As many of you are no doubt aware, all analog television stations in the U.S. are required to switch to digital broadcast systems by February of 2009. What exactly that means to the millions of TV-watchers with analog only sets, however, isn't quite clear to everyone and the amount of misinformation out there is amazing...
"Did my TV screen just shrink?
That's the question a lot of people will be asking after installing one of the converter boxes that will keep their older TV sets tuned in to over-the-air broadcasts after February 17, when most stations will switch from analog to digital transmission.
The National Association of Broadcasters estimates that 70 million sets are in danger of losing their picture.
We tested two boxes and found them to produce a picture quality far better than any analog channel we could find, giving a whole new lease on life to a tube TV that lacks cable or satellite service (which will still work with older TVs after February 17). The boxes also gave us access to more channels than analog reception."
There is still a lot of confusion regarding the digital TV transistion here in the states, so if you're not sure how its going to affect you, best check with your local providers or consult the dtv.org website.
Marco Chiappetta
Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com
