Bad DTV reception symptoms over analog OTA. What gives?

[markthefixer]

Either the incoming signal to the station from the network fritzed up, or the playback at the station, or even the equipment that modulates the transmitter had a problem, and took a while to lock back on the digital stream.

So the source for analog broadcasts is becoming more and more digital.

I have seen it much more on the smaller networks, 23 and 26 in Chicago, especially later at night - sometimes between the video and audio it's unwatchable. I would change channels to reset the datastream on my converter only to have it continue unabated after re-lockup. I also saw the artifacts tonight on L & O.