How The Dtv Transition Will Affect Viewers

The official date of the digital television transition has been moved from January 17, 2009 to June 12, 2009. Although this information was relayed to the public in advance, there were still a few million people who would not have been ready for the change. Will the DTV transition affect you? If so, what do you need to do?

Subscribers to cable or satellite service will most likely not have to do anything to prepare for the digital TV transition. Any work that needs to be done will be performed behind the scenes so that cable and satellite subscribers will not have to do anything on their end. However, it is always a good idea to check with your provider anyway, just in case they fail to make the switch on their end. Otherwise, only when someone terminates their service will they need to figure out if they will need to do any modifications to their current TV setup.

People who watch TV with an antenna will have to find out some information about the TV they use to watch their favorite programming. If the TV was purchased before March 1, 2007, then you will need to find out if it has a built-in digital tuner or receiver that is capable of picking up the digital transmission. TVs that were purchased after March 1, 2007 will probably have the proper hardware installed already, but find out for sure. Find the instruction manual or contact the manufacturer. Perhaps your TV has the label HDTV on its exterior. If so, then your TV can already pick up signals.

For those whose TVs do not have this built-in tuner, then you will need a digital converter box. It also goes by the name of "digital TV adapter" or "digital-to-analog converter box". A digital converter box is attached to your current antenna and converts the digital signal to analog, which is what your TV recognizes. Failure to use a digital converter box on an analog television will produce no results.

The NTIA, or National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is involved in a DTV converter box coupon program, which distributes up to two coupons worth $40 to each household. Not too long ago, the program did run out of money and had to either wait until vouchers that were already distributed expired or until they received more funding. They did, in fact, receive additional funding, so vouchers are being distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.