In February 2009 – analog television will go dark. Will your television be ready?
Free digital over-the-air television is here NOW! The “conversion to digital TV” actually began on May 1, 1999, with the top market major network stations. Public stations were required to have their digital channels on air by May 1, 2003. The conversion will come to an end on February 17, 2009, leaving only the new digital stations and the low power analog stations on air after the February deadline.
You can have the benefits of digital television now so don’t wait until analog television disappears leaving you in the dark. We are NOT approaching the digital TV conversion! We are approaching the END of the conversion. Don’t get left behind.
If you are receiving TV through a cable provider or satellite then you will not need to do anything except continue to pay the bills. You can stop reading this article now.
If you want to continue to receive over-the-air television, here is what you need.
- An antenna
- Your old analog TV with a converter box or a digital TV receiv
The Antenna
An outside antenna is your best choice. Information at www.antennaweb.com can help you select an antenna type for you based on your address. Make sure it is installed correctly to withstand strong winds and the possibility of lightning effects.
An outside antenna can be installed in the attic. This is usually better than a standard indoor antenna but possibly not as good as an outside antenna. Regular multi-element antennas designed for outdoor use can be installed in the attic but you may need to be quite flexible to work in the confines of an attic. These antennae can be unwieldy. There are smaller attic antennae designed for attic use that take up less space and are easier to install. A metal roof may prevent an attic antenna from working well unless the antenna can “see” through a portion of a wall instead of a section of metal roof.
An Indoor antenna can work but may be finicky. Positioning of the antenna can be difficult and annoying but many people have satisfactory results with them. This is the easiest antenna to install but it can be difficult to live with.
For added range, connect an amplifier to the antenna if your overall reception is poor. Do not add an antenna amplifier if you are getting good reception, the additional signal strength may over load the TV receiver. An optional distribution amplifier and cabling will allow you to feed multiple receivers through out your residence.
The Converter Box
A digital TV converter box allows you to keep your analog television after the analog television transmission ceases on February 17, 2009. This box will serve as the new digital tuner and can convert the digital signal to an analog signal that your analog television receiver can use. There are four features of which you should be particularly aware.
- . This allows you to continue to receive analog television signals with the convert box connected. If the converter does not have this feature, you will not be able acquire analog television signals through the box. After February 17, 2009, this may not have any value to you because all full power analog television stations will cease operation permanently. Only the low power stations may continue to broadcast after that date.
- If you plan to continue using an analog TV recorder such as a VHS machine/VCR with your converter box to make unattended recordings, you should look for a box with timers. The timer allows the box to change channels by itself per your program instructions. Without this feature, you must set the channel you want to record on the box prior to starting the recording. You will not be able to record more than one station while you are away without the timer function.
- This will let you record digital programs as you have in the past and will take the place of the digital converter box. One caveat; you may not be able to record digital stations on the VHS tape, though you can record them on a recordable DVD. You can use the rewritable discs to keep the cost (and land fill) to a minimum.
- . The converter boxes come with a remote control. Some of the remotes can control the box and turn the TV on or off with a single remote. Additional TV controls would include audio control and audio mute but at the time of this writing, it is not known if any converter box remotes can do that.
- Is this important? Sure, saving energy is always important though these boxes do not use very much power. Some boxes are set to turn themselves off after several hours of inactivity from the user. It can be perplexing if the box just turns itself off while you are watching or while it is needed by the VCR. The automatic turn off can itself be turned off through the setup function usually accessed by depressing the menu key on the remote.
The Digital TV Receiver
Digital TVs come with a variety of features at a variety of prices. You can spend from $200 at Walmart to $4,000 at a specialty store. Well, that was easy!
If you already have a digital TV receiver then, with a good antenna, you are ready to go!
For more information contact:
Mike Simmons
Director of Engineering for WMFE
407-273-2300, ext. 111
msimmons@wmfe.org
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