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NTIA is accepting coupon applications over the phone (1-888-DTV-2009) and on the Internet (https://www.dtv2009.gov), until March 31, 2009. The first batch of coupons won’t be mailed out until Feb. 17, 2008. Coupons expire after 90 days.
Jan: 14, 2008: It looks like the price of a digital-TV-to-analog converter box just went down to essentially nothing for those with government-subsidized coupons.
EchoStar Communications announced Monday that it teamed up with Sling Media to brand a converter box that it said will comply with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration's specifications for devices that can be covered entirely by the NTIA's subsidized $40 coupons.
And at a price of $39.99 at retail, according to EchoStar, it will cost only the price of the sales tax, if any, on the box. And in the handful of states without sales tax, the government could even save a penny. Keep reading...
Read Tom Rieland's article about digital television
What is DTV?
DTV is "digital television." DTV is a revolutionary new form of television that delivers top quality all-digital audio and video programming to viewers over the air, via cable and through satellite. DTV encompasses Surround Sound audio, high definition pictures, standard definition pictures, and data broadcasting. It can also multicast pictures of several programs simultaneously. Many digital TV programs will incorporate a wider-screen viewing area which approximates the more natural viewing experience of most motion pictures in theaters.
What is HDTV?
HDTV (High Definition TV) is a DTV format that offers the highest-quality images and CD-quality Surround Sound audio, with resolution that equals or surpasses 35mm film commonly viewed in movie theaters. Therefore, HDTV programming is noticeably superior to the audio and video currently seen on today's analog sets.
What is SDTV?
SDTV (Standard Definition TV) is another DTV format. Since SDTV is transmitted digitally, the images are usually sharper and clearer than the analog TV pictures we see today. Because the SDTV format uses less of a spectrum than HDTV, this format also is used for multicasting capabilities.
How is DTV different from digital broadcast satellite (DBS)?
While broadcast DTV and DBS use digital transmission, a key difference is that DTV broadcasts are over-the air and free to all viewers, whereas DBS is a pay subscription service. Regardless of whether a program is broadcast over-the-air or sent to consumers digitally, such as with many DBS services, consumers still must purchase a new digital receiver in order to view the program digitally.
What is datacasting?
DTV will allow broadcasters to deliver ancillary digital data in various forms, including Web site material, program and non-program related information, and with the television signal. Datacasting does not have to be tied into on-air programming, and can be used in cooperation with local broadcasters by private businesses, local government, hospitals, schools, and other entities for the transmission of all forms of information, including text, pictures, audio, etc.
What is multicasting?
DTV will allow broadcasters to deliver more than one SDTV channel at a time from one station. This multiple stream of services is called multicasting. Viewers may see this service, for example, as four program channels coming from one TV station (PBS-1, PBS-2, PBS-3, PBS-4), and would be able to select the multicast channel of their choice. Depending on the type of programming and the spectrum it requires, TV broadcasters may feed 2, 3, 4, or more channels simultaneously. (The more "information" in a program—such as a live sports event vs. panning pictures of the Grand Canyon—the more spectrum it requires.)
Will I need to buy a new TV set to receive DTV programs?
No. Set-top converter boxes make it possible to receive DTV (including HDTV) programs on your current analog TV set. However, you will view this programming in the traditional analog standard. To get the full benefit of DTV (including digital Surround Sound), you will need a new DTV-capable TV receiver. To order one, start here.
When will I be able to receive DTV?
You can receive it now if you have access to a HDTV set or a converter box. Nearly 1000 commercial television stations in the United States are broadcasting on their digital channels. All five commercial television stations in the Columbus market are broadcasting DTV signals. PBS has already begun distributing HDTV and SDTV programs to member stations. Consumers cannot receive this initial DTV programming without a new set-top box, and will only be able to take full advantage of the enhanced digital video and audio quality and ancillary services when they purchase a new DTV-capable receiver.
Where can I see DTV?
DTV receiver demonstrations (and sales of new sets) already have begun in some retail stores. The five Columbus market commercial TV stations have begun broadcasting DTV signals.
How much will new DTV sets cost consumers?
As with any new technology, the cost of HDTV sets will start high and then drop as they become more common in the marketplace. From information currently available, it is known the sets range from $2,000 to as much as $15,000 for a 60 inch or larger plasma screen projection set. Set top converter boxes are expected to be priced similar to today's television sets.
Will I still be able to watch TV on my existing analog television set?
Yes, until 2009 or until 85 percent of US TV households have access to digital signals. The FCC has ordered TV stations to broadcast signals on both their analog and digital bands until the transition is complete. Converter boxes will also allow viewers to receive digital channels on analog television sets. However, in order to take advantage of the high-definition picture and CD-quality sound of digital television, viewers will need to purchase new digital television sets. A new generation of computers will also work as DTV receivers.
On February 17, 2009 the analog portion of the broadcast spectrum will be officially shut down as per Congressional mandate. What does that mean to your TV reception? What does it mean to stations like WOSU?
