Quezi

If you aren't prepared for the switchover to digital television, your TV screen may look like these. PinkMoose photo. CC-BY

The good news is that old televisions, the analog kind, will still work after the switch to digital TV in the United States. The bad news — and this will be true for some people, but not for others — is that there may not be any stations they will be able to receive.

The problem that many TV watchers are facing is that the old style of TV signal, known as analog, is incompatible with the new kind of TV signal, which is digital. Some TVs sold in recent years can use both analog and digital signals, but that isn’t true for older TVs, which become little more than paperweights if all that is available are digital signals.

If you get your signal now on your analog TV from a cable or satellite dish, you’ll almost certainly be OK for now. The satellite signals aren’t changing (the changeover affects terrestrial TV only), and nearly all cable TV systems use equipment that turns digital signals into analog ones so your TV can use them. Eventually, cable TV systems will be providing digital signals only, but that day is probably a few years away. And when that happens, chances are that cable providers will do something to help customers who have only older TVs — after all, cable companies aren’t in the business to lose customers.

The analog-to-digital switchover, then, basically is affecting those who get TV signals over the air. If you have a set of rabbit ears on top of your TV, or if you get your signal from an antenna on your roof, then you could be affected.

Although this fact hasn’t been very well publicized, not all TV stations are switching over to digital. Only high-power stations are required by law to make the change. But repeater stations and low-power stations aren’t affected by the law yet. Repeater stations are often UHF stations (channel 14 or above) that rebroadcast a signal for areas outside the major metropolitan areas. Low-power stations are stations that serve a limited area; many of them are made for niche audiences.

If you’re worried about losing your analog signal, you might check with your local TV station to see whether it is a high- or low-power broadcaster. And even if it’s a high-power station, it may have a low-power repeater you can pick up a signal from. Where I live, for example, I can watch the ABC station on both types of stations; the low-power UHF repeater will still work for me once its big brother goes to all digital.

If you’re left with only digital signals, what can you do? Well, you might consider not watching TV any more. But if that’s not very appealing, you have three other choices:

• For about $50 to $100, you can buy a device that will convert your over-the-air signal to digital. You might be able to get a government-sponsored coupon to pay $40 of the cost; information is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Don’t expect prices of the converters to come down a lot: Analog-only TVs are no longer being made for the U.S. market, and as older TVs break down or are discarded, they’ll be less need to manufacture converters.
• You can subscribe to satellite or cable TV. Chances are you’ll get a wider selection of stations that way, but of course there is a significant monthly expense.
• You could buy a digital TV. Costs vary widely depending on the screen size and other features. If you find a good sale, you might be able to get a small portable unit for around $100, although you’ll have to pay quite a bit more than that to get something suitable for a living room.