Digital TV Transition

Let's talk tv.

In the middle of February, next year, analog broadcast channels will be shut down. What does that mean for you?

Well, if you get TV from cable (as in, you pay Comcast or someone else each month) or from satellite (you pay Dish or DirecTV each month) then it doesn't really affect you.

On the other hand, if you get your signal from rabbit ears (ahem, Kimmi) then you may notice something. Older TVs cannot receive the digital signal and require some form of set-top box (like a cable descrambler in the old days).

The cost of these boxes is something like $60-$80 or something. But you can get some coupons from the federal government that will knock $40 or something like that off.

More information is available here - and you can also apply for the coupon here. It takes a few weeks to get it, so don't dilly dally.

Why are they doing this? Well, broadcasting channels using old technology uses a lot of spectrum whereas new technology offers a better picture and uses less spectrum. Spectrum is worth a lot so we are going to stop wasting it on analog TV. Makes sense.

Unfortunately, rather than use it for the public good, we have licensed it to AT&T and Verizon - the largest cell phone networks in the U.S. Don't expect anything great from them anytime soon.