Clarification on Digital Television
Correction to statement made on Coast to Coast Broadcast
10:00pm Pacific Time on June 4, 2008

I am frequently a guest  on the Coast to Coast AM radio program, and most recently appeared on the program for one hour at 10:00pm pacific time on June 4, 2008.

During the live, on-air interview I unfortunately misspoke on the issue of broadcast analog versus digital TV. I have alerted the producer at Coast to Coast AM of my mistake, and would like to apologize for the error.

Contrary to what I stated on the air, over-the-air broadcast television signals will continue indefinitely in the U.S., and consumers who possess the appropriate equipment and live within range of the broadcast signals will continue to be able to receive them free of charge.  However, some consumers may need to obtain new equipment to continue to receive the signals over the air, as transmission of analog (but not digital) signals will cease in February 2009.

Over-the-air (OTA) televisions broadcasts are currently transmitted in both digital and analog format.  The analog format has been around for decades, while the digital format is relatively recent.

It can be helpful to make a distinction between the "tuner" and the "display" in a television set.  The "tuner" in a television set is responsible for receiving a broadcast signal, decoding it, and delivering it to the display.  The display is responsible only for displaying a picture.  Computer monitors, for example, consist of a display (by definition) but typically do not include a TV tuner.

There are many entirely different technologies that have been used for displays --- Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT), Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD),  Plasma, DLP, etc.  There have also been many different technologies used to deliver and decode the signal --- analog OTA, digital OTA, cable, satellite, etc.

Historically, a "television set" typically consisted of a CRT display and a tuner capable of receiving analog (but not digital) OTA signals.  As technology has advanced, this characterization of a "television" is simplistic at best and archaic at worst.  These days, "television" may refer to just about any broadcast technology combined with just about any display technology.

By FCC mandate, all over-the-air analog broadcast signals will cease in February of 2009.  As a result, anyone who owns an old-fashioned "television" (a CRT display containing an analog tuner) will be unable to continue to receive over the air broadcast signals unless they either obtain a new digital-capable television or purchase an external digital tuner for their existing television.  People can apply for a $40 coupon from the government toward the purchase of such a box, and can begin using this box (or a new television) to receive over-the-air digital signals today.

For more details, see:
http://www.dtvanswers.com/dtv_converterbox.html

Cable and Satellite transmissions will be unaffected.

While the switch from analog to digital television undoubtedly presents an inconvenience for many consumers, there are a number of advantages to digital television. Digital transmission, either by cable or over the air, will provide space for many more channels in the same broadcast space. It also provides the potential for high definition television, which is a huge advance over the 1940's-based system we've all be using up until recently. The switch to digital is a good thing and it has no impact on the ability of consumers to get free TV over the air.

As I live in a TV-free household (thankfully, and by choice), television broadcasting technology is not among my areas of expertise. You will find that the facts I have published about RFID, on the other hand, are impeccably researched and fully documented.


In Freedom,
Katherine Albrecht, Ed.D.