The Basics
After February 17, 2009,
standard analog televisions that get their programming from an
over-the-air antenna will go dark. If you rely on an over-the-air
signal, you will have to take action if you still want to watch
television! For most viewers that means you'll get a converter box so
you can keep watching on your older TV set, you'll subscribe to cable
or satellite, or you'll buy a digital television.
Hold on there, partner. Analog? Digital? You lost me!
If
you haven't bought a television recently, chances are you've got an
analog TV. An analog television transmits images by "painting" lines on
the screen via the TV's internal electron gun. But in the process of
transmission, the signal degrades, which means details can be lost. A
digital television, in contrast, sends information in bit streams (that
would be lines of data made up of ones and zeroes.) These signals don't
degrade and you can see the difference in a clearer picture.
Check out the links to the left for answers to the most common questions about the switch to all-digital.