Digital Television: Are You Ready for the Switch?

The Federal Communications Commission, on January 3rd, said that it will indeed allow broadcasters to "suspend analog broadcasting only if it is necessary to achieve their transition."

For those who may not know, the FCC has set a deadline, currently set for February 17, 2009, that will end analog television broadcasting for good. It's all in an effort to promote the digital age, and also to use radio frequencies much more efficiently. The radio frequencies currently being occupied by analog television signals are in the prime spot where wireless internet providers want to be located. They pushed the FCC years ago to get digital broadcasting in order, simply because digital television stations take up much less bandwidth than their analog counterparts.

Unless your television set was manufactured less than 2 years ago, then you will need to do one of the following to receive broadcasts "over-the-air" in 2009:

+ Buy a new digital TV.
+ Get a converter box.
+ Subscribe to satellite or digital cable.

It's quite a bind for many rural families, because many cable companies don't offer services in their area. Satellite only works when there's a clear view to the southern sky, so when you need to know what's going on, it may not work.

This only affects around 15 percent of the population, as around 84 to 85 percent of the population have subscriptions to either cable or satellite providers. If you are subscribed to a cable or satellite provider, you need not worry about the switch from analog to digital. Your cable or satellite service won't be interrupted or discontinued simply because you don't have a digital TV.

However, if you rely on over-the-air television signals for your entertainment purposes, you are in for a change. The federal government is offering people who will be affected by this change a coupon to get a converter box for their old televisions. The link at the bottom of this article will take you to get that coupon. It will also give you a lot of detailed information about what you will need to do to continue receiving over-the-air broadcasts. We here at Indirect Vision recommend you check this out if you are in any way affected by the switch.

TV Converter Program Website is where you need to go to get the information you need.