Vol. 20, No. 1

Sept. 7, 2000

Check out UDTV's new campus cable channels

Students returning to campus have noticed many changes, and one of these is right on their television sets. A change in cable providers effective in late August has resulted in a realignment of campus TV stations. According to Lonnie Hearn, Information Technologies/Media Services, the University switched cable programming providers from RCN to Comcast, obtaining a better programming package for campus, along with emergency alert capabilities. "We were also able to improve the quality of reception of several channels by bringing them in on fiber," Hearn said. "The channels that have been improved include channels 3, 6 and Sports Net." According to Hearn, the channel lineup change also allows for an emergency alert service on UD's cable system. In a weather emergency or one involving the national Emergency Alert System, 41 of the campus channels will automatically show the emergency alert and direct viewers to tune to channel 2 for details about the emergency. To accommodate this change, the UD calendar channel has moved from channel 2 to channel 9. In all, there are 62 channels, including six originating from the University of Delaware. Because of the channel lineup change, Hearn recommended that students who had a TV set on campus last year may need to reprogram their TVs and VCRs. This is usually done by pressing the "autoprogram" button on the remote control. To help inform students of the changes, a blue and white UD campus cable tent card with the channel lineup was distributed to every residence hall room before move-in. On the inside of that card is the FM radio station listing and other helpful information. UD campus cable is only available on the Newark campus–in classrooms, many public spaces and in every residence hall room. For a complete list of stations, see UDaily at [http://www.udel. edu/udaily].