• By Don Dwiggins
• Posted Thursday, February 26, 2009

Digital TV Transition Delayed

Congress has set June 12, 2009 as the final deadline for terminating analog broadcasts. Under the law, on February 17th, some full-power broadcast television stations in the United States may stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital. The remaining stations may stop broadcasting analog sometime between April 16th and June 12th.

The switch from analog to digital broadcast television is referred to as the digital TV (DTV) transition. Broadcast stations in all U.S. markets are currently broadcasting in both analog and digital. After June 12, 2009, full-power television stations will broadcast in digital only.

Television receivers that have only an analog broadcast tuner will require a converter box after June 12, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation's transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products.

To assist consumers with the DTV transition, the Government established the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program. Every U.S. household is eligible to receive up to two coupons, worth $40 each, toward the purchase of eligible digital-to-analog converter boxes. For more information on the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program, visit www.dtv2009.gov , or call 1.888.388.2009 (voice) or 1.877.530.2634 (TTY).

For more detailed information, including FAQ’s, click here.