St. Claire of Assisi and You Go Digital
By Tom Rieland
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I have a small statue on my desk of a St. Clare of Assisi. Something I found in a voodoo shop in New Orleans many years ago. It was only recently that I learned her story.
At 18, she was inspired by a sermon by St. Francis of Assisi and during the night escaped her wealthy family to live a life without any worldly possessions. With the support of St. Francis, she established the Order of Poor Clares and led it for forty years. Toward the end of her life in the 1250s, she was too ill to attend Mass, but miraculously was able to see and hear the service on the wall of her monastery cell. It was on this basis that on February 17, 1958, Pope Pius XII designated St. Clare of Assisi as the patron saint of television.
What does this have to do with analog or digital TV? Well, it will be that date, but 51 years later, February 17, 2009, that will mark the end of all analog television broadcasts in America. An aide in a congressional office somewhere must have known the story of St. Claire of Assisi. |
Why fool with my TV?
For 50 years, WOSU television has been a fixture at Channel 34 in Columbus. Why fool with a good thing? Follow the money. When congress became aware of digital television and how implemention of a new digital transmission process could open up wide spans of the electromagnetic spectrum for wireless companies, it looked like a slam dunk winner. We’ll just move television off that beachfront property, transition to digital and open up that spectrum for a huge auction to help the federal deficit. In fact, the sale of this valuable, scarce real estate is expected to bring in about $10 billion, maybe more. That’s real money!
When the spectrum is sold off, the companies that buy it will use it to develop new technology and services. Cheap, ubiquitous wireless broadband access is one possibility. Mobile TV or music services are others.
When the federal government set the transition's rules in December 1996, regulators stipulated that the transition would be over and analog broadcasting would end in 2006. Back then, 2006 seemed an impossibly long time away.
The provision that sets the new dead date for analog TV was included in S.1932, a hotly contested bill that slashed federal spending by $40 billion over the next five years. The bill squeaked by the Senate four days before Christmas on a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Dick Cheney abbreviating a trip to the Middle East to return and cast the deciding vote.
The bill, ultimately named the "Work, Marriage, and Family Promotion Reconciliation Act of 2005," also included up to $1.5 billion for the set-top converters that would allow analog-only TV sets to process digital signals.
In about two years, analog TV will be retired in order to free up portions of our scarce broadcast spectrum. Those portions will then be repurposed for public safety and emergency services or sold for new wireless offerings, among other things. From a station standpoint, the change means we can shutoff our aging analog transmitters and save as much as $100,000 annually in electricity costs.
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What about my Analog TV?
Chances are you have at least one analog TV still in use somewhere in your home - Unfortunately, analog televisions are inherently incompatible with a Digital Television (DTV) signal. If any of your analog sets rely on an antenna for programming, their screens will go dark come February 17, 2009. On February 17, 2009 the analog portion of the broadcast spectrum will be officially shut down as per Congressional mandate.
From that point forward, television broadcasters will only be permitted to transmit using the DTV format. The impending analog shutdown is nothing to panic about, but you would be wise to understand how this event will affect you and your televisions. This is especially true if you pluck your programming from the sky using a rooftop antenna or old rabbit ears on your TV. |
• With the help of an external set-top box, off-air DTV signals can be converted to analog so older televisions can display the signal. According to the FCC, the government will help subsidize the purchase of two such boxes for each qualifying household beginning in 2008.
• You will not need to purchase a new antenna. The same VHF/UHF antenna that receives your analog broadcasts will work fine for DTV.
• If you're a cable customer, you will still be able to receive the down-converted signal on their analog sets through the cable connection from the wall to their set.
• If you're a satellite customer, you already have a digital-to-analog converter in your satellite receiver box.
• Your analog televisions will continue to be 100% compatible with your VCR, DVD player, camcorder, game console and any other source devices you use with them today.
If you choose to stick with your analog television and go the converter box route, just remember that it's not a magic box. A converter will not transform your TV into a HDTV. It's true that you will be able to watch a DTV signal, but you will still be constrained by the resolution of your analog TV - less than half of true HDTV.
Government Help
In the Columbus market, the estimate is that about 13 percent of households receive their television signals over-the-air. This means at least 120,000 homes in central and southern Ohio will face an issue of purchasing a new set-top box to continue to receive programming.
Nationally, it’s estimated that about 70 million sets will need such boxes. Roughly 20 million of those soon-to-be-obsolete sets are in homes where people don't subscribe to cable or satellite. The other 50 million or so are in pay TV homes, and used as second, third or fourth sets. Sets hooked up to cable or satellite services should work fine no matter what.
Of course, your representatives in Congress are aware of this little issue. To avoid a consumer revolt, Congress has set aside about $1.5 billion to smooth the transition. Owners of outmoded TV sets will be eligible for two vouchers, worth $40 each, to help buy converter boxes that will enable today's analog TV sets to receive digital signals.
People are supposed to apply for the vouchers during a three-month window in 2008, and use them within three months. But there probably won't be enough vouchers to go around, and no one really knows how much converter boxes will cost.
For the latest information about the digital transition that might impact your television set, check out:
http://www.dtv.gov/ (look for the countdown to digital transition)
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html
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