What Are DTV Converter Boxes and the DTV Transition?

What is the DTV (Digital Television) transition?

The digital television transition is where all television stations in the USA will stop providing analog television signals and will only provide digital signals. This transition is schedule occur on February 17th of 2009 at 12:00 p.m.

What is the purpose of the DTV transition?

The transition in happening for two specific reasons. The first reason is to provide a better experience for television users. Going to 100% digital should allow consumers to get a better picture and also give them more programming options. The other reason is to free up the analog airwaves for emergency services.

Will the digital television transition directly affect me?

The transition will affect you if you have an older tv. Mostly likely anything that you purchased more than 3-5 years ago will be analog. If you have one of these analog televisions it will no longer pick up television signals after the transition date. The transition will not affect your analog television if you have cable.

Is there anyway to continue using my old analog television after the transition?

There is one way to make your old televisions compatible with the new digital signals. If you purchase a DTV converter box then you should be able to get all of the channels you received before the transition and maybe even more channels.

What is the price of a DTV converter box?

Most DTV converter boxes range from a price of $50 to around $70. You can get ones for a lot more money but it is quite uneccessary

Where can I buy a converter box?

DTV Converter boxes can be purchased from electronics stores and also general merchandise stores. I would suggest Best Buy or Wal-Mart.

Can I find a coupon to lower the cost of my DTV converter?

The government has decided to help out consumers with the DTV transition and is offering $40 coupons to people who need to purchase a converter box. They have set aside roughly $1.4 billion for these coupons. With the $40 coupon you can get a DTV converter for about $10. If you want one of these coupons I suggest requesting it ASAP because there is a limited number of them. You can visit the governments DTV transition website to request a coupon card.

Is there a limit to the number of coupons I can get?

There is a limit of 2 coupons per household. If you need more coupons then you will need to have them sent to a different address.

Is there any other way to keep my old analog television working after the transition?

The only other way to keep your television working is by getting cable. Of course if you want you could always go out and purchase a new all digital television.

Is there any other information that I should know about in regards to the transition?

The only other important thing is to make sure you look up reviews and comparisons on the different DTV converter boxes. These converters are brand new products and there have been a lot of glitches with them so you should definitely check out which ones are working the best.