Originally Posted by
chicaloca453
I'm no lawyer, but the way I read this law is that the analog signals will be gone for good. Older TV's will have to have a box to even work (and even some won't regardless). A timeline of the law reads like this:
February 17, 2009 Analog TV broadcasts from full-power TV stations in the US ends.
Does this not mean that a transformation is imminent?
The only people directly affected on that date are those who watch local over-the-air broadcasts (i.e. using a VHF/UHF antenna instead of via cable or a satellite dish). From that date on, you'll need a convertor box to continue using the older analog only TV's, not unlike those people right now who already subscribe to satellite TV services or digital or premium cable. And there should be no reason why any TV won't be able to use the box. (Are there any TV's that you can't hook a VCR to, for example?)
The government is distributing $40 off coupons for these boxes at:
https://www.dtv2009.gov/
Right now, just about every broadcast station is already transmitting an analog signal and a digital signal over a different frequency. In Feb of next year, they'll simply shut off the analog broadcasts.
There will be no immediate effect for anyone who watches TV strictly via cable or satellite. I think cable operators have to switch the signal coming out of the wall in your house to an all digital signal an additional year later. When that happens, those with older analog TV who connect a cable directly from the wall to their TV (instead of through a box for those that subscribe to digital or premium services) will then need a box from their cable operators.