Will any be affected when TV stations stop broadcasting over the air?

Question

At the end of this year tv stations will no longer be broadcasting over the air. All broadcasts will be sent through cable. So if you still use an outdoor antenna or rabbit ears to receive your tv signals, you'll be out of luck in the new year. I was just wondering how many people here will be affected by that?

Answer 1

No no no no no no.  That is not correct.

In February of 2009, TV stations will stop broadcasting an analog signal, and will ONLY be broadcasting in the  new digital format.

Those who use antennas/rabbit ears for TV MAY need to get a new tuner for these signals.  Their existing antennas will still work, however.

Most HDTVs that were built within the past 2 years should already contain the new tuner, so no new equipment will be needed at all.  Otherwise, they'll need to buy one of the new tuners that are starting to show up on the market.  You can even get a $20 coupon from the government - go to http://dtv.gov/ for details.

Note that this transition has NOTHING to do with HDTV.  The stations will continue to broadcast in both HD and non-HD, so non-HDTVs with the new converter will still be able to receive TV programming.

Also, if you currently subscribe to cable or satellite for your local channels, this transition from analog to digital won't affect you at all.