I am confused about the Feb. 2009 change...help, please?

Question

I have cable TV now. Do I need to purchase a "box" to convert or am I ok? One of my TVs is about 4 yrs old the other... I would say 7 years old. They are both hooked up to cable company in my area--no a satellite company.

I have been told do nothing. I am fine then, I also hear-- I will have to purchase a converter box.

The $40. coupon for non cable people--they say is only if one does not have cable. That if I am on cable I wont need anything...help.

I really don't understand this at all.

Answer 1

Hi Sandra

All the above answers are correct.  When all of your sets are connected to the cable company you do not need the converter box.

The change only effects stations which transmit their signal over the air via antenna to receiving antennas located inside or outside people's homes (not satellite as that is totally different).  Such stations are required by law to notify people of the change.  And cable companies often tell people about the change so that they will get all of their TVs hooked up to cable (which means more money in the form of installation charges for the cable company).

Answer 2

You will be fine if you have cable and all your TV's are connected to it. The only reason you will need a DAC converter is if you use an over the air antenna whether it's bunny ears or still live in an area where you need the big antenna on your roof.

Answer 3

You will be just fine with cable.  the only ones that will be affected will be those that rely on an antennae for tv viewing.

Answer 4

If you hvae cable you don't need the coupon.

Check out http://www.DTV.gov

They have all the details.

Answer 5

Hey girl, you don't need to purchase a new tv,your digital cable  will work just fine, i'l be getting digital cable soon too,.

Answer 6

As long as you do not rely upon a VHF/UHF antenna to receive over-the-air television broadcasts you will not need to purchase one of the new government subsidized converter boxes. The digital-to-analog converter boxes to which you are referring, also known as coupon eligible converter boxes or CECBs, are not permitted to work with cable TV signals and are strictly intended for over-the-air (DTV-to-NTSC) use only.



Most cable operators have a great deal of discretion when it comes to their television programming between now and February 2012. Larger cable operators are mandated by the FCC, as a minimum, to duplicate the LOCAL over-the-air (“must carry”) broadcast TV signals in both analog and digital formats. Most local must carry broadcast stations make up a large part of a cable operator’s typical Basic Cable programming package. Beyond the government mandated minimum “dual carriage” (aka “viewability”) requirement it is not entirely clear what the hybrid analog/digital cable operators will do in the near term with their “retransmission consent” (aka “retrans” or “may carry”) content. (Retransmission consent content comprises channels such as ESPN, Discovery, Disney Channel, VH1, Spike, et al.)



I can tell you this – when it comes to basic video services cable operators are facing an uphill battle competing against the two major direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service providers, i.e., DirecTV and DISH Network. Cable operators, particularly the larger MSOs, are very eager to make the complete conversion to digital as soon as possible. Doing so will greatly improve cable operators’ ability to compete against the two DBS service providers. For example there are companies that are marketing technology that will allow cable operators to squeeze up to as many as ten standard definition digital channels in the space of a single 6 MHz analog channel not to mention a much greater potential to increase their advertising revenue and so on.



If your cable operator fails to notify you of any planned service or programming changes before the fall of this year then you should contact them with your questions. Do not be surprised if they pressure you to lease an addressable converter box for each of your TVs. I recommend that unless you notice your (favorite) channels disappearing then you should put-off leasing an addressable converter box as long as possible. That said you can be assured that at some point between now and February 2012—if you continue using cable to receive television signals—you will need to: (1) lease an addressable converter box or (2) purchase a new digital TV, though that may be no guarantee when it comes to scrambled or encrypted cable TV content. Other non-cable TV alternatives include switching to one of the satellite service providers or try using the free over-the-air DTV service. (The latter would require a digital TV or a digital-to-analog converter box for your analog TV sets.)



######## RESOURCES ########



Digital TV Facts

http://www.dtvfacts.com



Cable Networks Sue FCC Over Dual Carriage

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?la...

FCC Chief Relaxes Stance On Dual Carriage

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?la...

NCTA Keeping Three-Year Dual Carriage Vow

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?la...

ACA Asks For Dual-Carriage Exemption

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?la...

FCC: Dual Carriage Will Last Three Years

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?la...

NCTA Backs 3-Year Limit

http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?la...



“Hey, Where’d All My Channels Go?” – A Follow-Up

http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/Analog...



National Cable & Telecommunications Association

“Cable’s Role in the DTV Transition”

http://www.ncta.com/IssueBrief.aspx?cont...



Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

http://www.fcc.gov

 

Answer 7

You don't need to do a thing. The Digital switch only affects people that do not subscribe to cable/satellite and get their tv signals OTA (over the air) for free. Typically this involves the set top antennas (bunny ears). Your cable company does all the digital converting for you. There is abosolutely no need to buy anything. Just keep enjoying TV! :)