DTV - Apply, Buy, Try

I gave a DTV speech today to a seniors group at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Spartanburg.

During the speech, I passed around a DTV converter box. It converts a digital TV signal to analog so your older TV can still receive a picture when the DTV conversion happens February 17th, 2009.

I asked how many of the seniors had purchased and hooked up a DTV converter box and are using it currently. Several people raised their hands.

One gentleman told me he'd bought a converter box but hadn't installed it yet.

Remember this phrase: APPLY... BUY... TRY.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps used the phrase several times when he spoke at a DTV town hall meeting in Greenville earlier this month.

APPLY: apply now for the discount coupons, good for $40 off the price of a converter box. You can apply for as many as two coupons (per household) by either calling 1-888-388-2009 or visiting www.dtv2009.gov. The coupons take approximately three weeks to arrive.

BUY: when your coupons arrive, go ahead and buy your converter boxes. Many people delayed the purchase for so long, their coupons expired (they're good for 90 days). You cannot apply for replacement coupons, but you can ask a friend or relative to apply and give the coupons to you (which is entirely okay).

TRY: go ahead and hook up your converter box. Start using it now, and start enjoying the improved picture and sound of digital TV. The digital channels are available now. You'll probably find you're able to pick up around 20 channels, maybe more. Another reason to start using it promptly: you'll want to deal with any equipment issues now, not in February. You may find you need a new antenna, maybe an amplifier as well to boost the signal.

Remember the digital channels are all on UHF right now (channels 14 and up). But when the February conversion takes place, some stations will move their digital signal to their former analog channel position, which is on VHF. So you'll need an antenna that receives both VHF and UHF channels.

News Channel 7's analog signal is on channel 7. Its digital signal is on channel 53. In February, when the analog signal is shut down for good, our digital signal moves to channel 7.

APPLY... BUY... TRY. Purchase and hook up your DTV equipment now, then kick back and enjoy the new world of digital!