For many of you getting prepared for the digital TV (DTV) transition in 2009, and just starting to get a grasp on various television standards, you may be confused about all the SD’s and HD’s that are thrown around. The DTV transition is going to greatly improve television standards, and by the way, it already has. You don’t have to wait until Feb. 17 to hook up your digital-to-analog converters, the digital signals are already out there. Full Story »

The February 17th digital transition is sneaking up quickly. Will the country be ready for this historic event or will the day be be remembered as the day all hell broke loose? If the Wilmington, NC test last week is any indication of what will happen in February, you better get your emergency food and water supplies stocked up. Full Story »

Residents of Wilmington, NC were in shock yesterday when they couldn’t receive analog television signals. The city presented a test of what the Feb. ‘09 DTV transition would be like, and the test failed miserably.

Bloomberg news reported on the event, saying residents flooded the city’s phone lines. “Our phone lines were lit up for an hour straight between noon and one,” said Thomas Postema, general manager of WSFX, the Wilmington Fox affiliate. Full Story »

A new guide to the digital transition coming in February explains how the transition will affect current television transmissions and how you can be prepared. “DTV Transition 101: A Video Guide,” brought to you by Broadcasting & Cable, also gives an overview of digital TVs and antenna, and tutorials demonstrate how to set up your digital-to-analog converter boxes. Full Story »

The digital transition coming to the U.S. in February of 2009 has got some folks excited, others confused and many feeling indifferent about the change. But there is something everyone should be excited about, and that’s multi-casting. Full Story »

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recently updated the list of coupon eligible DTV converters that are NO LONGER available. If you would like to see a list of the currently available NTIA-approved CECBs (Coupon Eligible Converter Boxes) see this previous article. Full Story »

Here is an updated list of currently available DTV converters that are eligible for the government issue $40 coupon. The DTV converter will allow your non-digital TV sets to display digital broadcast signals. If you are still using rabbit ears on your old set, read on for more information. Full Story »

Who says you need an HDTV to watch high-definition television? You can actually watch HD shows on your computer whether it be a PC or Mac, tower or laptop. You just need a USB device from Pinnacle (an Avid company), or from Elgato (a privately held company out of Germany and San Francisco.) The devices act as tiny receivers, converting television signals and transmitting them to your PC via USB port. Full Story »

In what would think is a move that could be biting their own tail, satellite television provider Dish Network began selling a digital-to-analog converter. The DTV converter allows older televisions that are not digital to enjoy digital transmissions over-the-air. Some might ask, “Why do I need satellite service then?” If you like having a lot of channels to choose from, you may want both. Full Story »

Here is a list of the current markets where digital television (DTV) is available, ranked by DMA (Designated Market Areas) according to Nielsen Media. Full Story »

Panasonic will be promoting what they are calling the “first HD Olympics” that will take place exactly 100 days from today in Beijing, China. The promotion will launch a fleet of converted “Living in HD” trucks (previously used for the Panasonic campaign) to spread the word about the 2008 Olympics being completely broadcast in HD. Full Story »

If you haven’t got your Government approved DTV converter box yet, here is a current list of the eligible boxes. Major national retailers that are selling the boxes include Best Buy, Circuit City, RadioShack and Wal-Mart. You can find local retailers, online and telephone retailers on the government DTV2009 website.

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Look out satellite radio! The HD Radio Alliance will start the second wave of its marketing campaign starting today. This includes new radio broadcasts, logos and messaging to get HD radio products into consumer’s hands.

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Comcast subscribers will get additional high definition channels starting today. The additional HD channels include: Discovery Channel, HGTV, USA, Food Network, Sci-Fi, and TLC.

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You’ll often see the term “Integrated ATSC Tuner” in the description of an HDTV. ATSC is replacing the traditional NTSC standard that we all grew up with. NTSC, or, the National Television Systems Committee is an analog television format that was established in 1940 by the FCC.

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I got my digital-to-analog converter coupons in the mail today and immediately went to my local Radio Shack to “cash” them in. The letter from DTV2009.gov lists over 30 models, but this Radio Shack only had one model and both units in stock were on display.

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It may seem strange to run a story about how to get high definition (HD) channels, but believe it or not close to half of HDTV owners aren’t even watching HD channels. A consumer report from Leichtman Research Group in 2007 revealed that only 53 percent of HDTV owners in the US are actually watching high definition content. Even more staggering, research firm Strategy Analytics recently reported that in the UK only 5 percent of HDTV owners are actually watching HD programming.

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How does DTV work?

Digital channels are broadcast over-the-air from local facilities. All you need is a digital television or digital-to-analog converter box. That means you don’t necessarily need cable, satellite or fiber-optic service to get digital or high definition (HD) broadcasts. In fact, over-the-air broadcasting has never been better. Here is a bit of history.

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Study predicts more than than 47 million American households will be subscribing to some type of high-definition TV service by the end of 2008.

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The HDTV transition in Europe is not going as well as in the United States, a report from Strategy Analytics finds. Only 5% of HDTV owners are actually watching HD content. What’s less promising, is that non-paid subscription HD channels are shutting down. In Germany, a leading broadcaster recently turned off two of its HD channels given the low audience count.

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