Digital-to-Analog Converter Box
You will need a converter box for EACH analog TV in your homeIn order to watch free, over-the-air broadcasts on an analog TV after Feb. 17, you’ll need to hook your TV up to a digital-to-analog converter box. Remember, you’ll need to get a converter box for each analog TV in your home that receives over-the-air signals (“rabbit ears” antenna or on-roof antenna).
Your new converter box should come with a coaxial cable, a remote control and an instruction manual. We urge you to follow the instructions that come with your specific converter box.
>Hooking up your converter box should be simple. First, unplug your television from the wall. Then, remove your antenna cable that has been plugged into your TV and plug that cable into the “Antenna In” port on the box. Next, plug one end of the new cable into the “Out to TV” port on the box and the other end into the “Antenna In” port of the TV.
Plug in and turn on your TV and converter box. Tune
your TV to channel
3 or 4 and using the remote that comes with the converter box, make sure
to follow the instructions on your screen. The set-up guide will scan for
available DTV channels in your area and automatically set your TV to receive
them.
You should re-scan channels once in a while to make sure that you are receiving channels during the DTV changes.
Remember, even with the new set-up, you are still getting your signal from the antenna. Generally outdoor antennas would get better reception than an indoor antenna. You do not need to buy a new antenna or a TV if you are having problems. You may just need to adjust the antenna’s location to point to area where the best signals are coming in.
Your VCR or DVD machines will continue to work with your television with no difficulties. With a converter box, if you use closed-captioning, you will receive closed-captioning programs like you did before. Also with some converter boxes, you can even change size, font and color of your digital captions.
The sooner you act, the sooner you will be able to start enjoying all the benefits of digital television.
Is your TV ready for digital?
On Feb. 17, 2009, TV stations will stop using an analog signal
and start broadcasting only in digital. Your television
needs to be ready so that you can keep watching your favorite
TV channels. Watch video
What do you need to do to be ready for the DTV changes depends on how your TVs in your home currently receive broadcast signals. Watch video
In order to watch free, over-the-air broadcasts on an analog TV after Feb. 17, you’ll need to hook up your TV to a digital-to-analog converter box. Remember, you’ll need to get a converter box for each analog TV in your home. Watch video
We have shown you how to tell if your TV is ready for DTV – we’ve shown you options for making the switch to DTV if you need to. Watch video
