Consumer Alert: Did you know your analog TV is going to be a thing of the past?

The future of analog television is "over" on February 17, 2009, as the new national broadcasting standard will transition to digital television (DTV). A television receiver that has only an analog broadcast tuner will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation’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. For more information, call the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commission’s digital television website at: www.dtv.gov.

At the Consumer Corner on the above web site, the switch from analog to digital broadcast television is referred to as the digital TV (DTV) transition. In 1996, the U.S. Congress authorized the distribution of an additional broadcast channel to each broadcast TV station so that they could start a digital broadcast channel while simultaneously continuing their analog broadcast channel. Later, Congress mandated that February 17, 2009 would be the last day for full-power television stations to broadcast in analog. Broadcast stations in all U.S. markets are currently broadcasting in both analog and digital. After February 17, 2009, full-power television stations will broadcast in digital only.” The www.dtv.gov website also provides a DTV shopper’s guide, frequently asked questions (FAQs) section, news and regulatory developments regarding DTV, a quiz to test yourself on DTV information so that you can teach others (optional), the converter box coupon program and its details, plus publications both in English and Spanish to help answer your DTV questions. At the head of all this information is a “countdown” clock that shows you the days, hour, minutes and seconds from now until the DTV transition date of February 19, 2009.

This consumer information is brought to you by the Buena Park Library District, located at 7150 La Palma Ave., between Knott and Western Avenues. This information is also on its web page at www.buenaparklibrary.org. The library’s hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.