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Does the Transition Affect Me?the Digital Transition.* Satellite and Telephone Subscribers:
Cable Subscribers: You may be affected in the very near future! Check our Cable page for information. Antenna Users: If you have a Digital TV set with a built-in digital tuner (called an ATSC tuner), you will be able to receive free over-the-air digital programming without doing anything.
If you don’t have a digital TV set, you will need to purchase a converter box to continue watching TV after February 17, 2009. A digital to analog converter box changes the new digital broadcast signal into an analog signal that can be viewed on your analog TV set. The government agency responsible for this program, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, will issue coupons to help lower the cost of converter boxes. Each household will be eligible for two coupons valued at $40 each. Each analog TV set will need it’s own converter box.
After February 17, 2009 some TV stations will be moving to a different place in the broadcast spectrum that may require a different antenna type from the one you may now own.
Technically speaking: During the transition,some channels in the “VHF band” (Channels 2-13) may be moving to the “UHF band” (Channels 14-51) and vice versa. Receiving VHF and UHF signals require different antenna types, although some antennas are designed to receive both VHF and UHF signals.
There is a Website that can tell you what antenna you need in any part of the country just by typing in your address and zip code. For more information about choosing the correct antenna to receive local over-the-air television broadcast channels, visit www.antennaweb.org. Consumers who currently receive free, over-the-air broadcasting on analog sets will have several options to choose from in order to continue receiving television programing after the transition:
Your options: Be Aware: You may purchase or already own a Digital TV without a digital tuner. These are sometimes called "Digital-Ready" TV sets.
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If you are currently using a rooftop antenna or "rabbit ears" to receive over-the-air television signals, and you have good or excellent reception quality, the same antenna should be able to provide you with reception of digital television broadcast signals.
