Getting Prepared for the Big Switch Over

As I have mentioned before, all broadcasts will be switched to digital on February 17, 2009. Therefore, if you hope to still watch television, you will need to either upgrade to an HDTV or you will need to purchase a digital over-the-air STB tuner to connect to your television.

Determining which is the best option for you is a matter of personal choice. If you don’t care about getting an improved image and your current analog television is still in good shape, you can just get the digital over-the-air STB tuner. With this tuner, your analog television will interlace the analog image with the 480i digital image in order to still allow you to watch all of your favorite shows.

If you want to enjoy the higher quality picture, on the other hand, you are going to have to make the switch to an HDTV. Making the complete switch is going to require more than just upgrading your television, however. For example, the DVD, VCR, TiVo, and other devices you are using will also need to be upgraded to digital if you want them to be able to work as tuners and you want to enjoy the higher quality that digital provides. As with the television, however, you can purchase special digital tuners to use with these analog devices rather than completely replacing them.

In the past, the cost of these digital tuners could cost you up to $1,000. Obviously, with that kind of price tag, you are just better off purchasing a new digital DVD player rather than buying a tuner. The cost of these tuners has come down, however, so it still might be the more cost effective choice for you. In addition, like I mentioned before, the government is willing to kick in some cash to help with making the switch from analog to digital. In fact, Congress approved $1.5 billion for the cause and $990 million of that is currently dog-eared to for the coupons. The coupons are already available and you can get two per household. So, if you are looking for a tuner and don’t want to get a whole new set, these coupons can help take the bite out of the cost.

It should be noted that only certain tuners are eligible for the government program. These tuners are only able to output a 480i analog resolution for an analog television. Other tuners on the market, on the other hand, can pass 480p, 720p, or 1080i, which means you can get higher quality. The ones sponsored by the government are basically to help you get the minimum you need to still watch TV when the changeover occurs. In addition, they are slated to cost anywhere from $50-$70, which means you will still have to pay a portion of the cost even after applying the coupon.