DeadlineNews.Com's 'Digital TV Transition Cheat Sheet'

Like to cheer failure? Buy despair.

This Friday, June 12, 2009, at the stroke of midnight, analog TV goes dark and while it may feel a bit like Y2K (for the "Year 2000," when electronics dated without digital brains were all supposed to self-destruct and take us with them), it'll probably come and go with a whimper too.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime



Deadline Newsroom - Converter boxes, digital TV (DTV), high definition TV (HDTV), analog vs. digital, rescanning channels, buying new equipment or keeping the old.

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!

The long planned and often delayed transition from analog TV to digital TV is upon us.

Effective June 12, 2009, at the stroke of midnight, analog TV goes dark and while it may feel a bit like Y2K (for the "Year 2000," when electronics dated without digital brains were all supposed to self-destruct and take us with them), it'll probably come and go with a whimper too.

That's because the delays (we were supposed to have been taken digitally hostage by Feb. 17 this year) have allowed for experimental digital TV transition trial runs; reams of digital TV transition consumer information and even deep dollar discounts for those who want to simulate remaining analog (and keep those rabbit ears), all to give consumers more options and more time to get some extra padding for those easy chairs.

After all, this historic Information Age spawned digital TV transition is mostly just a quit-procrastinating-sit-down-and-do-the-damn-job event.

You can't put it off anymore.

But no need to get squeamish.

Stay seated.

We are going to make it easy for you.

Just navigate to these helpful online resources and unless you want to turn around to get your TV ready (or get something to eat, or go to the bathroom, or take another procrastinating nap, or, or, or...), you need only read to learn how to prepare for (music up) digital TV transition.

This is just a small sample of the myriad independent, no-bull information available to get you turned on -- even now -- in time to tune in to the transition to digital TV.

Without further delay, here's the 'National Consumer Examiner's Digital TV Transition Cheat Sheet.'

• Get "DTV Made Easy," a little number Consumer Reports produced for the federal agency running the show, the Federal Communications Commission -- which also has a ton of information.

• Right from the horse's mouth, information from the Federal Communications Commission is yours, because you paid for it with tax dollars. Use it up. Get what you paid for.

• From the people turning the dials, flipping the switches and keeping us awake at night over all this, the National Association of Broadcasters were good enough to take lots of time and offer answers to virtually any question you might have.

• From new equipment to buy, to how Americans are coping with DTVitus (so you won't feel so bad about your squeamishness), to how cable companies are confusing us, Consumer Reports offers an everything television blog including a channel specifically for DTV news and the latest countdown information.

• Also from Consumer Reports, a video (you can watch on your computer without a TV!), "DTV Made Easy"



Finally, Consumer Reports also offers some money-saving tips revealing what you don't have to buy!

Stay away from 'snow' and white noise.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

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Digital TV premier delayed until June

TV goes digital 6/12/09

Now you have until June 12 before the nation cans analog television broadcasts in exchange for digital signals. Then, not Feb. 17, you'll need a digital TV, digital subscriber service or a digital converter to stay tuned.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - President Barack Obama is expected to sign legislation that will delay the transition to digital television until June 12.

Broadcasters were expected to make the switch anytime after Feb. 17 and can still do so if they wish. The delay is designed to give consumers more time to prepare.

Now, after June 12, when the nation cans analog television broadcasts in exchange for digital signals, you'll need a digital TV, digital subscriber service or a digital converter to stay tuned.

If you are still climbing a ladder to adjust your rooftop TV antennae or leaving the couch to reposition those "rabbit ears," your TV won't need help until after June 12.

To stay tuned with your low-tech analog TV, you'll need have to get a digital converter to dumb-down the signal for your low-tech TV.

Otherwise all channels will be full of "snow" and white noise.

(Things get complicated if you have an analog VCR recorder! Read the FCC's solution.)

Luckily, free coupons worth $40 each, two per household, are now available from the federal government to help you defray the $50 to $70 cost of a converter. Converters are available from electronics retailers and other merchants. Consumer Reports rated the 1 Zinwell and 9 Channel Master tops in converters, but rated many converters as "Recommended".

Remember, the transition is from analog to digital, which only requires that your TV has a digital tuner, your cable or satellite TV service provides digital tuning or that you get a converter for over-the-air digital reception.

You do have some other options in addition to the digital-to-analog converter, which, again, is only necessary to get the digital signal over the air via an antennae to your analog TV.

• You will not need the converter if you own a digital TV, even if you get over-the-air antennae signals. The digital TV converts the signal with it's built in digital tuner.

