How to Get Ready for the Switch to Digitall TV

By now, you've probably seen announcements on TV explaining that all TV programming is going digital, effective February 17, 2009. Since it is the last day of July, 2008, as this is being written, the tendency is to think that it's almost six months away, why worry about it?

If you've purchased a TV set or flat screen TV since 2004, chances are you don't have to do anything. TV sets sold since 2004 have been carrying built-in digital tuners that are already adaptable to the coming digital conversion in 2009. If you bought your TV between 1998 and 2004, you're in a bit of a grey area. Certain sets sold in those years already have the digital tuners, and some don't. If you still have your owner's manual, chances are you can find out if it has a digital tuner by consulting the manual.

The real concern applies to anyone now watching TV on a set purchased prior to 2004, and especially one purchased before 1998. If your TV set or flat screen doesn't have a digital tuner, all you will have to do is purchase a converter box from your local electronics store, like Radio Shack. The converter box is reported to cost between $40 and $70, so depending on how old your set is, it may not be worth the trouble to buy a new set, when buying a converter box may be a cheaper option. Another thought that might cheer you up is that Uncle Sam is going to help chip in with the cost of conversion. You heard right. The same government that just issued stimulus checks is now going to issue coupons worth up to $40 toward the cost of a converter box. But there's a catch. You have to wait until January 1, 2009 to pick up your coupon and the coupon will be useless if you've already bought your converter box ahead of time. Some converter boxes may cost more than $40 depending on where you buy one, so don't count on the government to pick up all of the tab, but the best information that's available at present, suggests that you can buy a converter box for $40. In order to make sure the government covers $40 of the cost, you have to present your coupon to the merchant selling the converter box at the time you buy it, or you're out of luck. The government will run the coupon program through the end of March, 2009. Oh, and the government is going to allot two coupons per household, maximum, so if you have two older sets, you can keep going with both of them. But from the third TV set on, you're on your own.

So once you have a converter box, or set of converter boxes, you may be wondering if they're hard to install. The short answer is "No." Instruction tips will come with the box and in case you're wondering, you will still need your antenna. The boxes are rumored to be about the size of a paperback novel, so they're fairly small. Some bad news is that you can only run one TV set at a time on one. So if you're running two TV sets off of one antenna presently, you'll need two converter boxes.

Now if you're a cable or satellite customer, you won't need a converter box. The converter box applies mainly to people still using a regular antenna to receive TV programming. It's interesting to note that certain cable companies who still broadcast in analog, have permission from the government to continue broadcasting in analog past the February 17, 2009 deadline. At some point during the three-year period that follows the February 2009 deadline, the FCC will decide what anyone still broadcasting in analog mode will have to do.

It's no wonder the government can be so generous with its coupon program. How many viewers watch TV programming without subscribing to cable or a satellite service? Still, it's expected that a fair number of people who don't subscribe to paid programming of some sort will need the converter boxes.