Since I work in the cable television industry I get asked all the time about the conversion the country will be making to digital transmission in 2009. There seems to be a lot of confusion out there as to what this means, so I thought I might clarify the situaiton.
Let’s start with the 88% of the population that has either Cable television, dish network/directv or a B.U.G (big ugly dish); this is not going to effect you. That’s right, people who use any of these services are not going to experience any change whatsoever. So stop listening to all the hype and go on with your life. Now the fact that you are probably paying too much for the services is a whole other topic, so I digress.
The other 12% of tv watchers that use rabbit ears are the people who need to pay attention to what is going on. Your TV will become obsolete if it only receives analog transmissions. Most televisions sold today have a digital tuner. This is listed as an ATSC tuner. If you only have an NTSC (analog) tuner then you are going to need a converter box. The federal government in giving each American a voucher for $40 toward the purchase of a converter box. You can get those here.
Retailers are cashing in on the confusion by recommending multi-function boxes that have more features than anyone will use. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) did a study in 12 states where they went into different retail stores to get information on the digital conversion. They found that 80% of the time they were given false info and the saleseperson tried to get them to purchase a box that was more than what was needed.
The group that this will effect the most is the elderly, because they have the highest percentage still using rabbit ears. So do your part and help an older person get their converter box. Or you can use the two vouchers that are available to each of us and purchase a box and install it for a grandparent or elderly person in your community. I bet if you ask, they will impart some wisdom in exchange.
We have found this to be the case already. We chose to turn off our cable a year ago since the home we purchased two years ago has a 40-foot antenna tower plus we’re fortunately in an area between three major markets and get three ABC’s, 3 NBC’s, etc.
Nobody and I mean NOBODY believes us that you ONLY need ONE piece of equipment that should be around $40-$60. Plus, you can get the $40 coupon from the gov’t to boot. Yea, we bought a DVD with the new tuner built in but we NEEDED one since up to that point we only had our PC to play DVD’s on.
Plus, it is still TEN MONTHS ’til anyone has to make a decision. What’s the rush? Ask the questions. Wait for the dust to settle. Then, make a choice.
Other than needing a PC card so we can continue to record our programs on Media Center (like TiVo), we’re good to go for about $100.