Digital TV

When you first purchase a television, many people do not realize the capabilities unless something is going to be removed, such as the analog signal. The best place to go to check on your television, would be to the manufacturer’s website. Digital tuner’s have been part of every *new* television since it was required of them in 2004. In 1998, they were starting to be installed in every new television until it was required for every television after 2004.

If you’re more hands on with your television, you could always check to see if you have an input connection labeled “digital input” or “ATSC.” In any case, you will likely have tried to see if you get a signal without anything, getting the answer you were originally looking for. Good luck in your quest to find out if you television has a digital converter already or not.

With new signals come new coverage area’s. New technology is being used and tested on a day-to-day basis, all for the digital transition. If you are someone that lives on the outskirts of a major city, and only use the rabbit ears, there are many area’s that will start getting coverage, as well as other area’s that will actually stop receiving any coverage.

Throughout the next few weeks, all the channels will be undergoing many different changes if you’re receiving the analog signal. During these next few weeks, it will be more and more clear as to whether or not you will be able to receive the channels. I am providing you a link to a list of states of what changes in coverage you will have.

DTV Markets

I had someone ask me about every single change that will take place because of the conversion, and it was brought up about how the V-Chip would be affected. Many people do not realize the signals embedded in the signal that your television gets, and how progressive television technology has become. The signal that the V-chip receives in order to determine what rating it is, is automatically embedded in the signal itself.

Once the V-chip was developed, many companies that make televisions were required to provide the option in the menu of the television. The exact quote from this FCC website states “half of all new television models 13 inches or larger manufactured after July 1, 1999, and all sets 13 inches or larger manufactured after January 1, 2000 must have V-Chip technology.”

Needless to say, the V-Chip will not be affected in any way when the conversion or transition takes place. In many cases, if you subscribe to a local cable company and have one of their digital boxes already, they should have some sort of parental control feature already. I hope this helps you parents!

For some time, many of us have been aware of the digital transition taking place on February 17, 2009. The transition from analog to digital television was initiated from our government. The government also understands that forcing people to purchase a new piece of technology that changes how many people live their daily life, is not in the best interest of the average American. In an effort to compensate the general public for this digital transition change, the government is providing two coupons worth $40 that can only apply towards the converter box. These coupons are available between January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009.

Here are the different avenues of retrieving the coupons that the government is providing.

• Call 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009)
• Fax 1-877-DTV-4ME2 (1-877-388-4632)
• Apply Online
• Print This Application  and mail to:

 
Digital Converter Coupon
P.O. Box 2000
Portland, OR 97208-2000

Don’t let the grind of your daily life get you down. Stay Strong, and have fun!

As you go about your daily life, keep your mind on the things that make you happy. Without being happy with who and what you are, you are setting yourself up for failure in your endeavors through life.

Throughout the years, everyone gets caught up in one thing or another that will always drag them down. The point to this blog is to emphasize the point on relaxing. Television does provide an outlet to relax, but, everyone needs to find the one thing that makes them truly happy, and spend the time necessary to be happy about themselves. So, relax, poor yourself a cold drink, and enjoy yourself!

With the advancement of technology, many things we take for granted are advancing as time presses on. In the interest of advancement, many companies are starting to provide their own form of phone service through the internet. The method used by the phone company is called VOIP phone service.

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. To make it somewhat simpler, it turns the your voice into something digital, and sends it really really fast to the person on the other end, allowing the two way communication that a normal analog phone provides.

To give my readers some piece of mind, the digital transition that will take place on February 17, will not affect your digital phone and has nothing to do with the signal being transmitted.