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Getting Ready for DTV
from:While you’re taking care of important home improvement projects, now is a good time to look at your home entertainment options and one of those most likely is the television. You’ve probably heard all the talk about DTV and are familiar with the change but we’ll go over it briefly just to make sure.
By June 12, all television stations will be broadcasting in digital signals only so you won’t be able to pick up those signals on your analog televisions unless you have a digital converter box, cable TV, or satellite TV.
Should You Buy a New Digital Television?
Unless you’re in the market for a new TV set anyway, you don’t need to rush out and buy a new digital television set. If you don’t have cable or satellite services, you will need a digital converter box, which you can buy at electronic stores and some discount stores. In addition, you will still need an antenna if you are using a converter box. If you do opt to get a digital converter box, apply for one of the free government coupons if you haven’t already. These coupons will discount the converter boxes by $40, so you will only have to pay about $20 for the box.
Look for Big Discounts on Analog Televisions
Stores stopped getting in shipments of analog televisions some time ago but some stores still have a back stock of analog TVs left and if you are using cable or satellite services, since you don’t need a digital television anyway, you could save a lot of money by purchasing an analog one. In addition, many pawn shops still sell analog TV sets so you might check with them to get a really good deal. Any analog television set should have a sticker on it to show that it is an analog TV so don’t be fooled just because the TV looks new.
Using VCRs and DVD Players and Recorders
If you just want to play back movies on your analog TV set then you won’t need a converter box, and this is assuming you don’t have cable television or satellite services. However, in order to record new shows or even to watch them at all, you will need the converter box and an antenna. You can hook the VCR or DVD player or recorder up to the converter box and then plug the converter box into the TV set.
Some people mistakenly confuse digital TV with HDTV but they are not the same thing at all. HDTV is high definition television and DTV is standard definition. High definition television sets cost more than digital TVs do so if you only mean to purchase a digital TV, don’t make the mistake of paying far more for an HDTV.
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