Despite Calls for a Delay, Make Sure You're Ready for the DTV Deadline

Let's bring you up to date on the transition to digital television, better known as DTV, set for February 17 (now less than six weeks away).

If you receive your TV signal via an antenna, you should have already taken the well-publicized steps to be ready for the switch. In South Carolina, an estimated 250,000 households (including almost 100,000 in the Upstate) are affected.

Unfortunately, so many Americans are unprepared, President-Elect Barack Obama and the Consumers Union want Congress to push back the mandated DTV date. Many in Congress and the broadcasting industry say changing the date would be a mistake.

Nielsen Media Research, the company that measures TV viewership, estimates nearly 8 million households, roughly 7 percent of American homes with televisions, are totally unprepared for DTV.

I hope your household is not among them.

After the barrage of news reports and public service announcements by News Channel 7 and other television stations, it's hard to imagine anyone being unaware that analog TV broadcasting is about to end.

But being aware... and taking action... are two different things.

By now you hopefully have applied for and received the red coupon from the federal government good for forty dollars toward the purchase of a converter box, which is the electronic gizmo (roughly the size of a book) that you need to receive DTV if your television doesn't have a digital tuner built in. You've hopefully redeemed the coupon, bought a converter box and hooked it to your TV. Your antenna plugs into the box... the box plugs into your TV. It's similar to hooking up a VCR.

Put your TV on channel 3, and leave it there. Use the converter box to select the channel you wish to view. Change channels with the remote that comes with the converter box.

Many of you tell me you've applied for converter box coupons, but they didn't arrive.

Federal funding for the coupon program ran out Monday of this week (January 5). It's estimated between one and five million coupon requests could go unhonored for lack of money.

While Congress deals with the problem, I recommend you go ahead and apply for coupons and get on the list. You can apply at www.dtv2009.gov or 1-888-388-2009.

You can also check with family, friends and neighbors to see if they have extra coupons that haven't expired (the coupons are good for 90 days and have an expiration date imprinted on them).

And if you have your converter box, go ahead and hook it up. The DTV channels are available now for you to enjoy. Get used to the new set-up. You may find you need a new antenna, and it's better to discover it now and take care of it (the DTV channels are on UHF, and you'll need an antenna that picks up UHF. If you have an old antenna, it may not be adequate for DTV).

If you have DTV questions, we encourage you to call News Channel 7 at 864-576-7777 for answers.

We hope you enjoy the higher quality picture and sound of DTV.