DTV Conversion Easier Than Many People Think
(Staff Photo By Greg Junek)
SIMPLE AS THAT: Donnie Thedford, general manager of Don’s TV & Appliance, shows the ‘antenna in’ input on the back of an older television set last week at the store. People whose televisions have tuners that receive only analog broadcasts will need to hook up digital-to-analog converter boxes to the sets, because stations are required to cease broadcasting in analog on Feb. 17, 2009. Thedford said people should not worry; the new boxes are easy to hook up and the old TVs will continue to work just fine. Cable and satellite service providers will handle the switchover for the customer.
By GREG JUNEK
Business Editor
On Feb. 17, 2009, television reception as many people know it will end.
Business Editor
On Feb. 17, 2009, television reception as many people know it will end.
The analog TV signals that since the dawn of video have traveled from the transmitter to your antenna and into your television set will, in a flash, go the way of the eight-track tape. But unlike the eight-track tape player that was finished and obsolete after the last tape wore out or became mangled, your analog television will still be able to give you years of viewing pleasure.
Donnie Thedford, general manager of Don's TV & Appliance, said talk of the nationwide switch from analog transmissions to digital transmissions has many people concerned, and he has received many calls from people who are struggling to understand what it means. One of the chief worries is that they will have to buy new televisions.
That is not the case, Thedford said.
The only people the switchover will affect are those who receive their television signal from an antenna, be it "rabbit ears" or a larger antenna in the attic or mounted on the exterior of a home.
The only people the switchover will affect are those who receive their television signal from an antenna, be it "rabbit ears" or a larger antenna in the attic or mounted on the exterior of a home.
Thedford said about 14 percent of the U.S. population will be affected by the switch.
Source: Federal Communications Commission
This diagram shows the basic connections to allow an analog television to work with a digital broadcast.
These people should know that there is no need to panic and worry that the expensive TV purchased only a few years ago will be obsolete. A simple converter box available at just about any television and stereo store will solve the problem, and hooking it to the TV is easy.
The process amounts to removing the antenna from the television and connecting it to the "antenna in" input on the converter box, and using another cable to connect the "out" jack on the converter box to the TV.
Converter boxes have remote controls that people will use to change channels.
The government has initiated a coupon system that will reduce the cost of a converter box. Thedford said there most likely will be no need to change the antenna.
People who subscribe to a cable system or satellite system can just sit back and watch the show; the provider will make the switch for them.
"The biggest thing we're trying to get out is that if you're on a pay service - it can be a cable or satellite - there's nothing you need to purchase from a retailer to make your analog sets compatible," Thedford said. "Those people who provide that pay service will either provide you the equipment or do the switch internally and send it out to you in analog format."
He said the store has sold several converter boxes to people who already have cable or satellite service, but the customers said they wanted the boxes for televisions in their shops or recreational vehicles that are already receiving analog signals through an antenna.
NOTHING MAGICAL
Don's has been preparing for the analog-to-digital switchover for about five years. For about 90 days, it has been stocking the set-top boxes that convert incoming digital signals to analog signals and send them out to the television. Demand has been strong, for the store recently sold out of the boxes, and Thedford said last week it was awaiting another shipment.
Don's has been preparing for the analog-to-digital switchover for about five years. For about 90 days, it has been stocking the set-top boxes that convert incoming digital signals to analog signals and send them out to the television. Demand has been strong, for the store recently sold out of the boxes, and Thedford said last week it was awaiting another shipment.
Thedford said there is nothing magical about the conversion or the box.
"Really what they are is a tuner," he said. "It's a very small, unobtrusive box that will convert that digital signal back to an analog signal for an analog TV. People who are purchasing them now are actually going and hooking them up now, because it works fine."
People can install the converter boxes and begin using them now because the Tyler airwaves are already filled with digital transmissions from local stations. Every local station has at least one digital channel.
Although some have alleged the switch is part of a conspiracy, the Federal Communications Commission and Thedford said the real reason is much more practical. Digital transmission requires less bandwidth than analog transmission, so the switch will free up some space on the airwaves, and the FCC can lease that space for other uses.
According to FCC information, Congress mandated the conversion to digital television, also known as DTV, because the frequencies they free up can be used for public safety communications such as police, fire and emergency rescue departments.
But the new space can also be used for frequencies used by commercial wireless services.
HDTV, COUPONS
The FCC and Thedford stress DTV does not necessarily mean high-definition television, or HDTV, but HDTV is broadcast digitally. People with televisions that can receive and show HDTV broadcasts will see the high-definition image.
The FCC and Thedford stress DTV does not necessarily mean high-definition television, or HDTV, but HDTV is broadcast digitally. People with televisions that can receive and show HDTV broadcasts will see the high-definition image.
However, that is only if the broadcast is in high-definition. For example, an HDTV monitor, commonly referred to as an HDTV-ready television, connected to a digital source will see a program in high-definition only if the program is broadcast in high definition.
Not all programs are recorded and/or broadcast in high-definition.
"It is an improved picture and it is an improved sound, but digital is not high-definition," Thedford said. "High-definition still has more resolution, better picture quality."
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is administering a coupon program to assist households in obtaining analog-to-digital converter boxes. Households are able to request two coupons, each worth $40, toward the purchase of boxes. There is no requirement, such as level of income, for the coupon program.
Families can obtain coupons by calling 888-388-2009. More information about the program is available online at www.dtv2009.gov.
Several companies make the boxes. Thedford said Don's sells converter boxes made by Zenith for $69.99.
The government Web site lists authorized coupon redemption centers.
ALL OR NOTHING
Something people should realize when making the switch to digital television reception is that the digital system behaves differently than the analog system, Thedford said.
Something people should realize when making the switch to digital television reception is that the digital system behaves differently than the analog system, Thedford said.
On analog sets receiving a far-away or weak signal, a person could watch and hear a program through the snow and static. But with a digital system, it's all or nothing.
If the signal is strong enough, the person will receive perfect picture and perfect sound; if the signal is too weak, there will be no picture or sound.
"There is no marginal picture," Thedford said. "Those who are currently using an off-air antenna and getting a couple of channels that are further away but the picture is of very poor quality, very likely those channels will not come in at all on digital. The local channels should be no issue, but if someone's trying to pull an 80-mile radius - Shreveport or Dallas - there's a chance they may not get those. ... If they have to have their kid hold the rabbit ears on one side and put a piece of foil on top, that channel is probably not going to come in through the digital box."
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