What Viewers Need To Know About Digital TV

(From Poynter.org -- By Al Tompkins)

The federal government this week took a big step toward pushing consumers to make the long-awaited conversion to digital television.

Millions of $40 government coupons will become available next week to help low-tech television owners buy special converter boxes for older TVs that might not work after the switch to digital broadcasting.

In just over 12 months, the television landscape will change to digital on February 17th, 2009.

Consumers, and even the media, seem confused by what it all will mean.

U.S. Congress ok'd the distribution of an additional broadcast channel to each broadcast TV station in 1996 so that they could start a digital broadcast channel while also continuing their analog broadcast channel.

Later, Congress said the last day for full-power TV stations to broadcast in analog would be February 17th , 2009. The switch from analog to digital broadcast TV is referred to as THE DIGITAL TV (DTV) TRANSITION.

Broadcast stations in all U.S. markets are currently broadcasting in both analog and digital.

So, will my old TV become useless?
No. Consumers will always be able to connect an inexpensive receiver, a digital-to-analog converter box, to their existing analog TV to decode DTV broadcast signals. Analog TVs will continue to work with cable, satellite, VCRs, DVD players, camcorders, video games consoles and other devices for many years.

For more information on The Digital TV Transition, click the link below.

What Viewers Need To Know About Digital TV