February 17, 2009 – Analog Television Broadcasting Gets Turned Off
On February 17, 2009, all over-the-air analog television transmission signals on channels 2-13 and 14-69 in the U.S. will come to an end…at least that is the current plan approved by the U.S. Government, via the Congress and the FCC. The only exception is over-the-air Television programming delivered via Low Power Stations and Translators which serve some rural and urban community markets. What Does This Mean For The U.S. Television Viewer? For those residing in the U.S. that own analog televisions or older HDTVs equipped only with standard NTSC tuners, and receive their television programs over-the-air via an antenna, this means that those TV owners will not be able to receive analog over-the-air television transmissions after the cutoff date. What Can Television Viewers Do? There are several ways to prepare for this: 1. Buy a new TV before that date that has a built-in ATSC tuner.
