1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: tech stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hey there, 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast. This is Jonathan Strickland, staff writer 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: with how stuff Works dot com and with me is 6 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: Chris Palette, editor extraordinaire. Hey there, we're coming to you digitally. Yeah, 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: and the question for today is do I really need 8 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: a digital converter box for my TV? UM? And we'll 9 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: give you the short answer right up front. If you 10 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: have a plain old TV that was manufactured, you know, 11 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: in the last uh not in the last five years. 12 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: Let's say, and you are using a plain old antenna 13 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: one that you stick on your roof, when you stick 14 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: on top of your TV, probably you probably need a 15 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: digital converter box for your TV. UH. Now there's a 16 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: little bit more backstory to it. UM. Basically, the federal 17 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: government in the United States UH decided in to look 18 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: into the possibility that they needed more radio spectrum, more 19 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: broadcast spectrum for emergency communications, which is why you're probably 20 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: seeing ads on your TV that by February two thousand nine, 21 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,399 Speaker 1: you are going to need a converter box if you're 22 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: going to continue watching your local stations. But that's confused 23 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 1: a lot of people. And yes, it's it's pretty easy 24 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: to find out why people are being confused, because I'm 25 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: actually I've been reading up on this stuff and and 26 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: for a while I was confused too. I wasn't really 27 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: sure who had applied to And of course now that 28 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: I've read your article, uh, it's all become clear to me. 29 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,639 Speaker 1: But to help you guys out there, like Chris said, 30 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: we're talking about the televisions that are going to be affected. 31 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: Are the TVs that are analog televisions. That means they 32 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 1: only accept analog signals, that use a regular old antenna 33 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: to get their television signals. So if your television can't 34 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: accept digital signals, that's and you're getting it over in antenna. 35 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: That's what when you need to look into a converter. Uh, 36 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: otherwise you might be okay. So first of all, if 37 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: you've got a television and you you notice that it 38 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: can accept digital signals, you're fine. You don't need to 39 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: worry about that converter at all, because the converter is 40 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: doing exactly what your television already does. Yeah, a lot 41 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: of people maybe thinking that they need to go out 42 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: and buy a flat panel TV. But most most regular TVs, 43 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: the tube TVs manufactured in the last few years, have 44 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: a digital tuner and it should be labeled that way. 45 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: So you should be able to figure out from looking 46 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: at your television whether or not it's got a digital 47 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: tuner in it. That's right, and uh so, if it 48 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: has the digital digital tuner, you're fine. Otherwise you may 49 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: need to get this converter box. And what that does 50 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: is it accepts the digital signal that's broadcast that you know, 51 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: he picks up from Narontanna, goes to the converter. The 52 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: converter then converts the digital to analog signal and pushes 53 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: that signal to your television, which means that your TV 54 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: then accepts the analog signal. You get to watch Wheel 55 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: of Fortune or whatever it is you want to see. 56 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:00,360 Speaker 1: And uh I just say that because you know I'm 57 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: big on the Wheel. But that way your TV. From 58 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: your TV's perspective, nothing's changed. It's it's getting signals the 59 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: same way it always has. It's just there happens to 60 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: be a converter in between it and the antenna. But 61 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,639 Speaker 1: that's not necessarily the case with cable cable conversion that 62 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: it might stay analog or it might go to digital. 63 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: Is that right? Well, yeah, and uh, you know, satellite, 64 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: both Direct TV and Dish Network use all digital, but 65 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,679 Speaker 1: cable companies have been sort of some of them sort 66 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: of sit on the fence, if you will. UM, if 67 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: you have a box on top of your TV that's 68 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: getting in cable signal and it's going into your TV, 69 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: chances are that box is going to keep you from 70 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: having to get digital converter box, although you may still 71 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: be getting some analog channels through that. UM. If you 72 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: subscribe to digital cable, a lot of people will probably 73 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: be surprised to find out that not all of their 74 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: signals are digital. UM. But again it depends on the provider. Now, 75 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: if you're ugging the cable from your cable provider directly 76 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: into the back of your TV, UM, then you're probably 77 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: getting all analog cable and the While the cable providers 78 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: are not necessarily required to switch over, UM, they you know, 79 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:16,039 Speaker 1: they might, they might. They might take this as an 80 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,719 Speaker 1: opportunity to change all their operations over to digital. It's 81 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: simpler on their end, but it's not required by the government. 82 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: And that's because the the cable it doesn't factor into 83 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: this frequency range. That's what that's what the government's concerned with. 84 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: They want to free up this this broadcast frequency. They 85 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,799 Speaker 1: don't really care so much about what's going over the cable, 86 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: but the cable companies might care. They may want to 87 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: switch make it easier make on their end and uh 88 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: and lowers costs on their end. But for the user 89 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: it might mean some changes. That's true. So again, if 90 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: you have a an analog tuner in your television set 91 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: and you are using a terrestrial antenna, you know one 92 00:04:57,880 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 1: that you stick on top of your TV or on 93 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:01,919 Speaker 1: the outside of your house to get your television, you 94 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: should get a digital converter box. They run between forty 95 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: and I think eighty dollars at your local electronics store, 96 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: although at DTV two thousand nine dot com you can 97 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: apply for a coupon from the federal government to give 98 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: you a little discount on that. UM. If you have cable, 99 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: contact your cable provider to make sure and otherwise you're happy, yeah, 100 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,480 Speaker 1: happy watching UM. So for more information check out do 101 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: I really need a digital converter box my TV? Which 102 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,360 Speaker 1: is online right now? At how stuff works dot Com 103 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: and we'll talk to you again later for more on 104 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Does it how stuff 105 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: works dot com Let us know what you think. Send 106 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: an email to podcast and how stuff Works dot Com 107 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 108 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 1: It's ready, are you