You’ve heard that digital television is coming. All the television stations are talking about it.
But what does it mean?
If you get your television programming from a cable or satellite provider, the switch won’t affect you at all. But if you use an outdoor antenna or “rabbit ears,” you won’t receive a signal after Feb. 17, 2009.
On that date, all television broadcast stations will convert from an analog signal to a digital signal. Your “rabbit ears” won’t work anymore without a converter box that makes the signal compatible with your television.
Converter boxes can be purchased at most places where you would normally purchase electronics. According to www.dtv2009.gov, these places include Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart.
Converter boxes generally cost $40–70, but up to two $40 coupons from the government can be attained in one of three ways: by applying online at www.dtv2009.gov, calling 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009) or mailing an application to P.O. Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208-2000. Coupons hold no cash value and cannot be sold or used to purchase items other than government-approved TV converter boxes. The combination of two coupons cannot be used to purchase one converter box; however, you may use two coupons to purchase two converter boxes. The deadline to request coupons is March 31, 2009.
To get your coupons online:
- Go to www.dtv2009.gov and click on the “Apply for a Coupon” icon.
- Fill out the needed information on the application.
- Click “Submit” at the bottom of the application.
- Allow three to six weeks from the date you submit the application for the coupon to arrive. Coupons expire 90 days after the date they were mailed.
“Every household is entitled to two coupons,” said Sharon Tinsley, president of the Alabama Broadcasters Association.
The process is meant to be easy but Tinsley said it may end up seeming complicated.
“There is a lot of confusion. This does not mean that you have to go out and buy a new TV,” Tinsley said. Churches, she noted, can help alleviate the confusion.
Tinsley and others offered tips on how to minister to members and others in the community by helping them make the switch:
- Get your youth involved.
“The kids in your churches are hooked up. They have tech down,” Tinsley said. “If I had a youth department, I would look at our membership list and poll them: senior adults, senior classes and homebound members and ask them if they need help. If they do, they will need [the youth] to get the converter box and help with the antenna.”
- Have the youth of your church help the senior adults apply for their coupons.
- Set up a station in your media center where members can apply for converter box coupons.
- Put on a mini-seminar to educate your members on how to make the transfer from analog to digital.
- People who don’t need coupons can order them and give them to people who do need them, Tinsley said. “If 50 people in the church got 100 coupons, the youth could give them to the elderly in the church.”
- Sunday School classes could get together as a group and help purchase converter boxes for those they know need the help but are without means to do so themselves.
- Pastors can remind members about the coming switchover via their church’s Web site, church bulletin or newsletter.
- Tear out and post this article on your bulletin board as a reminder to your church members.
Television stations will conduct a series of statewide soft tests soon for viewers of free TV to determine whether or not they are ready for the digital crossover. During these tests, viewers will see a test commercial in one of two ways — either with a red background or a green background. Those who see the commercial with a red background are not ready for the crossover.
“There will be some kind of slate or graphic that says if you are seeing this, you still need to take steps to make the transition,” Tinsley said.
Scheduled dates are:
- Dec. 17, 5:25 p.m.
- Jan. 20, 5:15 p.m.
- Jan. 27, 5:15 p.m.
- Feb. 3, 6:15 p.m.
- Feb. 10, 10:15 p.m.
“Every station’s test might look a little different,” Tinsley said, adding that she hopes the test will make viewers who aren’t prepared realize that they need to act promptly. “If people flip around from station to station during this time and see the same red screen, it will be a wake up call.”
On Feb. 18, 2009, the day after the changeover occurs, there will be some people who have purchased a converter box who still cannot get a signal.
Montgomery’s WAKA channel 8 has already experienced this with its viewers. The Montgomery station made the transfer to digital early, on Dec. 1.
“The biggest problem is the antenna people use,” said Mark Smith, WAKA operations manager. With analog signals, he said, you can adjust the antenna and pick up fuzzy signals that show a snowy picture but still have sound. Digital signals are different.
“People think the digital signal will behave like an analog signal. There could be no two things further from each other than analog and digital,” Smith said.
Tinsley agreed. “With digital it is either there or it is not.”
She added that if you receive a strong signal with analog, you would probably get a strong signal with digital. But if you have a weak signal and the station is barely clear on your television with analog, you will probably not get that station after Feb. 17, 2009.
Smith added that indoor antennas will be a challenge for anyone not close to the broadcast tower. Simply placing your indoor antenna outdoors will not work for the most part, he said. “You need a bonafide outdoor UHF/VHF antenna.”
Some possible solutions for signal problems are:
- If you have a newer television with a digital tuner and do not have an antenna, you might need to get an outdoor antenna.
- If you have “rabbit ears” and you do not receive a signal, you might need an outdoor antenna.
- If you have an outdoor antenna, you might need to make it taller.
- Check to see if you have followed the instructions that came with the converter box. Remember that the converter box has to be connected correctly to work properly.
- Rescan the tuner and/or manually press in the numbers on your remote for the desired channel.
“It’s imperative that you get your equipment now and play with it before the changeover occurs so that you will not have any questions when it does,” Smith said.
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Visit the following Web sites for more information on the analog-to-digital transfer:
- Dtvanswers.com
- Dtv2009.gov
- Tvfool.com
- antennaweb.org
- fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/dtvantennas.html
- dtv2009.gov/VendorSearch.aspx
- DTVTransition.org
- DTV.org
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