Survey Finds NC Aware of DTV

By Catherine M. Welch

Wilmington, NC – A new survey finds most North Carolina residents are aware of the transition to digital television.

The National Association of Broadcasters survey finds 92% know about the switch to D-TV in February. That's when television stations across the country will replace analog signals with digital ones.

Wilmington is the nation's test market, with its transition coming in September.

Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin, says so far more than 40,000 Wilmington area residents have requested coupons for converter boxes.

"And over 10,000 of them have already been redeemed, so you've got a significant number of people that are already undergoing that transition, so I think it's going very well."

Viewers who tune into over-the-air signals will need a converter box to get a picture once the digital transition kicks in.

There are some 430,000 North Carolina residents who receive over-the-air signals.