Everything You Need to Know About the Coming Digital TV Switchover

Just about one year from now on February 17, 2009 analog TV signals will be turned off and only digital TV signals will be transmitted over the air. This is the biggest change to standard TV signals since color TVs were introduced over 50 years ago. What does this mean for you and other TV owners? Retrevo.com offers this overview of what you need to know and just in case you want to use this event as an excuse to bring your TV or Grandma's TV up to 21st century standards, Retrevo has recommendations for the best values in TV sets and DVD recorders including HDTV LCD TVs, DVD recorders, and Digital Video Recorders (DVRs).

It's All in the Tuner

NTSC tuners take an analog signal from an antenna, cable, or other connection and turn it into something that you can see and hear on your TV. NTSC or analog tuners are usually connected to external rabbit ears or rooftop antennas. Many TV sets hooked up to a basic cable connection also use an analog TV tuner to display all the non-premium channels.

On February 17, 2009 analog signals will not be available over the air and all tuners getting signals over the air will need to be ATSC tuners which accept digital signals. TVs can receive digital signals over the air, often using the same external antennas but they'll need to have an ATSC digital tuner in order to hear or see anything. Cable-based systems should not be affected since cable companies should continue to offer analog signals for most basic cable channels. Satellite systems already transmit digital signals and should not be affected either by the switchover.

If you happen to have a TV or device with an analog tuner you have two choices. You can buy a converter box and possibly use a government issued coupon to get a discount or you can replace the old analog-based TV with a brand new digital one.

Converter Boxes