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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Prime-time programming
problems solved at PBS HawaiiWould-be viewers of PBS Hawaii had some difficulty seeing and hearing the shows they tuned in earlier this week. Not just one night, but two in a row.
There were complaints of images breaking up or freezing every couple minutes and of interrupted audio.
No explanation of "technical difficulties" was offered on the screen.
"On the Sunday and Monday prime-time programs there were problems," said Steve Komori, vice president of technical services for PBS Hawaii.
The public television station is not exactly in complete control of the way its signal appears on your TV screen. For the last three years, PBS Hawaii has contracted with KGMB-TV for master control services, meaning KGMB technical staff is to "make sure we have a nice program output," Komori said.
KGMB staff in charge of monitoring programming has the ability to put text on the screen alerting viewers to the technical difficulties, but it wasn't done, he said.
"That has been addressed strongly, said Komori.
Operational policies were in place, said Kenny Elcock, director of engineering for KGMB.
The glitches indeed raised the attention of master control staff, and just when they were ready to put up the "technical difficulties" graphic, the problem would go away. A process of elimination was undertaken on both days with each glitch, but the diagnostic checks could not locate the problem's origin. It was suspected the problems occurred during recording of the satellite feed of the programs earlier in the day.
"So what we decided to do was have the full engineering staff, five guys, check everything from the satellite dish to the server platform," Elcock said.
Tuesday night went off without a glitch because the problem with aging equipment had been corrected.
"It turned out to be, and this is really going to trip you out, three $2.38 connectors," Elcock said.
It wasn't the case this time, but glitches also can be passed along into your living room via Oceanic Time Warner Cable of Hawaii, Craig Wireless Honolulu Inc. or satellite programming provided by DISH Network.
One problem for PBS Hawaii is that the satellite that relays much of its programming is very low on the horizon.
"We have a much tougher time getting a great signal because it goes through a lot of atmosphere," he said. He usually doesn't get into the techno-speak with most people for fear their eyes will glaze over. He expressed similar concern for readers of this column and was assured that this day should be no different than any other.
Komori troubleshoots for PBS Hawaii viewers and is accessible through the station's answering service. He frequently asks viewers to check with neighbors to see if they are experiencing the same problem. "If the same thing is happening for two or more people, they'll know it's not them," he said.
Viewers calling the trouble line are asked to leave their name, number, area they're calling from and to identify the channel they're watching, "because we have about 14 different channels, different translators," he said.
Location and station are crucial for Komori's investigation.
"Ninety percent of the people are really understanding," he said.
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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
