Apsattv
29-12-2007, 08:43 PM
From http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=ee0c165d-69f0-43cd-95f0-67e4ac8764f3
Ponying up a hard-earned year-end bonus to replace that old-fashioned analog TV this holiday season, just to beat the race to a national conversion to digital TV in 2009?
You don't have to — unless, that is, you want high-definition resolution, still use an antenna for reception, or were planning to buy a new set anyway.
The airwaves that now carry analog signals are being given over to public safety and advanced wireless uses, so digital signals will be the universal mode of transmission for U.S. television by Feb. 17, 2009. With only a year to go before the transition, consumers rushing out to buy new TVs may want to think twice before they buy that new TV set with its digital tuner.
If, like most Americans, you're hooked up to satellite or cable television service, your analog TV will work in the new digital age just fine, so a new TV with a digital tuner is not necessary, said Todd Sedmak, communications director for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Only 11 percent of the country's households that own televisions — about 13.5 million households — have analog TVs with antennas and no cable or satellite connection, said Jason Oxman, vice president of communications for the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group.
Those people have three choices, he said: subscribe to multi-channel providers, buy a digital TV or buy a converter box that translates analog signals into digital signals.
Analog signals transmit sound waves containing audio and video content on radio bandwidth through the air to your television set, Oxman said. The stream of ones and zeros in digital transmission represent the same information but can pack in more data, he said.
So if you keep an analog TV that relies on an antenna, you'll need a digital converter box. Those will cost only $50 to $70, and the federal government is providing up to two $40-off coupons per household beginning Jan. 1 if you buy from one of about 100 retailers participating in the program.
Last March, manufacturers were required by law to equip all the new televisions they make with digital tuners. Analog TVs are just not selling, so much so that the Consumer Electronics Association no longer tracks sales, Oxman said. Manufacturers are no longer even making analog-only TVs, he added.
Earlier this month, the NTIA announced that Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart have been certified to participate in the TV Converter Box Coupon Program.
So far, converters by manufacturers DigitalSTREAM, Zenith, Magnavox and Philco have been likewise certified.
For those who do need the converter, “it's a one-time cost to get a clear picture and to be able to get more programming,” Sedmak said.
For high-definition (HD) programming, however, you must buy a television set rated for high-resolution programming; a converter will not get you an HD-quality picture, according to fact sheets at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/.
“Every day hundreds and thousands of people are transitioning to digital TV,” Sedmak said.
Oxman confirmed that, noting that by the end of this year, national sales of digital televisions will top 85 million.
“By the end of 2007, more than 50 percent of American homes will have digital televisions,” Oxman said.
http://www.dtv.gov/
Ponying up a hard-earned year-end bonus to replace that old-fashioned analog TV this holiday season, just to beat the race to a national conversion to digital TV in 2009?
You don't have to — unless, that is, you want high-definition resolution, still use an antenna for reception, or were planning to buy a new set anyway.
The airwaves that now carry analog signals are being given over to public safety and advanced wireless uses, so digital signals will be the universal mode of transmission for U.S. television by Feb. 17, 2009. With only a year to go before the transition, consumers rushing out to buy new TVs may want to think twice before they buy that new TV set with its digital tuner.
If, like most Americans, you're hooked up to satellite or cable television service, your analog TV will work in the new digital age just fine, so a new TV with a digital tuner is not necessary, said Todd Sedmak, communications director for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Only 11 percent of the country's households that own televisions — about 13.5 million households — have analog TVs with antennas and no cable or satellite connection, said Jason Oxman, vice president of communications for the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group.
Those people have three choices, he said: subscribe to multi-channel providers, buy a digital TV or buy a converter box that translates analog signals into digital signals.
Analog signals transmit sound waves containing audio and video content on radio bandwidth through the air to your television set, Oxman said. The stream of ones and zeros in digital transmission represent the same information but can pack in more data, he said.
So if you keep an analog TV that relies on an antenna, you'll need a digital converter box. Those will cost only $50 to $70, and the federal government is providing up to two $40-off coupons per household beginning Jan. 1 if you buy from one of about 100 retailers participating in the program.
Last March, manufacturers were required by law to equip all the new televisions they make with digital tuners. Analog TVs are just not selling, so much so that the Consumer Electronics Association no longer tracks sales, Oxman said. Manufacturers are no longer even making analog-only TVs, he added.
Earlier this month, the NTIA announced that Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart have been certified to participate in the TV Converter Box Coupon Program.
So far, converters by manufacturers DigitalSTREAM, Zenith, Magnavox and Philco have been likewise certified.
For those who do need the converter, “it's a one-time cost to get a clear picture and to be able to get more programming,” Sedmak said.
For high-definition (HD) programming, however, you must buy a television set rated for high-resolution programming; a converter will not get you an HD-quality picture, according to fact sheets at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/.
“Every day hundreds and thousands of people are transitioning to digital TV,” Sedmak said.
Oxman confirmed that, noting that by the end of this year, national sales of digital televisions will top 85 million.
“By the end of 2007, more than 50 percent of American homes will have digital televisions,” Oxman said.
http://www.dtv.gov/