Entry bubble Making the Digital TV Switch

By: Jake | December 15, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

A friend has ruined me with his huge digital TV. I won't go into the gory details, but let's just say I'm saving up for a huge digital TV.

DTV TransitionSince I have digital television on the mind, it's a good time to remind you that all stations in the U.S. will be transitioning from analog to digital-only broadcast on February 17, 2009. If you live in Wilmington, NC you already have digital-only broadcast and Hawaii will go digital-only on January 15. The rest of us have two months prep time. My post from August talks about the difference between analog and digital TVs and the chart below outlines what you need to do:

Do you own: Get your programming from: By Feb 17, 2009 you’ll need:
Analog TV Over-the-air or an antenna A Digital-to-Analog Converter box or to purchase a digital TV.
Analog TV Cable, satellite, or other paid service Contact your service provider for information.
Digital or High Definition TV Over-the-air or an antenna Do nothing.
Digital or High Definition TV Cable, satellite, or other paid service You Do Not need a converter box.

If you have an analog TV and need a digital-to-analog converter box, you can apply for a coupon to get one and you can go back and check the status of your order. Be sure to test your converter box after you install it.

We had some great discussions the last time I posted about this and since then I've found this PDF paper that answers some more detailed questions. If you have any questions or issues with the transition, let me know in the comments. Suggestions for a new large screen digital TV are also appreciated.

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