Most of you have probably heard about the transition from analog broadcasting to digital. After all the transition itself has only been postponed about eighteen times. It was most recently scheduled to happen on February 17 of this year, and congress has postponed it yet again until June 12^th, 2009. The consensus is there are still too many people in the U.S. that are not prepared for it, and will loose their TV programming if it is done too soon. The question is how long do the folks that have prepared for the change over going to have to wait? I don't know about you but I have no confidence in the June 12^th, 2009 date as it has already been postponed many times.  

There are many quality levels of digital television programming. The most common are: Standard Definition TV (SDTV) - SDTV is the basic level of quality display and resolution for both analog and digital. Transmission of SDTV may be in either the traditional (4:3) or widescreen (16:9) format. Enhanced Definition TV (EDTV) - EDTV is a step up from Analog Television. EDTV comes in 480p widescreen (16:9) or traditional (4:3) format and provides better picture quality than SDTV, but not as high as HDTV. High Definition TV (HDTV) - HDTV in widescreen format (16:9) provides the highest resolution and picture quality of all digital broadcast formats. Combined with digitally enhanced sound technology, HDTV sets new standards for sound and picture quality in television. (Note: HDTV and digital TV are not the same thing - HDTV is one format of digital TV.) 

A Little History 

In 1996, the U.S. Congress authorized the distribution of an additional broadcast channel to each broadcast TV station so that they could start a digital broadcast channel while simultaneously continuing their analog broadcast channel. Much later, Congress mandated that February 17, 2009 would be the last day for full-power television stations to broadcast in analog. Broadcast stations in all U.S. markets are currently broadcasting in both analog and digital. Now the transition date has been postponed to June 12^th, 2009.

If I have an older analog television, will I have to throw it away after February 17, 2009?

No. A digital-to-analog converter box will allow you to continue using your existing analog TV to watch over-the-air digital broadcasts. You do not need to get rid of your existing analog TV. Also analog sets will continue to work if connected to cable or satellite TV.     
 
 

If I want a new TV, will I have to buy an High Definition TV (HDTV) to watch digital broadcast television after the transition?

No. It is important to understand that the DTV transition is a transition from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting. It is not a transition from analog broadcasting to High Definition broadcasting. Digital broadcasting allows for High Definition broadcasts, but High Definition is not required, and you do not need to buy a HDTV to watch digital TV. A Standard Definition DTV (which is simply a TV with an internal digital tuner), or a digital-to-analog converter box hooked to an analog TV, is all that you will need to continue watching over-the-air broadcast television. Digital broadcast television includes Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) formats. You can watch High Definition programming on a Standard Definition DTV (or on an analog TV hooked to a digital-to-analog converter box), but of course it will not be displayed in full HD because a standard definition DTV or analog TV does not have the resolution capable of displaying the higher resolution HD broadcasts (720p and 1080i). Of course, if you have an HDTV, which most TweakTV members do, and either digital cable or satellite than you don't have anything to do or worry about.