Television Signals

On a recent winter night, while neighbors strung their Baldwin Park homes with Christmas lights, the Lams and their three children sat in front of a television set with rabbit ears sprouting out of the top. Wait a second -- rabbit ears? Is this 1950? No, it's almost 2010, and the Lams are a modern Los Angeles family that, like many in the region, are rediscovering the convenience -- and economics -- of the old-fashioned TV antenna. In the wake of the transition to digital television, Southland viewers are finding they can get nearly three times as many channels as they once could with an antenna.

An arcane but crucial copyright law that Hollywood wants repealed is again under attack by a key government agency. The U.S. Copyright Office, which advises Congress on copyright issues, is proposing that lawmakers phase out the cable and satellite statutory licenses in the Copyright Act, calling it "an artifact of an earlier era. " Established in 1976, the so-called compulsory license allows cable and satellite operators to distribute broadcast...

Potentially leaving millions of New York City-area homes unable to watch Sunday's Oscar telecast, Walt Disney Co. pulled its WABC-TV signal off Cablevision Systems Corp. at midnight Saturday as part of a fight over carriage fees. The action -- coming on the eve of one of television's biggest events and affecting more than 3 million customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- is the most dramatic demonstration yet of the escalating stakes between media giants as they wrestle with determining the value of content.

Potentially leaving millions of New York City-area homes unable to watch Sunday's Oscar telecast, Walt Disney Co. pulled its WABC-TV signal off Cablevision Systems Corp. at midnight Saturday as part of a fight over carriage fees. The action -- coming on the eve of one of television's biggest events and affecting more than 3 million customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- is the most dramatic demonstration yet of the escalating stakes between media giants as they wrestle with determining the value of content.

It's a hot September day and the cable patrol is on the prowl, hunting down pirates who steal the signals that are the lifeblood of cable companies. Ron Smithburger, supervisor of CVI Cablevision Industries' audit department--whose job is to catch cable thieves--meets an auditor at an apartment building in a Van Nuys neighborhood notorious for its high level of cable theft.

President Bush vowed Monday that the United States will press ahead with its efforts to beam television programs to Cuba, despite Cuba's successful jamming efforts. Bush called on broadcast executives to support the transmissions, which have given rise to concerns that Cuba would retaliate by using its own transmitters to disrupt broadcasting over U.S. airwaves.

Fears of blank TV screens and pixelated shows largely failed to materialize in San Diego on Wednesday as months of public outreach left the vast majority of viewers capable of receiving pictures via the new all-digital broadcasts. Although Congress delayed the digital TV transition until June 12 for most of the country, San Diego's major broadcast stations were among hundreds nationwide that received federal permission to turn off their analog signals early.

Cable TV mogul John Malone, notorious for picking losing political battles with Washington regulators, was at it again this week. Malone set off a firestorm Tuesday after asserting that his company, Tele-Communications Inc., would not voluntarily carry the new high-definition television signals of CBS and NBC when the networks begin broadcasting them in November. Among other things, the comments seemed to contradict testimony that TCI President Leo Hindery had given to Congress last week.

Lee Suk-hee can stomach much of the belt-tightening that South Korea's gasping economy has asked of her, including fewer shopping sprees and more nights eating dinner at home. But here's where the 47-year-old homemaker draws the line: Don't try to take away the free reality TV she watches on her cellphone while riding the subway every day. "I bought this cellphone to watch television," she said during one recent underground trip. "I'd feel really bad if it went away." It may.

In less than nine months, old-fashioned broadcast television will go the way of typewriters, vinyl records and 35-millimeter film. Like just about everything else, it's getting upgraded to digital. If you haven't been paying attention -- and who could blame you, it's not even football season and the government-mandated change won't take place until after next year's Super Bowl -- broadcasters, federal officials and consumer advocates say it's time to start tuning in to the digital TV transition.

On a recent winter night, while neighbors strung their Baldwin Park homes with Christmas lights, the Lams and their three children sat in front of a television set with rabbit ears sprouting out of the top. Wait a second -- rabbit ears? Is this 1950? No, it's almost 2010, and the Lams are a modern Los Angeles family that, like many in the region, are rediscovering the convenience -- and economics -- of the old-fashioned TV antenna. In the wake of the transition to digital television, Southland viewers are finding they can get nearly three times as many channels as they once could with an antenna.

If flames were to reach the top of Mt. Wilson, home to the region's TV and FM radio transmitters, what would happen? Severe damage could disrupt cellphone service, as well as television and radio programming for those who receive signals over the air. It also could interrupt some emergency law enforcement communications. But Los Angeles police and fire departments do not use the tower, and neither does the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Mt. Wilson is home to more than two dozen towers that occupy its peak just north of Sierra Madre.

The digital switch is the end of one TV era, but broadcasters and device companies hope it's opening up another. Their vision for the future: a world in which we access live television not just on big screens in our living rooms, but also on cellphones and computers and in cars.

Steve Richardson, who goes by the name "Gen. Dogon" on the streets of L.A.'s skid row, is the kind of person federal regulators had in mind when they created the digital-television transition's subsidy. Richardson's job at a civil rights group leaves him with barely enough money for food. He can't afford a converter box to keep his antenna-equipped TV working on June 12, when stations across the country turn off their analog signals and start broadcasting solely in digital.

Lee Suk-hee can stomach much of the belt-tightening that South Korea's gasping economy has asked of her, including fewer shopping sprees and more nights eating dinner at home. But here's where the 47-year-old homemaker draws the line: Don't try to take away the free reality TV she watches on her cellphone while riding the subway every day. "I bought this cellphone to watch television," she said during one recent underground trip. "I'd feel really bad if it went away." It may.

Fears of blank TV screens and pixelated shows largely failed to materialize in San Diego on Wednesday as months of public outreach left the vast majority of viewers capable of receiving pictures via the new all-digital broadcasts. Although Congress delayed the digital TV transition until June 12 for most of the country, San Diego's major broadcast stations were among hundreds nationwide that received federal permission to turn off their analog signals early.

Angelenos with old analog televisions don't have to worry about the major networks making an early leap to all-digital broadcasts. When it approved a four-month delay in the nationwide switch to all-digital transmissions, Congress allowed stations to seek permission from federal regulators to turn off their old analog signals earlier. Hundreds across the country plan to make the switch on the original date, Feb. 17, at least in part to save money. But Michael J.

Fresh off a strike-marred football season, television sports fans may face another shortage of action-packed videotape when the baseball season starts April 4. In retaliation for Major League Baseball's recent decision to scramble the satellite feeds of all major league telecasts, several Los Angeles TV stations are considering a boycott of the use of baseball highlights on their nightly newscasts throughout the 1988 season.

Kristina Schauer followed all the instructions to bring the promised benefits of digital television -- clearer reception and more free channels -- to her Santa Monica condominium. The 32-year-old stay-at-home mom bought a converter box, hooked it up to her old 17-inch Toshiba set and attached the rabbit-ears antenna. She then scanned for the digital signals that all Los Angeles stations and most nationwide have been transmitting in advance of turning off their analog broadcasts.

Angelenos with old analog televisions don't have to worry about the major networks making an early leap to all-digital broadcasts. When it approved a four-month delay in the nationwide switch to all-digital transmissions, Congress allowed stations to seek permission from federal regulators to turn off their old analog signals earlier. Hundreds across the country plan to make the switch on the original date, Feb. 17, at least in part to save money. But Michael J.