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Oil Mar. 11, WMHT/Channel 17 became the third local broadcaster to put its digital sister station on the air.
WRGB/Channel 6, the CBS affiliate in Schenectady, turned Channel 39 on in August, and Menands NBC station WNYT/Channel 13 launched Channel 12 in October. WMHT, the Rotterdam-based PBS station, is using Channel 34.
The other local stations should not be far behind. Fox affiliate WXXA/Channel 23 is awaiting Federal Communications Commission approval for a change of its digital channel assignment front 4 to 7. ABC station WTEN/Channel 10 whose application was held up for two years by a need for tile OK of the Canadian government - has been given the unofficial word that its Channel 26 will be approved soon.
"I expect my authorization to get on the air any minute," said Skeeter Lansing, chief engineer for WTEN. "Everything is built, all our equipment is operational, so once we get the OK, we can be on the air in about 30 minutes."
Observers now wonder how many people are watching and if they are, will they see the high-definition programming promised when the digital revolution began.
At the moment, only WMHT's Channel 34 has 24-hour HDTV, thanks to PBS. The others are doing what most of their peers across the country are doing: using their digital channels to retransmit their standard programming, peppered with the few high-definition prime-time shows produced by their networks. WMHT is simulcasting its standard programming on a separate Channel 34-2, taking advantage of the digital spectrum's ability to carry more than one...