As we close in on "D-Day" (February 17, 2009), you might think things are finally going swimmingly for the transition to digital television. Guess again.

Last Wednesday, Microtune (a Plano, TX-based designer/fabber of RF silicon chips and TV/radio tuners) sent a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that identified what it claimed were serious flaws with the performance of several NTIA-certified DTV converter boxes now on store shelves.

Microtune claimed that these tuners could not tune in ATSC broadcasts correctly and therefore did not comply with the NTIA specification, more formally known as Technical Appendix 1 to Part 301 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program (47 C.F.R. 301).

The company made its test results available to the NTIA, which responded on Friday (3/28) that it would review the test results and take appropriate action if required. NTIA spokesman Bart Forbes was quoted in the trade press as saying all of the converter boxes the NTIA certified were rigorously tested and passed those tests, but added that, "the question is what is on the store shelves, and that is what we will follow through on."

To add to the fun, the Community Broadcasters Association (CBA), which represents 2,600 low-power TV stations, filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on March 26, asking that the FCC immediately stop the marketing and distribution of all converter boxes that do not pass through analog (NTSC) signals.

Why is that such an issue? Because low-power TV stations are exempt from the FCC’s requirement that analog broadcasting cease on 2/17/09. So are translator TV stations, which repeat signals into geographically remote areas and number about 4,300. Ostensibly, they’re off the hook because the costs of converting to digital are just too high for these stations.

The problem is this: Once a viewer connects an NTIA converter to their TV, nothing but ATSC signals will pass through to the TV set, unless the converter box is one of six models - Digital Stream’s DX8700 and SP7700T, EchoStar’s TR-40, Magnavox’ TB-100MG9, and Philco’s TB100HH9 and TB150HH9.

In effect, that will leave low power and repeater stations out in the cold after 2/17, although a resourceful person could use a pair of RF signal splitters and a short run of coax to get around the problem. Or, the viewer could just use the TV’s AV inputs for the NTIA converter box and receive NTSC the usual way through the TV’s RF input jack.

In an ironic case of "turnabout is fair play," the CBA’s suit cited the same law that the FCC successfully used to force manufacturers to include ATSC tuners in all TV sets manufactured after July of 2006. The All-Channel Receiver Act of 1962, which was devised to help the growth of UHF television, states that "…devices that receive television signals be capable of picking up all frequencies allocated by the commission to television broadcasting."

The CEA, which originally put up resistance against the FCC tuner mandate, has long since changed sides. CEA head Gary Shapiro was quoted by the Associated Press as decrying the CBA move, calling it "…an 11th-hour litigation strategy to freeze the entire nation in analog."

Having done both my college senior thesis and a graduate school research paper on the All-Channel Act, I’d say the FCC is in a bit of a pickle right now legally. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and it will be interesting to hear what unique arguments the NTIA and FCC can put forth to keep the NTIA coupon program rolling along while holding the CBA at bay. You can be pretty certain there’ll be lots of talk in short order about First Amendment rights being infringed.

As for the converter boxes themselves, reviews continue to be mixed. No box has garnered universal acclaim yet, with reports of audio breakup, incorrect PSIP decoding and poor receiver sensitivity being posted on the Internet.

Right now, I have seven NTIA boxes in-house, three of which feature the CEA909 "smart antenna" interface for improved reception. And I’ve got a prototype smart antenna to test with those boxes (GE’s 22729, RCA’s DTA800, and a model I can’t disclose yet).

Those tests will begin today and conclude later this week, and will include some popular models of amplified and unamplified indoor antennas you can find in Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit City, and online. Look for a report on my web site (www.hdtvexpert.com) later this month. And stay tuned to Display Daily for more coverage of DTV shenanigans.

It’s only going to get worse, folks.

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