Wilmington goes first
National News:Five months before the rest of the country, Wilmington, N.C. TV stations have switched over to their digital signal. Wire reports say that the FCC is hoping Wilimington's problems will help the rest of the country to overcome the problems faced this last Monday when the conversion took place. Elon University students answered complaint lines at local stations as part of a research project about the transition. Only 172 calls came in over a 10-hour period. Only a few of the calls were from people unaware of the change - an indication that the public education campaign has paid off. The number one issue was antenna problems and how to set them up. People were being told to adjust their antennas for better reception. But some had to be told that a converter box was still necessary in order to view the signal with their older-model TV.
The number of households in Wilmington that rely on over-the-air signal is about 8 percent - similar to that of Pittsburgh.