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Starting today, TV signals will be digital only
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Terry Semachs of Semachs holds two different types of digital TV tuners.
By Sean Barron
Got your converter box yet?
Starting today, viewers who turn on their analog TVs that aren’t connected to cable or other pay-TV services will be in for a rude awakening without the devices.
They will be greeted with pure snow.
Today is the long-awaited deadline when broadcast stations across the country will be required by Congress to replace their analog signals with digital ones.
Many people primed their sets for the transition before last Feb. 17, the original deadline for the switch. Carlyann Markusic of Poland bought her box Thursday at Semach’s Northside TV & Appliances in Struthers.
“We applied for a coupon in February and were placed on a waiting list,” she explained. “We got it in April.”
Markusic said she and her husband have three sets, two of which have cable. The box is for a 30-year-old black-and-white TV they use mainly to watch local news, she added.
Semach’s, 864 Youngstown-Poland Road, hasn’t seen a rush to grab the boxes in advance of the deadline. Nevertheless, the 57-year-old business will likely experience an uptick Saturday in the number of people with questions about their purchases — as well as those upset because their analog sets no longer work — noted Terry Semach, owner.
Common concerns likely will center on whether their sets will still work, as well as whether an antenna will be needed, he explained.
With the boxes, people will be able to watch Channels 21, 27 and 33, for example, with improved picture quality on nearly any set, and extra channels will be available, Semach noted.
Analog TV owners with videocassette recorders can hook the devices to their boxes and will be able to record programs. But according to an FCC spokesman those without boxes will be able to use their VCRs and DVD players for viewing only.
Semach’s is selling the boxes for $60 to $65, though many customers have used coupons to receive up to $40 off, he said.
Sales of converter boxes, however, have been brisk of late at Doc’s Radio & TV in Boardman, owner David Little noted.
The Market Street business also has seen a recent increase in the number of service calls to install the boxes. For a charge, Doc’s will make house calls to connect the devices, Little said.
“We got three service calls today for that alone,” he added.
The new signal is more directional than analog, so viewers will still need an antenna with the boxes, he explained.
Little said he feels his store will receive calls from people caught off-guard about the transition. So the business has extra boxes on hand for those in that situation, he said.
Several hundred converter boxes have left the shelves the last few days at Best Buy in Boardman. More than 90 percent of purchases have been with coupons, noted Rich Sylvester, manager.
Even though the switch from analog to digital broadcasting has been advertised for several months, some people still may be unaware of the changes and the deadline, he speculated.
“Hopefully people know by now, but you’ll get people coming in wondering why they have no signal,” Sylvester added.
Members of the store’s Geek Squad are on hand to help those experiencing difficulty connecting the boxes. For $100, they will install up to four per household and demonstrate their uses and applications, Sylvester noted.
Beginning today, all full-power TV stations in the United States will shut off their analog signals and replace them with digital ones, requiring viewers to have converter boxes for certain sets. Some facts about the change:
Televisions connected to cable, satellite or other pay-TV services will not need a converter box.
People are encouraged to consult the owner’s manual of their TVs to see if the sets have digital tuners. TVs bought before 1998 likely do not.
Benefits of a digital signal include a sharper picture, as well as broadcasters’ need for less of the airwaves. Also, once the transition to digital is complete, fire and police departments will be able to use some channels for emergency-related communications.
Boxes do not have to be the same brand as the sets they will be connected to.
Closed-captioning will still be displayed on screen.
Analog sets won’t have high-definition capabilities with the boxes, though the picture should be clearer.
Without the boxes, viewers will still be able to use VCRs and DVD players attached to analog TVs, but won’t be able to record programs.
Boxes come with instructions, but for specific questions, call the Federal Communications Commission at (888) CALL-FCC. For more information, go to www.dtv2009.gov Web site.
Source: www.dtv2009.gov Web site