Preparing For The Digital TV Switch

On February 17, 2009 (a little less than a month after we swear in a new president), full-power television stations nationwide must stop transmitting their old analog signal and switch to a digital transmission (DTV). If you already have a cable or satellite or Verizon FiOS TV connection to your TV, you will continue to receive your broadcasts as usual, but if you receive your signal "over the air" with rabbit ears or antennas, then in a little less than 4 months you'll be staring at a screen full of snow.

I, for one, am a little bummed because my cool combination lantern, radio, and TV will be useless for watching local news or shows when I am out camping.

To help prepare for the planned switchover, Uncle Sam is offering discount coupons to households that need to buy converter boxes (which will be useless in Florida when hurricanes strike and the power goes down, because the boxes do require an AC connection to power the conversion process...so no TV weather for you if the electricity goes out). Here is an amusing look at the process of preparing for the digital TV switch.

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