What exactly does this mean in terms of having a television that has an 'analog broadcast tuner only'.?

Does this mean that every TV that I have, that has an analog only tuner which I assume is all of mine because I don't have plasma screens or any 'new' tvs purchased within the las few years, will have to get a special converter just to work come Feb 09? I mean I have digital cable so are they saying that it won't work with my cable unless I get a converter?



"This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009 to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the U.S.'s transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products."

8/6/2007 3:34:47 PM

yes

8/6/2007 3:36:26 PM

exactly.

you'll have to have set-top boxes for all your TVs.

most likely, the cable company will provide them to you when the time comes.

8/6/2007 3:42:09 PM

Soooo....I'm pretty clueless when it comes to tv tech stuff...but if I wanted to try and keep clear of tv's that have an analog tuner, which tv's would I stay away from? A TV that I happened to come across is described as a CRT TV, which according to the http://www.dtv.gov website, is indeed a digital tv...but according to the description on the amazon page where the tv is for sale, is state's that it is NOT.

??????

8/6/2007 3:46:11 PM

where on the DTV site does it say anything about the Toshiba TV you're looking at being a Digital TV? Or did you just find something on that site that said some CRT TV was digital?

CRT is just a type of TV, just like Plasma, DLP and LCD. Being CRT has nothing to do with the TV being analogue or digital. Historically (pre-10 years ago) most/all TVs were CRTs and were also analogue only. But now you can get digital CRT TVs as well.

CRT means "cathode ray tube", and if your TV has a large, usually curved glass screen, and is fairly deep and heavy, then it's probably a CRT. Newer TVs like Plasma and LCD are not CRTs and they are much lighter and thinner.

All the modern Digital TVs also have analogue tuners as well. So with a digital TV you can watch analogue stations, but not vice versa.

8/6/2007 4:11:15 PM

how many people use rabbit ears to get their television programming (not counting OTA HD)

8/6/2007 6:05:13 PM

the FCC will tell you 20% or something like that, because of lots of old and rural people. I think those numbers are inflated

8/6/2007 6:19:41 PM

Quote :

" I mean I have digital cable so are they saying that it won't work with my cable unless I get a converter? "

No.

If you have cable, you'll be okay for now. As of now, they are allowed to keep their analog broadcasts going.

It's only the OTA people (people who use antennas) that are screwed. There is also supposedly going to be a voucher program for people to get 2 free STBs for digital-analog conversion, if you have some TVs on antenna.

8/6/2007 6:24:32 PM

the Feb 09 thing is for over the air (rabbit ears) transmissions.. cable companies aren't affected by that deadline, although I'd think some may take advantage of it and free up a large portion of their bandwidth by dropping analog.

if you have cable, you should be ok.. digital cable.. definitely ok.. no additional box needed.

after feb 09.. it's likely all tv's will be digital.. (the low-end will be EDTV (480p).. higher ends supporting HDTV (720p and 1080i/p)

if you are buying a tv soon.. look for DTV, HDTV ready, or EDTV on the box.

8/6/2007 6:28:04 PM

^ Practically all new TVs that hit the market this year are digital.

You see some clearance models straggling around still though.

8/6/2007 6:29:15 PM

Quote :

"analogue"

^^^^ If 20% is inflated, it's probably not by much. Satellite penetration is 20-something percent and cable penetration is 60-ish %.

[Edited on August 6, 2007 at 6:31 PM. Reason : ]

8/6/2007 6:31:09 PM

well I've just returned from the worst electronics place in the world, Fry's, but anyway.... like I said before, I'm clueless when it comes to tv tech talk so if I sound like I don't know my shit...it's because I don't.

That being said, I don't have rabbit ears, but in my bedroom, I don't have an actual cable box, but I get whatever cable channels I pay for 1-99. I assumed this meant analog tv.? My tv in my den has an actual cable box, but the tv itself is fairly old so I'm again assuming it's analog and not digital. I took the FCC warning to mean that any television that was not digital (like I'm assuming mine are since they're all the 'old school' type) will need said converter.

At Fry's, they didn't have ONE 'old school' tv. Not one....the cheapest tv they had...of ANY of the tv's (and since I have no idea of what is what, this takes into account CRT's, LCD's, Flatscreens, Plasmas for all I know I'm being redundant) was almost $400s. I mean of every size/type/style, that was the cheapest...

8/6/2007 7:28:03 PM

Quote :

". I assumed this meant analog tv.? My tv in my den has an actual cable box, but the tv itself is fairly old so I'm again assuming it's analog and not digital."

right, just to be clear - both of these will be fine. If you get your TV via cable, then you're fine. This is only for people getting a signal over the air with and old-school antenna and TV.

.... what kind of TV do you want for <$400?
i guess if you go to wal-mart you can get a 13 inch CRT or something? what are you looking for? $400 is not much for a TV

8/6/2007 7:44:00 PM

Quote :

"$400 is not much for a TV"

Oh how times have changed.

8/6/2007 8:03:08 PM

no shit. i still have the 32" i bought new for $229 and ill probably have it another 7 or 8 years

8/6/2007 8:04:27 PM

Quote :

"All the modern Digital TVs also have analogue tuners as well."

not true. friend of mine has one without an analog tuner.

8/6/2007 9:14:42 PM