Text size: increase text sizedecrease text size Cable wars focus on HD channels

Let the race begin! Cable television providers RCN and Service Electric are going head-to-head to strengthen their foothold in the region by increasing the number of high-definition channels each provides.

The fallout? Some customers may have to purchase additional equipment to keep viewing.

RCN will be unveiling Project Analog Crush in September, a plan to phase out analog service in order to multiply the number of high-definition channels available to its Lehigh Valley's customers from the present 29 to 100. Allentown, the first area to be upgraded, will be completed by September and the entire region is planned to be all digital by the end of the year, said Randy Nungester, RCN's vice president and general manager of the Pennsylvania market.

The upgrade will come at a cost to RCN customers, who will need a converter box to view the additional channels. The first converter box is free but additional units are $2.95 per month.

The cable provider has already done such upgrades in New York, Boston, Washington and Chicago.

''Over the past three to four years there has been a proliferation of HD television sets and the marketplace has exploded in the years as the prices went down and the size of the sets has gone up,'' Nungester said. ''In a competitive world you have to listen to the needs of your customers and if you do not change you will not be very competitive for long.''

High definition produces crisper picture quality, with images about six times sharper than analog. HD's added features are theater-like wide-screen display programming and Dolby digital audio capabilities.

RCN plans to add 15 to 20 channels on its expanded cable lineup, officials said.

Many cable providers, including the nation's largest provider, Comcast, have launched similar HD and digital expansion programs to remain competitive with satellite systems and Verizon's fiber-optic cable service called FiOS.

Cable providers have been gradually scaling back analog programming in recent years, replacing it with digital, which multiplies a cable provider's channel capacity. Each analog channel is the equivalent of three HD or 10 standard-definition digital channels.

RCN and Service Electric are the two largest cable providers in the Lehigh Valley, competing with other paid subscription services such as DirecTV and Dish Network.

The region's paid television market has been even more competitive since Verizon announced in April that it signed a 10-year deal with Allentown, allowing the company to begin laying groundwork for its FiOS service later this year.

FiOS, a service that touts high-speed Internet, clear picture quality and many HD channels, is offered in parts of 13 other states.

Verizon has said it chose to start service in Allentown because it has an infrastructure in the city with its DSL Internet service. Verizon has not said if it would be spreading FiOS service to neighboring areas.

Jack Capparell, Service Electric's general manager, said the company plans to have 100 HD channels by the end of the year. Service Electric is currently the lead HD cable provider in the area, providing about 40 such channels, viewable by a digital converter box.

Capparell said Service Electric provides the first digital converter box free but charges $5.95 per moth for each additional box. He added that the company will continue its analog service for customers that prefer the option.