The New York market is uniquely problematic for multipath reception due to the large number of man-made obstacles which prevent adequate digital coverage of the entire city from the main broadcast facilities atop the Empire State Building.
The first widespread commercial deployment of US ATSC digital television began in 1998, with the first early adopters being stations in the largest markets (including New York city, served by transmitters atop the World Trade Center).
The generation of non-MPEG data carried as part of the transport layer (such as the position of transmitted frame sync, or the initial state of trellis encoding devices) would also have to be matched exactly between every synchronized transmitter.
The location, directional pattern and power levels for each of the transmitters would also have to be very carefully chosen, as the ATSC system is subject to very strict limits on the maximum time difference between arrival of multiple versions of the same signal at the receiver.
In problem reception areas, significant improvements could be obtained but careful design would be required to operate multiple co-channel transmitters without destructive interference.
[11] While the US Federal Communications Commission has supported DTS in principle since 2004, an FCC call for public comment at the end of 2005 garnered a wide spectrum of responses in early 2006, ranging from strong support by groups such as the National Association of Broadcasters[12] to widespread opposition by groups who advocate the free use of "white spaces" (unused broadcast frequencies)[13] for non-broadcast purposes[14] such as wireless data.
While a large number of the resulting calls from viewers were straightforward questions about installation of antennas and converters, or the need to scan for channels before being able to watch digital television, hundreds more were about a more intractable problem.
Viewers of longtime full-power low-VHF broadcasters like WECT (NBC 6 Wilmington), a signal which in its analogue form reached to the edge of Myrtle Beach, could no longer receive the station - even with the converter and proper antenna installation.
[20] The Consumer Electronics Association and CTIA proposed in December 2009 to force all stations to use this method, so that the companies they represent could use the remaining space in the TV band for mobile broadband.
In Alaska, Anchorage CBS affiliate KAUU operates with limited resources and equipment, covering a large and sparsely populated area with many small broadcast translator stations.