DeviceGuru

On February midnight on Feb. 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the U.S. will cease broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting. In case you have yet to upgrade your TV to digital TV (DTV), here’s a convenient step-by-step video tutorial, courtesy of TV talkshow host Spike Feresten.

(Click image to play video)

The U.S. Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program to help consumers keep using their analog TV sets after the changeover. The Program offers each household up to two $40 coupons, which can be used for purchasing eligible converter boxes. The boxes convert the new ATSC DTV broadcast signals to NTSC-compatible signals usable by analog TVs.

A typical DTV converter box: the Apex DT502

Although many installations may work well following the proper installation of a DTV converter box, some consumers may also need to install new TV antennas, depending on the nature of their existing antenna and the strength of TV signals at their location. In some cases, DTV reception will be better than analog reception, while in others it may actually be worse. This is because unlike reception of marginal analog TV signals, which produce picture degradation, marginal DTV signals can result in a blank screen.

It’s also important to be aware that a DTV converter box won’t turn your analog TV into a digital TV — it simply converts received DTV signals into a format and quality that’s consistent with your analog TV receiver’s capabilities. In short, despite signals being broadcast at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels there won’t be an increase in the resolution of what shows up on your analog TV’s screen beyond its NTSC-compatible 648 x 486 pixel format.

As the deadline for analog TV to disappear approaches, the government’s DTV converter coupon program reportedly is nearing exhaustion of its $1.34 billion funding. If that happens, households attempting to order the $40 coupons will end up on a waiting list, hoping that more funds become available.

Panasonic DMR-EZ485V DVD recorder with ATSC tuner

Rather than going the DTV converter box route, we added a Panasonic DMR-EZ485V DVD recorder — which packs a built-in ATSC tuner — to our DTV-ready Sony FD Triniton Wega TV. The results were nothing short of spectacular: noticeably better reception than with NTSC, accompanied by a crisp high-definition (1080i) video display.

Meanwhile, we hope you enjoyed the video tutorial 😉