AT&T Tech Support 360September 26, 2007 4:00 AM PDT
FAQ: What does the digital-TV switch actually mean?
Last modified: September 26, 2007 12:26 PM PDT
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Federal officials say American households will have plenty of time to make sure their gadgets are ready for the congressionally mandated switch to all-digital broadcasts after February 17, 2009.
The key is knowing what your options are. As the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission stage back-to-back public events here this week, CNET News.com has compiled a list of questions and answers designed to ward off a DTV D-Day.
Q: Is it true if I subscribe to cable or satellite TV service, I can continue using that hand-me-down TV set from a few decades ago after the switchover?
That's right. Because if you're not even using your TV set's over-the-air tuner, there's no problem. You'll continue to receive all the channels you'd expect--including local broadcast offerings, assuming the service carried them in the first place and will continue to do so--without any need to buy new equipment. And naturally, those who receive Internet Protocol or IPTV--that is, channels shuttled over the Internet--through telephone carriers like AT&T and Verizon, won't have to make any changes either.
Q: I currently rely on free, over-the-air broadcasts and have no intention of ever subscribing to cable or satellite service. What are my options?
If you bought your TV recently, it may already include a digital tuner. As of March 2007, nearly all new televisions should include a built-in digital tuner.
If it's older, you're in the minority that has to do something before the deadline if you want to keep watching over-the-air TV. The simplest--and most expensive--option is to buy a new television equipped with a digital tuner. Many of them are already on the market, labeled as either SDTV (standard-definition television, which refers to an analog TV equipped with a built-in digital tuner), EDTV (enhanced-definition TV, which can display high-definition images but doesn't have enough resolution to do them justice) and HDTV (high-definition TVs, which are the most common type of digital television). (Click here to view CNET's TV buying guide.) You could also choose to purchase a DVD player or recorder equipped with a digital tuner.
The most economical route may be to buy an external digital-to-analog converter box, which is a digital tuner with an analog output that will let older TVs receive digital transmissions after the switch. Beginning January 1, 2008, the federal government plans to allow households to apply for up to two $40 vouchers to defray the cost of designated devices, which manufacturers project will cost $50 to $70 when they hit stores early next year.
Q: Free money from the government?
That's right, although of course you're paying for it yourself (along with the overhead a government bureaucracy to administer the program) in taxes. Regardless of how much money you make or even whether your household relies on free, over-the-air TV broadcasts, you'll be eligible to apply via phone, Web, fax or snail mail for the coupons during a first phase, in which 22.5 million coupons are expected to be available. The last day to make such requests is scheduled to be March 31, 2009. Coupons are set to expire three months after being issued.
If the first wave of coupons runs out, Congress could authorize an additional $450 million, creating up to 11,250,000 more vouchers. But those would be limited to households that claim they rely on over-the-air TV.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is overseeing the coupon program, plans to make more detailed instructions available later this year.
Q: So I can use my address and my friend's address and my mom's address to get a bunch of these coupons, with a market value of $80 for a pair? If I can scare up five mailing addresses somehow, that's $400 for one or two minutes of work, right?
Right.
Q: Dang! Is it legal to resell these vouchers on eBay?
If there's only one person behind five different addresses, it might be considered fraud. We know of no law saying you can't resell the vouchers.
Q: Are they requiring Social Security numbers or something as a check against abuse?
Nope. The Commerce Department chose not to, citing "privacy concerns."
Q: Did Congress really mean to make this so easy to abuse?
Because politicians wanted to respond to concerns from groups like Consumers Union, particularly about low-income and elderly households, they had to offer some kind of subsidy. Anytime the government hands tens of millions of people a new gadget (or a discounted one), short of sending out inspectors to make sure applicants really rely on broadcast TV, there's going to be some form of abuse and waste. Another way to do it might have been an income tax rebate.
Q: I'm an inmate in state prison in Cresson, Penn., and I don't get out for nine more years. Can I and 100 of my best friends here each get $80 in vouchers?
No. Although the Commerce Department mentions the prospect of prisoners (PDF) receiving Digital TV converters on its Web site, a spokesman said the U.S. Census definition of "household" does not include anyone who dwells in prisons and other "institutions," including college dormitories, nursing homes and group homes. That means those TV watchers are not eligible to apply for their own coupons.
See more CNET content tagged:
coupon,
digital television,
household,
TV,
satellite
Five years might be long enough for that to happen.
Right now, Analog just works. Digital is propriatary as heck and a PITA.
The technology keeps getting cheaper so this is much ado about nothing. In fact I recently bought a 720p camcorder for only $150.
we be able to record programming off the tv with
our years old vcr's?
Thanks
Most cable systems already have digital to analog converters, so when the OTA change occurs, you won't see anything different since you've probably already been converted, you just didn't realize it.
My 2 cents.
You've indicated a requirement for a digital tuner but will that work with a current antenna in the attic? Also are the frequencies handed out for digital transmission as good as the one's the government is hijacking?
have a combo Digital/HD w DVD Upscaler (look on ebay, they're
not expensive), so there is no need for Government subsidies!!!
Just another example of why government does not work.
Ron Paul for President 2008! http://ronpaul2008.com
1. Analog TV has always worked for me.
2.HD, SDTV, and EDTV is costly.
3.Along with fact it kills VCR I'm not interested.
4.The government is involved; this makes me leary.
Now, my statement is if ain't broke why fix it, but even worse is the government is getting in the deal.
I do realize I'll have to someday give up and buy a new TV. I consider it then, but not untill then.
No, really - if left to my own devices, I rarely go near the thing for broadcast or cable/sat TV, instead using it as more of a monitor for DVD and computer-borne videos.
I can get local/nat'l/international news online. Sitcoms suck. Dramas (lately) suck. There's nothing really else worth watching on the thing outside of the occasional documentary.
Maybe then, the television industry might get the hint?
/P
What's this from, [i]Hitchhiker's Guide to Digital TV?[/i]
they gave away the digital frequencies FOR FREE to the networks,
at least they're throwing the little guys some crumbs. If anyone
is going to complain about the potential for abuse with the
vouchers, I'd want to hear him raise hell about those FREE
frequencies first. Why do the networks get a free pass while
everyone else has to bid for a spot in the spectrum?
Furthermore, exactly how does one abuse the vouchers? You
still have to buy a converter for 50-70 dollars. If you think you
end up ahead if you spend 10 dollars to get a 40 dollar discount
on something you don't, then you're an idiot and you deserve to
be parted from your money.
The only potential fraud is the converter box manufacturers
turning in coupons for fictitious converter sales. But that is
easily prevented.
But worse, this is a one-time spectrum auction that will net the government an estimated $15 billion. That sounds like a lot of money.
But Bush will have blown that amount of money in Iraq in the next two months. In other words, by the time the first converter coupons become available. What an abominable waste.
Vote for Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, or anyone else that will get us out of Iraq and restore some fiscal discipline in Washington.
- The Government.........
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by dakotawbrown34
March 19, 2008 3:19 AM PDT
- My personal OPINION on the subject would be that WE should have the choice of what type of TV we watch. The government should just stop telling us what to do. They think they can just get by controlling our lives.
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