Can you tell me what to do to get ready for the DTV change?

J.B. Thanks so much for your question and I can really understand how having to make a change in how you use and view your TV after all these years can be cause for concern. Hopefully, I will be able to at least help you to understand how to make the change, and do it in a easy to follow manner.

To get started, right now you have a TV with a picture tube which picks up analog broadcast signals from the television stations you watch. To be able to pick up these signals and get a picture on your TV set, you need to have some sort of TV antenna, either a roof or attic mount type or some type of indoor antenna including rabbit ears.

The big change is that most TV stations will no longer be broadcasting with analog signals but instead will be broadcasting in all digital signals. This means, your TV will not work, unless you get a digital to analog converter box.

So, now we get back to the antenna that you will need to be able to pick up the new digital signals. It is quite possible that the antenna you already have will work as long as it has a UHF and VHF connection.

Still, you may need to buy an antenna to get the best reception, especially if you have simple rabbits ears that might not give you the best reception. An indoor antenna designed to pick up the digital signals looks similar to the one below.

Some people have even made their own antennas using a piece of wood and some coat hangers like the one below. There are lots of videos on YouTube that show you how to do this.

I know this may look a little crude, but believe me, it works. I made one myself and connected to the converter box and was able to pick up several channels that came in very clear.

Speaking of the converter box, the photo below shows you what one looks like. There are several different brands and models, but they are very similar and cost around $40.00 to $60.00. 

These converter boxes all come with a remote control. The remote is the way that you will use and operate the converter box. I know that you may wish that you did not have to go through what you might think is a lot of extra trouble, but these boxes are designed to work in a similar manner as a cable or satellite box in that you will have menus and on screen program guides that you never had with an analog TV.

You can also apply for a government coupon worth $40.00 towards to purchase of the box and you can get two coupons per household. Click on the photo below and it will take you to the government website where you can get the coupons.

Now as to how to hook up the converter box, I am going to show you two photos. The first one shows the general way it works and the second shows a simple diagram of how you would make the connections.

Here you see how the (1) the digital signal is broadcast from the TV station. Then (2) the signal is received by either a roof top or inside antenna. Then (3) the antenna is connected to the (4) new converter box follow by the converter box being connected to the (5) TV.

Now here is the simple connection diagram I was talking about. The antenna wire that used to connect to your TV, now would connect to the RF IN on the converter box. You would then need another wire or coax cable to connect from the RF OUT of the converter box to the RF IN on your TV, which is the same place the antenna wire used to be connected.

Now there is just one more thing that I think will be of help to you and to the other readers of this article. There is a great PBS video that you can watch to get the full understanding of how this all works. The video will show you how to make all the connections, show you all about antennas and you will learn how to program and use the converter box. Basically everything you will need to know is covered in this video.

I hope this helps. Rick

Rick Maselli is Founder and Editor of Showroom411.com and Ask Rick