DIGITAL KOCE
About Digital TVAll television stations must convert to digital format or go off the air. Stations must also support the current analog format until 2006 or until 85% of households have digital equipment. All public television stations including KOCE must meet a federally mandated deadline of May 2003 to begin broadcasting in digital format.Imagine watching the morning edition of Real Orange on KOCE in one room while your children watch Arthur, also on KOCE, in another room. Or, how about watching a National Geographic Special with the family, while your teenager downloads corresponding articles simultaneously on your computer for a school report? How about having local concerts and art events at your fingertips? With the power of Digital Television (DTV), all of these scenarios will become a reality on KOCE. DTV will give KOCE the power to reach more people in more ways than any other medium, including the Internet. Public TV has always impacted our viewers visually, emotionally, intellectually - now, with DTV, we add the power of interactivity.
DTV is not just a fad. The DTV conversion has been mandated by the U.S. Congress.
Of course, this adds considerably to KOCE's equipment and operating cost, since converting to DTV means the purchase of digital studio and broadcast equipment, as well as a new digital transmitter. We will, however, be able to bring you what was just a few years ago an unimaginable television programming service. What the conversion means to you is greatly expanded and enhanced service.
DTV will bring us all a whole new way of producing and watching "television." There will be new TV sets in our future, new ways to watch TV, new TV lingo to learn.
This newsletter provides information on the impending digital transformation, how it will affect you, and how your public television station KOCE is making the transition to a digital future. For more information, log onto http://www.pbs.org/digitaltv/.
Digital KOCE's Dual Focus: Education + Community
For the last several years, the staff at KOCE has worked diligently to respond to the Federal government's mandate that public television stations begin broadcasting via digital technology by the year 2003. This costly digital transition presents great challenges, but the benefits are even greater.
Digital technology will enable KOCE-TV to compress its signal and concurrently broadcast multiple television channels as well as interactive and text data. The station will be able to dramatically expand its educational service while also becoming the broadcast voice of the region.
To successfully transition the station, KOCE will pursue the following strategy: be live, be local, be a portal, and create content. A KOCE -TV that is often live and hyper-local can serve the needs of Orange County's nearly three million citizens whose issues and events are largely ignored by Los Angeles-based television stations.
A KOCE portal will serve as an interactive gateway to educational resources and content, local community participation, local non-profit support and participation, cultural and arts information and events, business news and newsmakers, and more.
A KOCE that creates content will produce local and national programs complete with supporting textual data that educates and entertains viewers both locally, nationally and internationally. Without a doubt, the digital future is clearer, brighter and much more exciting than the analog present.
