The countdown has officially begun: T-minus 408 days until the country is awash in glorious ones and zeroes. On Feb. 17, 2009, television stations will power down their analog signals and switch to all-digital broadcasting. According to the federal government’s digital television Web page (www.dtv.gov), digital broadcasting “frees up valuable broadcast spectrum for public safety alerts.” Also, since digital signals are smaller, so to say, they allow TV stations to broadcast multiple channels on their existing bandwidth. This has already been seen in stations like the Public Broadcasting System, which offers additional PBS Kids and PBS HD stations in its digital broadcast.
What does this mean for you, the average TV viewer? Not much, really. Unless your television set is of the Simpson-esque, crooked rabbit ears variety, Feb. 17 will come and pass like any other day. Since the switch was mandated by congress waaaaaaay back in 1996, television manufacturers have been prepping for analog’s death and many modern sets have pre-installed digital tuners. Labels such as “Integrated Digital Tuner,” “Digital Tuner Built In,” or “DTV” herald that your set is ready for the switch.
For those Barts and Homers who ogle old televisions with VHF and UHF dials, some tech surgery will be required to extend your televisions usefulness. Antiquated boob tubes will require aforementioned digital television tuners to receive the new signals. The good news is these tuners will be readily available as the digital switch draws closer and the units are fairly simple to install. The bad news is the price of an average digital tuner is going to hover around $100. D’oh! Companies like Best Buy are offering a $40 credit toward digital tuner purchase, but with the cost of digital sets dropping, the time to get a new set is now.
So take a moment to mourn the passing of your old TV.
Now, lets move on.
Those wishing to purchase a digital-ready television should look no further than cnet.com. Not only does the digital television portion of the site offer a myriad of helpful articles, it also allows judicious shoppers to compare TV sets based on price, manufacturer and user satisfaction. For example, you can log on and see in the $1,000 range, Samsung’s offerings rate higher than Sharp’s.
So open your calendars and mark Feb. 17, 2009 with a big fat smiley face. Don’t think of it as the death of analog TV, but the ascension of glorious digital. Most stations are taking advantage of the switch by upgrading to High-Definition signal, so even if Dale Gilbert gets the five-day forecast all wrong, at least you’ll be able to see individual hairs on his salt and pepper head.
