Connecting and Using an HD Converter Box

As everyone knows, on February 17, 2009, television as we have known it all our lives will cease. We will no longer get channels through air waves on just a simple antenna. Beginning on this date, we will be required to connect our televisions to a HD converter box so our analog televisions will pick up the new HDTV channels.

If you are lucky enough to subscribe to satellite or cable in your area, this converter box is not necessary. However, the remainder of the population will be required to purchase one. Purchasing one of these boxes can be expensive. Some are priced reasonably and others are rather untouchable in price. These boxes will range from $49.99 up to $129.99 in cost. Applying for a $40.00 off coupon from the government is a true blessing to those who cannot afford this added expense. Applying for this coupon can be done at https://www.dtv2009.gov/ which is a government site dedicated to educating the public on the transformation and issuing these coupons.

Once you get your new box, it will come with instructions which in some cases can be confusing. The simplest way to connect your new box to your television is to disconnect the antenna going to your television and plug the cable from the box in its place. In turn plug the antenna into the back of the box where it says "Antenna In". This will connect your television to the box and you are ready to set up your box.

Boxes differ in makers and complexity when setting them up. The entire job summarizes to, press the setup button on your remote for the box and follow the onscreen instructions. The box will scan your television and tune in all channels that it can find. It may find 3 or 4 channels for one specific channel. An example of this is as follows: You receive a broadcast from channel 3 in your area. The box may scan and find 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4. All of these channels were mysteriously associated with the air channel 3 but because HD receives higher frequencies, it picks up everything. Therefore, you now may have 14 channels instead of simply 6 or 8.

Once the box has picked up the channels, you will want to set the antenna to a neutral setting so that you do not have to continuously keep changing the antenna when changing channels. To do this, simply press the menu button on the box remote and select antenna. This will take you to a screen that will allow you to see the signal on each channel through your antenna. Select a location for the antenna that brings in all channels and does not make your picture pixalate. Press the menu button again and enjoy!