Headline News: COMMUNITY

 Bright House Networks Volunteers
Delivered Truckloads Of Presents
To Hope & Help Center In Winter Park

     MAITLAND — For the eighth year in a row, Bright House Networks employee volunteers played Santa Claus for the children of clients and family members of Hope & Help Center in Winter Park by delivering hundreds of wrapped gifts to the center last week.
     A convoy of three Bright House Networks pickup trucks and three vans filled to the brim, along with a dozen employee volunteers, delivered 650 wrapped holiday gifts for more than 120 children to the Hope & Help Center of Central Florida headquarters in Winter Park on Friday, Dec. 12, to support the Hope & Help Center’s Angel Tree Campaign for the children and family members of clients.
     The Hope and Help Center of Florida, located at 1935 Woodcrest Drive in Winter Park, provides information, referrals, resources and support services for people with HIV and AIDS.
     The Bright House Networks employee volunteer gift drive for Hope and Help Center’s Angel Tree Campaign started with just a handful of employees eight years ago, and has since attracted dozens more and become a highly anticipated annual event for Bright House employees.  Since its inception, volunteers have delivered gifts for more than 700 children through the Hope and Help Center’s Angel Tree Campaign.

 Getting Ready For The Digital TV
Transition Coming Up Feb. 17, 2009

     ORLANDO - In preparation for the upcoming Digital Television Transition, Bright House Networks has partnered with the Orlando Science Center to launch an exhibit that provides the history of cable television and how the change from analog to digital technology will work. 
     Bright House Network’s designed exhibit, which is now display at the Orlando Science Center, includes old analog equipment, new digital equipment and signage to explain key terms and clarify how the transition will occur. By visually explaining the transition, Bright House Networks hopes people will better understand the issue, and follow the necessary steps to guarantee viewing stability once the transition takes place.
     “Our Bright House customers won’t be impacted by the transition because they’re already connected. But we felt that it was important for those households who receive their programming over the airwaves to understand the consequences of this change if they don’t prepare,” said J. Christian Fenger, President of Bright House Networks Central Florida Division. “There are 6.7 million TV households across the country which will need a new antenna or digital tuner to receive the digital broadcasts over the air once the transition takes place.”
     The federally mandated DTV transition is scheduled for February 17, 2009 and requires over-the-air broadcast TV stations to  stop transmitting their programming in analog language, and to transmit in in the digital format. The way of sending TV signals over the airwaves is changing from an old system known as “analog” broadcasting to a newer system known as “digital” broadcasting. All broadcasters are required to make this change.  When these over-the-air TV stations switch from analog to digital format, TVs that are unable to receive digital signals will go black, meaning they will have no sound or video. 
     “The Orlando Science Center is a logical and ideal venue to explain this technology issue,” Fenger noted. “It’s important that the public at large understand how this change will occur and understand whether they need to make any changes.” 
     Bright House Network’s other outreach initiatives include distribution of informative materials and posters to area libraries, a speakers bureau which shares the DTV message through presentations to various Central Florida organizations, and targeted education campaigns for media outlets to ensure the DTV message is disseminated through as many venues possible.
     The DTV transition display will be open to all Orlando Science Center patrons.  It can be found on the first floor next to Elements Cafe and the Dr. Phillips CineDome during regular Orlando Science Center exhibit hours. Visit www.osc.org for hours, pricing and directions.
     For those who are ready to act on receiving a U.S. government $40 coupon—up to two per household—to help pay the cost of the Digital converter box, the best and fastest way is to call the toll free number at 1-888-388-2209, or by going online to the official website at www.DTV2009.gov. Once an application for the coupons is received, it takes up to two months to receive them in the mail—and they are good for 90 days from the date of receipt. The converter boxes can be purchased at any participating local electronics store such as Radio Shack, Best Buy, and Circuit City. There is a list of local retailers that sell Digital TV converters available on the www.DTV2009.gov website.