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WHO NEEDS A DIGITAL TV CONVERTER? |
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The converter option is not necessary for everyone! People who have television sets connected to cable, satellite, or other pay television service will not need a Digital Converter for these sets. Neither will people who have a television with a digital tuner already built in. But if you haven’t purchased a television in the last five years and is not connected to cable or satellite service, it probably does not include a digital tuner and is a good candidate for a Digital Converter. Consumers can apply for converter box coupons by visiting www.dtv2009.gov, or calling 1-888-DTV-2009. |
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DTV Converter Box Information |
The federal government is offering coupons for DTV converter boxes; however, only 33 million coupons are available for the nearly 70 million television sets that need them. Click here to see if you own a TV that will need a converter box.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) kicked off its DTV converter box coupon program on January 1, 2008. The results were nothing short of extraordinary and in large part due to the great efforts to publicize the DTV transition by stations across the country.
NTIA took orders for over 1.5 million coupons in the first 48 hours of the program. An important note…. There is sufficient funding for only 33.5 million coupons, while approximately 70 million television sets need an upgrade. This is important to viewers who will need to purchase a converter box before February 2009.
Note: You will only need to purchase a converter box if you do not have cable or satellite. Only those households that receive the television signal straight over the air (i.e. an antenna/rabbit ears).
Consumers can apply for converter box coupons by visiting www.dtv2009.gov, or calling 1-888-DTV-2009. |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv_WWwHFfZ0 After February 17, 2009 analog TV transmission will end. After that date, most TV broadcasting will be digital. Currently most TV stations are broadcasting in analog and digital and viewers with digital televisions are already enjoying DTV, digital television.
Digital television (DTV) is a new type of broadcasting technology that will transform television as we now know it. By transmitting the information used to make a TV picture and sound as "data bits" (like a computer), a digital broadcaster can carry more information than is currently possible with analog broadcast technology. For example, the technology allows the transmission of pictures with higher resolution for dramatically better picture and sound quality than currently available – called High Definition Television (HDTV) - or the transmission of several "standard definition" TV programs at once – called “multicasting.” "Standard definition" digital TV pictures would be similar in clarity and detail to the best TV pictures being received and displayed today using the current analog broadcast system and TV receivers. DTV technology can also be used to provide interactive video and data services that are not possible with “analog” technology.
The switch from analog TV (the traditional TV system using magnetic waves to transmit and display TV pictures and sound) to digital television (the new TV system using information transmitted as "data bits" -- like a computer -- to display movie-quality pictures and sound), is referred to at the digital TV (DTV) transition. In 1996, the U.S. Congress authorized the distribution of an additional broadcast channel to each TV broadcaster so that they could introduce DTV service while simultaneously continuing their analog TV broadcasts. In addition to improved picture and sound quality, an important benefit of DTV is that it will free up parts of the broadcast spectrum for public safety as well as other valuable uses. This is possible because the modern technology of DTV is more efficient than analog TV technology. DTV allows the same number of stations to broadcast using fewer total channels (less of the broadcast spectrum) which will free up scarce and valuable spectrum for public safety and new wireless services.
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Ways to Prepare for DTV |
| Your TV tuner is: | You get your programming from: | You will need by Feb. 17, 2009: | | Analog | Over-the-air | Digital-to-Analog converter box | | Analog | Cable or satellite | Contact your Provider | | Digital | Over-the-air | Nothing | | Digital | Cable or satellite | Contact your Provider | |
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