MERRILLVILLE | The Innovators Cafe honored Lakeshore Public Television Thursday for moving into a new phase as the federal government mandates all digital broadcasting effective Feb. 17.

The Innovators Cafe is sponsored through Ivy Tech Community College Northwest Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center. The center promotes a culture of innovation by introducing regional leaders to innovative places in the region.

On behalf of Ivy Tech, Bill Thon, executive director of Workforce and Economic Development at Ivy Tech, presented a plaque to Thomas Carroll, Lakeshore Public Television president, saying Lakeshore television has reached 1 million viewers a week, and has taken several steps behind the scenes to make it more innovative.

About 100 people showed up Thursday for two sessions of the cafe, and a tour of the television station.

Carroll said the station is investing $1.3 million to install a digital master control. He said the work began this week and will be complete by January, and "once that's done, we'll be ready for digital."

He said one of the reasons the federal government is mandating digital is because analog uses too much bandwidth. Digital television is also considered superior, with higher resolution for better picture and sound quality.

Carroll said the conversion also means that Lakeshore Public Television will be able to offer four or five channels to the public.

For those people who have analog TV and receive over-the-air programming using an antenna, they'll still be able to get reception past Feb. 17 if they get a converter box. He said there is a federal program offering a coupon to help seniors citizens with that conversion.

John Davies, who is a business consultant to the Ivy Tech's Entrepreneurship Center and the coordinator of the cafe, said most people are not aware of the innovative concepts that already are under way around Northwest Indiana.

"We still have a lot of work to do but we are dedicated to raising awareness about the level of innovation in the workplace," he said.