The US government has mandated that all analog TV broadcasts will end on February 17, 2009 and only Digital / HDTV broadcasts will be available to those that receive signals using indoor or outdoor TV antennas. At that time, all analog TV sets will require digital to analog converters to receive off-air broadcasts. If you receive all TV signals via cable or satellite, the digital to analog conversion does not apply to you.

Yes, but you will need a digital to analog converter box to connect between the TV antenna and the analog TVs. To offset the cost of the converter boxes, the FCC is offering each household two $40 coupons. You can visit www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/faq.html for more information on the converter coupon program. TVs with built-in digital tuners do not need a converter.

There are many benefits offered with HDTV / Digital TV broadcasts.

Primarily, the picture and sound quality of HDTV is extremely clear with much greater detail than regular analog broadcasts. Also, Digital broadcasts don’t have “snow” or “ghosts” (sometimes seen in analog signals). When you combine a regular analog TV with Channel Master’s CM-7000 digital to analog converter, you will GET THE CLEAREST PICTURE™ possible, even without an HDTV (similar to the image and sound quality you experience when using most DVD players).

Digital broadcasts also provide more programming content with multicasting (the ability to transmit multiple programs simultaneously using a single digital broadcast channel). For example: instead of only tuning to channel 9, you are able to tune to channels 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3. Typically, the first channel, (i.e. 9.1) broadcasts the main HDTV signal. When you tune to the remaining channels (i.e. 9.2 and 9.3), you view a variety of other programs (i.e. weather, cooking, home improvement, entertainment, TV shows, etc.).

One of the nicest benefits is that you’ll GET FREE HDTV without paying monthly fees.