Your Analog Signal Gets a Federal Pardon

Congress votes to delay the transition of broadcast television signal from analog to digital.

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday, February 4th to delay the transition of broadcast format from an analog radio signal to a digital signal. The transition was originally scheduled to take place on February 17th. Due in part to concern that some parts of the country, especially the poor and the elderly, would not be ready for the transition by that date, the new administration under President Obama proposed delaying the transition. The delay would ideally give everyone time to prepare their television sets to receive programs broadcast using the new digital format. The new date for the transition is June 12th.

What does this mean for you? If you currently get your television through a cable or satellite service, this change will not affect you. If your television already has an integrated digital tuner, you already have everything you need for the transition. As we reported in an earlier post, the transition will have the biggest impact on those who are using older televisions, and depend on a terrestrial antenna to receive their programming. These television viewers now have until June to purchase either a new television with an integrated digital tuner, or to purchase a set-top converter box that will allow their existing analog television to display a digital signal. The U.S. Department of Commerce had created a coupon program to offset the cost of set-top converter boxes. This program's funding ran out in the early part of this year. Additional funding for the coupon program is currently part of the proposed economic stimulus plan.

A word of warning for those of you who are affected by this transition, we caution you to be careful of claims made by cable and satellite television companies. These companies have recently started advertising that claims their services are a way to be ready for the digital conversion. To be fair, in one sense these claims are true. These services are not going to be impacted by the transition, and subscriber services will not be interrupted as a result. However, these services will not make your older, analog television ready to accept a digital signal. Cable and satellite formats are a different technology. Your older set will still need an analog to digital converter if you ever discontinue your cable or satellite service.

Your TV is Going Digital

The End of Analog, Networks Required to Start Digital Broadcast in February. Let the age of digital television begin!

At this point it should hardly come as a surprise that your local stations are scheduled to switch their broadcast format from the current analog signal to a digital signal by February 17th of this year. This is to meet requirements put in place by the FCC. The reason for the switch goes back to legislation passed in 2005 that requires the change. It was requested by Congress in order to make additional radio bandwidth available for emergency broadcasts and communications.

This change is set to have a fairly substantial impact on everybody who watches television using a typical antenna. The standard 'rabbit ear' antenna will no longer be adequate to receive a television signal, unless your television already has a digital tuner. For the most part, if you have purchased a television in the last year or so it most likely has an integrated digital tuner. On the other hand, if your TV is maybe several years old it's possible that you may be faced with a loss in signal when the switch is made to all-digital broadcast.

If you have an older analog television that does not have a digital tuner you can avoid losing your television signal with a set-top digital converter box available during the transition period for between $40 and $80. These converter boxes will be available in retail stores during the transition. To offset the cost of the converter box the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce made coupons available. The coupons are for $40 apiece, and you can find more information from the government's DTV transition website located here.

At this time there is a waiting list for the coupons, and the program no longer has any funding. This may mean you will not be able to get a coupon before the transition takes place on February 17th, but it should not affect your ability to purchase a set-top converter box. It does mean you will have to pay full price for the converter box.

You may have more time to get ready for the transition, if you need to do anything at all. The new U.S. administration under President Obama is pushing to delay the date of the transition for three months. The new date of the transition would be June 12th. The new administration, and many Democrats on Capitol Hill make the argument that a delay is necessary so that many consumers, especially to the poor and elderly, do not lose their TV reception when the change is made to the broadcast format. If this goes through, and at this time it is expected to. You would not be required to purchase a converter box or television with integrated DTV tuner until the summer.

Additional reading:

A guide to the digital television transition on Yahoo! Tech News

Article about the DTV Transition Delay on Yahoo! Tech News

The FCC's DTV website

FAQ page on the FCC's DTV website