The Digital TV Transition
By June 12th, 2009, television stations in the United States must stop broadcasting in analog. By federal mandate, digital broadcasts will be the standard moving forward. This switch is known as the "Digital TV Transition." In fact, many stations will switch to digital-only broadcasts well before the deadline.
The DTV Transition means good things for lovers of great television, but it also means questions. It won't be scary, we promise. But there are few things you'll want to know.
Broadcast television - the free broadcasts that you can pick up with rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna - will still exist after June 12th, 2009. However, the signals being broadcast will no longer be analog, they'll be digital (but not necessarily high definition). To receive those signals, you'll need a television with a built-in digital tuner or a converter box that allows your analog television to play reformatted digital content. If you subscribe to a satellite or cable service, chances are June 12th, 2009 will be just another day for you.
Every television we build and sell has a built-in digital tuner. So if you're thinking about purchasing an RCA LCD TV (and who wouldn't be?), you'll be ready for the DTV Transition.
It's important to remember that DTV (digital television) is not the same thing as HDTV (high definition television). While DTV is a better signal source than analog, it's not the super-high-resolution, oh-my-gosh-that's-fabulous signal associated with HDTV. However, once the DTV Transition occurs, some DTV broadcasts may be in HDTV. It's up to the individual stations.
Click here to confirm that your RCA TV model is ready for the digital television transition.
