer be required to file complaints with the video programming
distributor. Consumers will have 60 days from the date the captioned program
aired to file a complaint either with the distributor or the Commission. If
the complaint is filed with the Commission, the Commission will forward it
to the distributor. After receiving a complaint, either directly from the
consumer or from the Commission, the distributor will have 30 days to
respond to the complaint. The Commission also adopted new rules requiring
that video programming distributors make specific contact information
available to consumers to assist consumers in contacting the distributors
about closed captioning concerns.
What to Include In Your Complaint to the FCC
The best way to provide all the information needed for
the FCC to process your complaint is to complete fully the on-line complaint
form. When you open the on-line complaint form, you will be asked a series
of questions that will take you to the particular section of the form you
need to complete. If you do not use the on-line complaint form, your
complaint, at a minimum, should indicate:
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your name, address, email address, and phone number
where you can be reached;
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whether you are filing a complaint on behalf of
another party, and, if so, the party’s name, address, email address, day
time phone number, and your relationship to the party;
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preferred format or method of response (letter,
fax, voice phone call, email, TRS, TTY, ASCII text, audio recording, or
Braille);
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that your complaint is about closed captioning for
DTV;
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the name, address, and telephone number (if known)
of the company or companies involved in your complaint;
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the date and time or other details about timing of
the lack of closed captioning;
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television station call sign (WZUE), TV channel
(13), location (city and state), and name of program involved; and
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a brief description of your complaint and the
resolution you are seeking, and a full description of the equipment or
service you are complaining about, including date of purchase, use, or
attempt to use.
For More Information
For more information about the DTV transition, visit
www.dtv.gov, and see the FCC's consumer fact sheets at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html and
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/dtvcaptions.html. You can also contact
the FCC's Consumer Center using the contact information provided for filing a
complaint.
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Federal Communications Commission · Consumer
& Governmental Affairs Bureau · 445 12th St. S.W. ·
Washington, DC 20554 |
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1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) ·
TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) · Fax: 1-866-418-0232 · www.fcc.gov/cgb/
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Federal Communications Commission
