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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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High Definition TV (HDTV) HDTV in widescreen provides the highest resolution and picture quality of all DTV formats. A current analog TV picture is made up of 480 horizontal lines. An HDTV picture can have up to 1080 lines, allowing for sharp picture detail. The most common formats are 720p (“p” stands for progressive scan) and 1080i (“i” stands for interlaced). Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV) EDTV is a step up from analog TV and SDTV. Also called 480 progressive (480p), EDTV can be 16x9 or 4x3 format and provides better picture quality than SDTV, but not as good as HDTV. Most DVDs are encoded as 480p. Standard Definition TV (SDTV) SDTV is the baseline display and resolution for both analog and digital TVs. Transmission of SDTV is usually in the traditional 4x3 aspect ratio, but may be wide-screen 16x9. SDTV and analog TV can deliver up to 480 interlaced (480i) resolution, although analog TV may be lower.
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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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