What is a Digital to Analog TV Converter?
Digital converter boxes receive the digital over-the-air ATSC (signals broadcast by local stations. These boxes have their channel tuners and can include closed-captioning decoding, V-chip 2.0 ratings, program guides, and their own remote control. Like a VCR, the converter box uses your television for the display and sound. Digital converter boxes have a coaxial input which connects to an ATSC-compatible antenna. For output, the converter box will also have a coaxial connector. Many televisions already have coaxial connectors and will require only a cable to connect to the television. Older television sets may have twin-lead terminals, and may require a simple, commonly-available adapter. Some televisions have both coaxial and twin-lead terminal inputs; the coaxial input is the more robust of the two.
Television is a key element in many homes. While a great number of people subscribe to cable or satellite TV, many still watch local signals using an antenna on the roof or a smaller version that is connected directly to the television set. A two-pronged set antenna is often referred to as “rabbit ears” and many people still use this old method to receive a signal. As of 12 June, 2009, these will no longer work and you may need a digital to analog TV converter. Television has long been received by analog signal, but the U.S. Congress has mandated a switch to digital television in the United States. All televisions will be required to receive a digital signal in order to continue watching TV. If you are unprepared for this change, you will see nothing when you turn on the television. The reason given for the change was to open up more frequencies for public safety communications, including communications between first responders. Some televisions are digital-ready. Unfortunately, many a
