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What should have been fairly simple has turned into something very confusing for everyone who watches television with an antenna; meaning people who don’t have cable or satellite pay TV. There is also confusion among people who have a digital television, who don’t need one of the converter boxes but are wondering if they will need a new antenna.
The analog to digital television switchover was to take place on Tuesday, February 17, 2009. That has now been pushed to June 12, 2009. Not all stations have to abide by that date and they are planning to turn off their analog signal on the morning of February 17th. On that morning when you turn on your analog TV, some stations might not be there anymore and all you will see is a snowy picture. All stations should be running crawls on the bottom of their screens at least and with announcements as to what their plans are. It does seem that most stations are going to stay on analog until June though, but like everything else concerning this, plans can change.
A main reason for the delay is that there has been a surge of requests for the $40 government coupons towards the price of the digital converter boxes and the government has run out of money for this program. It should be up and running again by March 2009.
The coupons are good for $40 towards a digital converter box. Each household without cable or satellite is entitled to two of these coupons. Some households with limited cable or satellite might get one coupon. Most of the digital converter boxes cost between $40 and $70, you pay anything above the $40 when using one of these coupons.
When your local TV station turns off their analog signal, the only way you will be able to watch them is with a digital television or have a digital converter box hooked to your older analog TV. Then you will be able to watch all the local TV stations on digital. Many people that have digital TVs or converter boxes have been trying to watch their local stations on digital, but cannot receive them very good or in some cases not at all. This is where the other main confusion has come up.
TV antennas can be VHF (very high frequency) or UHF (ultra high frequency) or they can be a combination of the two, a VHF/UHF antenna. When this started, everyone thought that all of the new digital stations would be in the UHF area, above channel 13. But now it looks like numerous stations will stay below channel 13, which is in the VHF area. If you have some kind of antenna that you have been using to watch your local stations below and above channel 13, then you should have no trouble getting the digital signals. You will see ads for digital TV antennas. But there really is no such thing as a digital TV antenna. It has to do with frequency, not what type of signal it is. So if you were getting good reception already below and above channel 13, you should get good reception after the switch to digital.
There are the indoor antennas, such as rabbit ears or other type of indoor antennas and the attic or outdoor multi-element type of antenna. If you live a considerable distance from the TV station antennas, then you might need a directional multi-element antenna. Most outdoor TV antennas are directional, with the smaller elements the front of the antenna, the part you point towards the direction of the television transmitting antennas. Some of the more recommended antennas have been:
If you buy an antenna and still have problems you can try a preamp or a booster, which boosts the signals. You can also buy an antenna that already comes with preamp or signal booster.
Something else that has confused the issue, when people try to get their digital signals now before the actual switchover date, they aren’t getting very clear pictures and sometimes no picture at all. The main reason for this is that the television stations are running their digital signals at low power since they cannot run high power digital the same time they are running high power with their analog signal. So until the stations go to their higher power on digital, it might be hard to determine if you do need a new antenna.
Another area of concern is where are the television antennas located. Some stations have moved their antennas during this. If you were pointing your antenna to the west to receive a station and they moved their antenna north of your home, then you might have to aim your antenna to the north.
If you do live in an area where your television transmitting antennas are in different directions from your home and you do need or want an antenna outside, look for one that is omni-directional. No turning the antenna, it will pick up signals from all directions.
If you have a converter box already, you can check your digital channels now before the switch and see how well you receive them and how many you receive and go from there. Below are some helpful links. When you look at the Antennaweb.org site and enter in your zip code to look at the digital stations in your area, the yellow coded antenna is the minimum. With that color code even rabbit ears or other type of indoor antenna could work fine. The compass heading is the direction from your house a directional antenna should be pointing for best reception. (Point the smaller or narrow end towards the television antenna site).
Since I last wrote about which converter box is best. I continue to hear good things about the Zenith DT-901 and the Insignia NS-DXA1-APT. The Insignia is the same model as the Zenith; it’s the brand name for Best Buy.
One last note about digital TV, when you try to receive your local digital stations, many of them have other stations now as well on digital. For example in my area we have a channel 9 as always, but on digital they also have a 24-hour weather channel, which is on channel 9.2. You can try this as well with your local stations. For example, if you know if your channel 6 has more then one station, enter in 6.2 and then hit enter, also try 6.3 and enter.
© 2009 Sam Montana
Choosing a digital TV converter box
Web page of all converter boxes
TV antenna reviews and comments
Order your government DTV box coupon here
Thank you Michael. If you have any other questions just ask. This change over has been confusing.
Fine article that answers two questions i have been meaning to ask. Thanks!