Are you ready for digital television? No more rabbit ears By ANNETTE ESTERHELD Staff Writer
It's estimated that over 19 million homes in the United States have at least one TV set that receives over-the-air television either with an antenna or rabbit ears. Feb. 17, 2009, major television stations will stop broadcasting those over-the-air signals and send only digital transmission.
If you're one of those 19 million, you need to attend the city-sponsored workshop at City Hall Tuesday, May 6, at 7 p.m. The city's Information Technology Committee is hosting a workshop to help Bowie residents prepare for the transition from analog TV to digital TV which is scheduled to happen Feb. 17, 2009.
Why the change? Ending analog broadcasts will free up airwaves that can be used by public safety communications, such as police, fire departments and rescue squads.
At the same time, the digital signal will offer improved picture and sound quality and digital is much more efficient than analog. Broadcasters will be able to offer high-definition digital programming or multiple standard digital programing simultaneously through a process called "multicasting" that will give them more channels and open up more programming choices for viewers. The change from analog to digital was a mandate of Congress.
There's a lot to learn about the change to digital, called the DTV transition. "That's why the city has put together this workshop," Denise Mahoney, assistant city manager, told the Blade-News. "People need to know if what they have is an analog television and what, if anything, they will need to do to get ready for the transition. The answer is yes, but it will require some getting ready."
Mahoney said people who own the analog televisions and want to continue using them will need to purchase a digital-to-analog convertor box, available at many local retail stores, for a cost of $40 to $70. To help consumers with the transition, Mahoney said the federal government established a Digital-to-Analog Convertor Box Coupon Program.
"At the workshop we'll be talking about the coupon program and how residents can get these coupons which are worth $40. Each homeowner can have two coupons," she said.
Mahoney said representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast, Verizon and the satellite companies will be available to answer questions at the workshop. If you have cable or satellite TV, you may not need the convertor box, it depends on what your satellite or cable company provides. The transition will primarily impact TVs that use rabbit ears or antennas.
For information on the workshop, contact Mahoney at 301-809-3031. For information on the DTV transition, visit www.dtv.gov or call the FCC at 888-225-5322.
