Coming TV Change May NOT Make Your Set Obsolete

February 17, 2009 will be here before we know it. What's so special about that day? It is the day that broadcasters across the country will turn of their analog signals and go 100% digital, by mandate of Congress. All the regular TV's in our homes will be obsolete at that point, or so conventional thinking goes.

That conventional thinking may not be correct as Andrew Kantor pointed out in an article in the USA Today.

Hence the (incorrect) idea that the standard TV you buy today won't work then. (Or at least not without a converter.)

Most cable and all satellite systems already send a digital signal, and the set-top boxes those companies provide — Cablevision, Cox, DirecTV, or whatever — already do the conversion for your analog set

So if you have a cable or satellite provider you will probably be fine with your current TV. However, if get your TV service via rabbit ears or roof top antenna and don't have a digital TV, you will be affected. Your TV will become obsolete for any broadcast signals. If you use your TV to only watch Videos/DVD's then you won't be affected either.

So if you are saving money by only watching your local channels (via over the air signals) then you may want to start planning and putting aside a few dollars each paycheck so that you purchase a new TV. You now the change is coming, so plan for it. Make it a line in your budget. On the other hand, you might consider if you really need a TV and decide to without the broadcast channels.

There is one other option for those affected by this conversion. You will be able to purchase converter boxes to convert your analog TV to the digital signal. The boxes will run $50-$70 each. Plus the government has arranged for consumers to be able to get $40 coupons (limit 2 per household) to offset to cost of the converter boxes. For more information on the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program, visit the NTIA’s website, or call 1-888-388-2009 (voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY).