Tiger Bay Area Amateur Tour / Palm Harbor, FL by Lea Andrews Michell Monk topped the points on the Bay Area Amateur Tour before their June 13 event, and after an undefeated day of play that day, Monk remained the points leader. Although local APA championships took several regular ladies from the field, the 12 who [...]

GSBT Raids World Cup Billiards by Joshua Johnson, Inside POOL Staff The Great Southern Billiard Tour is hosting the latest of its amateur events this weekend at World Cup Billiards in Greenville, SC, where a field of 38 players has arrived to compete for the $1,000 first-place prize. What this field of players lacks in numbers [...]

Converter boxes let analog TV sets pick up digital signals.

Today marks the historic, nationwide transition to all-digital television. Touted as a milestone date in TV history, the day also is likely to bring confusion, with nearly 3 million U.S. households and perhaps 60,000 area homes unprepared for the changeover. Here are the times local TV stations are planning to switch to digital-only broadcasting:

KCRA (Channel 3): 9 a.m.

KTXL (Channel 40): 9 a.m.

KQCA (Channel 58): 9 a.m.

KOVR (Channel 13): Around 5:25 p.m.

CW 31 (Channel 31): Around 6 p.m.

KXTV (Channel 10): 11:59:59 p.m.

The Federal Communications Commission has set up a DTV hotline to assist consumers with all aspects of today's changeover, including how to hook up converter boxes that convert analog signals to digital. The hotline number is (888) 225-5322. Information also is available at www.dtv.gov.

Federal coupons good for $40 off converter boxes are available through July 31 and can be ordered by calling (888) 388-2009 or visiting www.dtv2009.gov.

– Mark Glover

OB Cues Welcomes Its Newest Team Member - Grace Nakamura Grace Nakamura is not only a seasoned women’s pro player with titles and accomplishments spanning more than 2 decades, but she has also worked in the billiard industry for the last 15 years. If you have attended a major billiard event anywhere in the United States [...]

The nationwide transition from analog to digital TV is set for Friday. Most people – including those with cable or satellite service, a digital receiver or an analog-to-digital converter box – are ready. But some are not, and others will have either poor or no reception after the switch.

Here's a DTV survival kit:

COUPONS STILL AVAILABLE Households may still apply for federal coupons – good for $40 off the cost of a converter box necessary to convert an analog signal to digital – at www.dtv2009.gov or by calling (888) 388-2009. Coupons are available through July 31 and expire within 90 days of mailing.

A QUICK CHECK To find out if your TV is equipped to receive a digital signal – most built since 2004 are – go to www.dtvtransition.org. Have the manufacturer and model number of your TV ready to plug into the "Is Your TV a DTV" link.

SHOPPING HELP Consumers Union has tested many of the converter boxes being sold nationwide, listing and evaluating them at www.consumerreports.org.

PLAN TO SCAN Converter boxes come with fairly simple directions for hookup, and they are relatively easy to use once connected. However, converter box users will need to scan for channels to make sure they're pulling in all the available stations. Some converter boxes scan automatically, but you can do it by using the scan feature on the converter box menu or with a remote.

CONVERTER BOX WOES Through July 15, AmeriCorps will assist people with the converter box hookup. Call (888) 225-5322.

ARE YOU A GHOST? Man-made and naturally occurring objects can reflect TV signals. This so-called "ghosting" occurs when a TV signal arrives at the receiver via more than one path. Low-lying areas are susceptible, as are households in hilly areas. Ghosting can be countered by antenna positioning. Technology that supersedes traditional line-of-sight signaling also is being further developed, according to the federal government.

OTHER POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS Some households with converter boxes will still struggle to receive a signal, and some may not receive a signal at all. A recommended antenna type does not always provide a good picture, perhaps due to topography or obstacles surrounding a household. Distant, outlying areas may not receive a strong enough signal to provide an adequate picture, because they are many miles from the signal source. Some may have to experiment with directional antennas to hit upon good reception.

HDTV NOT PART OF THE DEAL Your TV's ability to receive a digital signal does not automatically make it a high-definition TV.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS Call the Federal Communications Commission's DTV hotline at (888) 225-5322. Local TV stations say they'll have engineers and other personnel available to help and answer questions when the Friday switch occurs. Here is a link to phone numbers of TV stations throughout Northern California: www.dtv.gov/dtv_resources. htm?l=EN&zipCode=95816. – Mark Glover

Television converter boxes await last-minute shoppers at a Los Angeles Best Buy. The converters allow analog TVs to receive digital broadcasts.

Somewhere in the Sacramento area on Friday, someone will turn on their TV and watch … nothing.

The nationwide transition to digital television is here, finally, but despite a four-month delay, nearly 3 million U.S. households still are not ready for the changeover from analog signals. In the Sacramento area, the Nielsen Co. has estimated that more thans 64,000 households are unprepared for digital TV.

On top of that, federal officials said it's likely that millions of Americans will have poor reception, or none at all, once the switch is made.

Even so, the Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Commerce and TV stations coast to coast are committed.

"With all that digital television offers to consumers and society, it is essential that all Americans get prepared for the transition," said FCC Chairman Michael Copps.

In the Sacramento area, some consumers who were unprepared when the switch was originally scheduled in February said they are ready for Friday – for better or worse.

"I was one of those who procrastinated and was totally unprepared back in February," said Sacramentan Gary Wilkes. "I got a reprieve, and now I'm ready to go. Now that I have my converter box for my old upstairs TV, I'm actually kind of excited about Friday."

In south Placer County, Melinda Smith was awaiting assistance and hoping for the best.

"I kept fighting it and waiting and wondering why this had to happen, but I finally realized I had no choice and went out and bought the equipment," she said. "My son-in-law is supposed to come over Friday and hook it all up, but I'm really nervous about it."

