On Monday January 25, 2009 the U.S. Senate voted to delay the mandatory switch from analog to digital television broadcasting that was to occur on February 17, 2009. The Senate, passed a bill that extended the deadline until June 12, 2009. The House still needs to vote, but it is expected to also pass the bill.

The bill is in response to concerns that millions of U.S. households continue to rely on antennas and will go dark when the switchover to digital occurs. A year ago, the Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 13.5 million households would require a converter box.

The reason for the extension or delay are due mainly with the distribution of funds from the U.S. Commerce Department's coupon program, which offers households up to two $40 coupons to defray the cost of a digital TV converter box.

On June 12, 2009   ( )
all television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting current analog signals and begin broadcasting only in digital or DTV. Digital broadcasting will allow stations to offer a much better quality picture as well as improved sound quality along with benefit of adding many more new and exciting additional channels.

Many households in the United States and surronding areas, risk losing television reception unless they take the required steps to receive the new digital signal.

We're here to answer your questions and help you smoothly transition to the new digital signal, whether you have and older analog televison set or a newer DTV ready set.

The FCC or Federal Comunication Commission's digital tuner rule specifies that as of March 1, 2007, all new TVs must include digital tuners. This rule prohibits the manufacture, of any device containing an analog tuner, unless it also contains a digital tuner. As a result, at the point of sale, many consumers may not be aware that this equipment will not be able to receive over-the-air-television signals after June 12, 2009.

If you currently use an antenna in or outside your home to view free, over-the-air television on an older analog television set then you will be affected by the transition to digital and wil not be able to receive the new DTV signal. If you subscribe to a pay TV service, such as cable or satellite service then you will NOT be affected by the transition and will NOT need to upgrade.

If you have an analog TV then you will be required to use A DTV converter box The converter box converts the digital television signal into an analog format, making it viewable on your analog TV set. The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is issuing each household up to two $40 coupons to help defray the cost of converter boxes.