"If you didn't re-scan, the box wouldn't pick up the digital signal," Riley said. "So today, our message is: 'Did you re-scan? You have to tell [the converter box] to look for all the new digital signals.' "
But that requires some dexterity with the converter's remote control and some technical savvy. For a generation that grew up with simple on-off and channel selection knobs, the plethora of button-packed remote control devices - for the TV, the VCR or DVD player, and now a DTV box - only adds to the confusion.
"We're trying to help people by helping them label their remotes," Riley said.
Wilson seemed resigned to whatever this intricate new technology would grant her. "I'd rather look at just one channel than none at all," she said. But she'd miss her "soaps," and she worried that her 7-year-old great-grandson would miss his wrestling when he came by to see her.
As it turned out, her problem was easily resolved. After a visitor re-scanned the converter on her living room set, her local stations returned. Her bedroom TV needed to be switched to Channel 3, and its converter had to be re-scanned. Then it, too, was working again.
Almost. On both sets, some channels were still badly distorted and required careful re-aiming of the digital antennas, not always with good results.
But "it's better," Wilson declared, smiling again. "It's some company, believe me," she said of her TVs.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Getting help
Still struggling with the new digital technology on your television?
* Call the Federal Communications Commission at 888-225-5322, or the help line established by the Baltimore-Washington Broadcasters Association at 877-388-6808.
* Help also is available at the FCC's Web site: dtv2009.gov
* The federal government's $40 discount coupons for DTV converter boxes are available through the end of July. Some retailers offer the boxes at the $40 level of the coupon. One online source is at www.freetvshop.com