The logistics of Friday's changeover are complex. It's not a matter of one person throwing a giant switch for the whole country.

The U.S. Commerce Department explained that Friday will involve a "rolling transition," with U.S. stations locking into digital Friday anywhere from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 and 59 seconds that night.

Individual stations, which will make the switch based on local times, had to notify the FCC about their plans, prompting the Commerce Department to draw up a scorecard of scheduled changeover times: 175 stations plan to switch between midnight and 6 a.m., 200 between 6 a.m. and noon, 152 from noon to 6 p.m. and 447 between 6 p.m. and 11:59:59 p.m.

About half of the nation's 1,760 full-power TV stations – mostly in sparsely populated areas – have already cut their analog signals.

Some Sacramento stations will convert as early as 9 a.m. Russell Postell, president and general manager of KXTV (Channel 10) in Sacramento, said his station will switch at the last second.

Before the switch and even during it, KXTV will have on-air help for viewers.

"We're airing a special edition following the news Friday night, from 11:30 to 12:06 (a.m. Saturday), and we'll have information all day on the DTV transition," Postell said. "We'll have seven engineers available at various times of the day, and our phone system will be linked to their (cell) phones to provide people with as much help as possible."

Other local stations said they will likewise beef up in-studio phone banks, online help and special Friday programming to explain the switch and have personnel available to answer questions.

Postell said he's particularly concerned about viewers getting two important messages: antenna positioning and a required "rescanning" once a converter box is installed. On TVs with old "rabbit ears" antennas, a converter box is necessary to convert the analog signal to digital.

Antenna positioning will be key to overcome "ghosting" – a poor screen image caused when a TV signal arrives at the receiver via more than one path – and signals disrupted by topography or obstacles surrounding a household.

Because some digital stations will move to different frequencies on Friday, consumers with converter boxes should rescan to pull in all available stations. This can be done through the converter box set-up menu.

Some households far from the source of a digital signal may receive no signal at all.

Despite a push by local, state and federal officials, Sacramento-area viewers have been slow to get coupons and get ready for the all-digital age.

According to figures released Wednesday by the Nielsen Co., Sacramento went from being the 10th least-ready U.S. market to the third least-ready on a percentage basis. The 64,238 area households not ready for the switch is an improvement of about 4,000 from two weeks ago, but the current 4.59 percent of unprepared households – out of about 1.4 million in the area – trails only Albuquerque/Santa Fe, N.M. (7.58 percent) and Dallas/Fort Worth (5.84 percent). The nationwide number is 2,805,250 unprepared households, or 2.45 percent.

Federal authorities acknowledge that problems related to terrain, signal strength, technology and confused consumers will be numerous. But they say Friday's transition must be completed before turning to fix the glitches.

For now, consumers experiencing problems with Friday's transition are being asked to call the FCC's DTV hotline at (888) 225-5322.

Beyond that, officials say they'll try to get all Americans set up with DTV, including helping viewers who still need converter boxes get federal coupons good for $40 off the cost of the device. Boxes sold at electronics stores cost around $60 each, on average.

The nationwide DTV transition originally was set for Feb. 17, but just before the deadline and at the urging of the Obama administration, Congress postponed the switch.

At that time, an estimated 6.5 million U.S. households were not ready, and many who had received $40 coupons for converter boxes had let the coupons expire. To complicate things, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration overseeing the coupons had hit its $1.34 billion funding limit.

Since then, funds have been freed up by expired coupons and other adjustments, and numerous local outreach programs directed coupons into the hands of consumers, particularly the poor and minorities. Coupons will be available through July 31.

"In the past four months, we have cut the unpreparedness numbers by more than half," said Parita Shah, Commerce Department press secretary. "… We are continuing our aggressive outreach efforts."

Commerce officials said the coupon rush accelerated on June 1, ramping up to 100,000 applications per day. In the months before that, only two days saw that average.

Sales associates at Best Buy and Target stores in the Sacramento area said Wednesday that sales of converter boxes picked up last weekend, and the pace has remained strong all week. Great deals abound in stores and online, with special offers reducing the cost of a box to $5 to $10 when a $40 federal coupon is used.

Even with exhaustive planning, communications experts have varying opinions of how things will go on Friday.

KXTV's Postell said he's confident that "it's going to be fine. It reminds me a little bit of Y2K," the millennium computer date changeover that went off with relatively few problems despite grave predictions prior to Jan. 1, 2000.

Desert Classic Tour / Phoenix, AZ by Lea Andrews To reach the finals of the Desert Classic Tour stop the weekend of June 6-7, Gus Briseno had to get through several quality players, including 2008 U.S. Bar Table 8-Ball champion Mitch Ellerman. The $1,000-added 10-ball event, which was played on 7-foot bar tables, drew 35 players [...]

The North Jersey 14.1 Straight Pool Pro-Am Quarterly held its second quarter event for 2009 the weekend of June 6-7 at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, and even with a short field of eight players there was a lot of action and heated battling, especially in the final match between Carmen Lombardo and Jason Michas. Lombardo [...]

Johnny Archer, Allison Fisher GAIN BCA HALL OF FAME ELECTION Dominant stars become first-ballot inductees in Greatest Player category Broomfield, Colo. – June 8, 2009 – Johnny Archer and Allison Fisher, the most dominant male and female pool players of the past 15 years, have been elected for induction into the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Hall of Fame in [...]

Bryant Fends Off Ochoa for Lone Star Win Lone Star Tour / San Leon, TX by Lea Andrews After an entire weekend of strong play, Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant emerged the winner despite Sylver Ochoa’s best efforts at the Lone Star Tour stop June 6-7. The $1,000-added event, run by WPBA player Kim White, drew 51 entrants to [...]