Coming to an airwave
near you next year
Are you getting questions about the Digital
Transmission switchover coming next
year? Have you heard complaints that “My TV will
stop working next year!”?
Hopefully this article will answer some of those
questions for you.
What is it?
At
cease all analog transmissions.
Why?
The current NTSC (analog) broadcasting method is
outdated and wastes
frequency bandwidth. The ATSC (digital) format
is much more efficient in
broadcasting standard and high definition
content plus it is moved up the
frequency spectrum. The old analog frequencies
will be used in the much needed
emergency radio waves and a portion may be sold
to prospective wireless
applications.
Most TV stations?
I say most because there is a loop hole in the
mandate which allows secondary
markets to continue broadcasting in analog NTSC.
Certain translator and low power
television stations are not required to make the
digital switch by
Will my TV stop working next year?
This is a trick question because I can not tell
the future. What I can say is that if
nothing fails within the TV to hamper its
operation your TV will continue
working through next year and there after. The real
question should be “Will my
TV still be compatible
after
What does this mean to consumers?
For a consumer, the real question should be how does the he/she receive TV
service?
Satellite customers? Will not be affected as the satellite companies stream digital
signals off of satellites.
Cable TV customers? Will not be affected as the cable companies stream content
over land line cable.
Antenna users? (Includes roof top aerial, rabbit ears or attic
type antenna) May
not be affected. Many antenna users are only
using the antenna to pick up digital
over the air HD content.
If an antenna user is getting 100% of their TV
content over their antenna and they
do not have a TV with an ATSC tuner then they will
be required to either:
1. Buy a new ATSC equipped TV
2. Buy a converter box
3. Subscribe to either cable or Satellite
Question on Solution #1: What TV’s sold
today have an ATSC tuner?
All new TV’s have ATSC tuners in them. Of course
the definition of new
depends on who you are. As a manufacturer Sony
could not release any product
to any dealer after
Dealer could still sell older analog only TV’s
until their inventory was exhausted.
So there is a remote possibility that some
analog TV sets are still on dealers
floors.
Question on Solution #2: What type of
converter box?
The converter box will be placed in line between
the antenna and the analog TV.
It is basically an ATSC tuner to receive digital
signals then will convert it for
display on the analog TV.
Where do I get one?
There will be select retailers across the
I heard about a government coupon. Yes, the U.S. Government is issuing $40
coupons to anyone who asks for one. There will
be 2 coupons allowed per
household and must be used towards the purchase
of ATSC to NTSC converter
boxes. There is a specific list to choose from.
Also – the coupons will expire in
90 days from the issue date. For info, Try on of
the following websites: www.dtv2009.gov, www.dtvtransition.org,
www.ntia.doc.gov
Things to consider:
Portable TV’s: Sorry, these will become obsolete
after
personally do not know of a portable TV with an
onboard ATSC tuner. They will
still work as portable monitors but would need
to be attached to something as a
source.
VCR’s: will still work as video tape players but
unless you have a VCR with an
ATSC tuner built in the VCR will no longer be
able to pick up RF content
without the addition of the converter box.
TiVo: most TiVo product does not support ATSC
and thus will no longer be able
to operate after the switch without the addition
of the converter box.
Programmed recordings may not function properly.
DVR’s: Again, the DVR would need to have a built
in ATSC tuner in order to
continue to function as a programmable recording
device for off air signals.
Otherwise you’d need the addition of the
converter box. Programmed recordings
may not function properly. It will still be
compatible to play back already
recorded programs.
Camcorder or DVD: Since these do not have tuners
in them they are not affected.
They will still playback without problems.
RF modulators: Ah, here is where it gets sticky.
So you have a product that you
connect to your TV via an RF modulator where you
have to set your TV to
channel 3. Don’t get rid of that old analog TV
because soon the new TV’s will
lose the ability to recognize channel 3. Right
now most new TV’s either have
dual tuners (ATSC and NTSC) or has a hybrid tuner
which recognizes both.
NTIA: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is
part
of the U.S. Department of Commerce and is in
charge of the coupon program
mentioned above.
Information culled from www.dtv2009.gov, www.dtvtransition.org,
www.ntia.doc.gov