• You will not need the converter if you subscribe to a cable or satellite service, even if you have an analog TV. Your service converts the signal for you.

• The transition does not require you to buy a high definition TV (HDTV), unless you want to take advantage of a high definition video image.

• Digital TVs that are not HDTV are priced comparable with the newest analog TVs.

• You can watch HDTV programming with a digital TV, with a digital service or with a digital converter, you just won't get the full HDTV image quality.

Since March 2007, all TV reception devices -- including video cassette recorders (VCRs) and digital video players and recorders (DVRs) -- should be clearly marked as analog, digital or HDTV.

Also, analog products must be displayed with or near a consumer alert label that designates it as analog, while disclosing what is necessary to use it with the digital signal.

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The coupons for digital converters are offered, along with more information, from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

You can also call the 24-hour federal hotline at 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009) to sign up for the $40 coupons and to get more information.

Another web site, the Federal Trade Commission's "Countdown To DTV Transition" also offers digital conversion information.

Are you prepared? Take the Online Quiz offered by the DTV Transition Coalition.

Wilmington, N.C. went digital Sept. 8, 2008.

Hawaii went digital Jan. 15, 2009.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group -- DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop. Perkins is also a National Real Estate Examiner. All the news that really hits home from three locations -- that's location, location, location!

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Deadline Newsroom FAQ 91508

When you have questions needing answers that really hit home, contact the Deadline Newsroom. This installment: auction deals; home improvements to add value; analog to digital television signal change.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime.



Deadline Newsroom - Q: My real estate agent and real estate attorney both say I stand a good chance in getting a home below market value at an auction. Is that possible?

A: Yes, but probably not for the reason you may think.

Many homes wind up on the auction block because the home is in or headed for foreclosure or because conventional selling methods have failed. That can be enough motivation for the seller to offer a bargain. On the other hand, the seller may be using the auction process to generate a bidding war that will boost the price.

If you do your market research, you'll know ahead of time what's market value and what isn't. Research is your ace in the hole. And, with two professionals on your side, instead of just one, it appears as if you also have a wild card. Auctions aren't for novices.

If both are professionally competent and auction experienced, they'll help you scrutinize the deal, call in a home inspector to check the property's condition, explain your financing options, go over closing information and explain the terms of the auction.

If your professional team also joins you attending property previews, if they coach you at study auctions before you are ready to participate, if they act with auction acumen, their professional skill improves your chances for an auction victory.



Q: I'm considering a home improvement to raise the value of my home before I sell it. Which one will boost my sale price most?

A: Leave major improvements to the new owner's tastes and concentrate on curb appeal, landscaping, staging and interior work to transform your home into a model home instead of a palace. Also, your home improvement could alienate buyers who don't have the same tastes.

Cost-vs-value studies do say you can improve the value of your home with certain home improvements, but the findings are based not only on the improvement you choose, but also local market conditions, the condition of similar homes in your neighborhood, and, perhaps most importantly, holding onto your home for a while after the work has been done. The improvement must have time to season and bring your home's appraisal on or above par with other similar homes on the market.

Q: When television broadcast signals switch from analog to digital, will I have to buy a new high definition digital television (HDTV)?

A: Not because of the switch. Here's the scoop.

Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, all analog TV signals complete the switch to digital TV (DTV) signals. Congress ordered the transition to digital broadcasting to make more efficient use of the publicly owned airwaves.

The transition does not require you to buy an HDTV, unless you want to take advantage of a high definition video image provided by many broadcasters. You can watch HDTV programming with a digital TV, with digital cable or satellite service or with a digital converter, you just won't get the full HDTV image quality.

The transition requirement is only from analog to digital (not HD digital). The transition only requires that your TV has a digital tuner or that your satellite or cable service provides digital tuning (which, they do now) or that you get a converter for old-fashioned, over-the-air (roof top antennae or "rabbit ears") digital reception for your analog TV.

You will not need a converter if you own a digital TV, even if you get over-the-air antennae signals. The digital TV converts the signal with its built-in digital tuner.

You will not need the converter if you subscribe to a cable or satellite service, even if you have an analog TV. Your service converts the signal for you.

For digital converter coupons worth $40 toward the $50 to $70 cost of a converter, call 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009). Visit the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Trade Commission's "Countdown To DTV Transition" for more information.

Got questions? Send them to news@deadlinenews.com. We'll do our best to get you the most relevant answer.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Get news that really hits home for your Web site or blog from DeadlineNews.Com.
Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist of 30 years, is publisher and executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group -- DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site and the new Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop. In both cases, it's where all the news really hits home.

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