What's with the new t.v. Convertor Boxes???

Question

Do we not need our antennas anymore then?

Answer 1

The converter boxes have to do with the transistion to digital TV.  The FCC has said that next year, the current time-tested analog transmissions need to stop. The entire confusion is with the difference between analog and digital transmissions.

Digital TV is a new thing..it's only come out within the last 10 years; so every TV made between 1941 and even today, uses the NTSC analog standard..meaning the video and audio signals are transmitted in a "raw" form over the air where they're demodulated and seperated from the signal. It's served us well, and in fact, we're still likely to see some kind of analog reciever in Tv's for years to come.

However, the FCC has said everyone needs to stop broadcasting analog, which uses a LOT of bandwidth, and switch to digital. Digital tranmissions save bandwidth, allow multiple channels to be broadcast on the same channel and increases the quality since the digital signal isn't sensitive to noise like analog.

Since over the air TV is free..and actually considered a public service..the FCC couldn't force a transition like this without making sure there were things in place so people could continue to pick up the off the air signals.

Basically the converter box plugs into your antenna and recieves the digital signals from the air, then it decodes them into video content to be displayed on your older TV. It's a very similar process to digital cable converters.

You'll still need antennas. What these boxes are for are the people who don't have cable or satellite and recieve and don't want or can't afford to get a new TV, in fact, the government is sending out $40 vouchers to pay for these boxes.

But note, this only affects OFF THE AIR signals. Cable companies, which have either gone digital or will soon, can still keep thier analog network in operation for people who can't get a converter box. Those people on satellite TV, well, they're already ready. Thier signals have already been digital and when the local broadcasters (because, again, this is only a requirement for stuff you pull out of the air) go digital, they make a minor upgrade on thier end.

Answer 2

>Do we not need our antennas anymore then?

No, you still need your TV antenna.

The converter boxes connect between your TV antenna and TV. The converter receives digital over the air broadcasts and converts them to the old analog type that older TVs understand.

In North America analog & digital broadcasts use the same antennas, so most people can use their old TV antenna.

Answer 3

the new boxes are so you can get digital TV you will need them by February 2009 because the TVs are going to be Digital and no you wont need your antenna