GlobalTV and CTV are converting all their required transmitters to digital by the Wednesday night deadline, but the CBC is not.
Some people are choosing to cancel their subscription to cable or satellite TV, since over-the-air digital broadcasts often have better, or at least equivalent, picture and sound quality.
For the most part, residents won't be affected, though there will be some shifting of channels.
In smaller markets, broadcasters are allowed to continue transmitting analog signals over the air.
On Februall full-power broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in. It may be confusing to some, but its really not that hard.
Cable analog to digital converter box how to#
If you watch TV via an antenna or set-top rabbit ears and you live in one of 30 markets (including provincial capitals or cities with more than 300,000 residents), you will need a newer television with a built-in digital tuner, or a converter box that turns the digital broadcast signal into an analog one that older TVs can use. So, watch this video to get step-by-step instructions on how to hook up a digital-to-analog converter box to your television.
Satellite signals are already digital, while cable providers will continue to transmit the analog channels in their lineups the old way - though it's expected analog cable channels will eventually be phased out. The lower income status of completely unready homes likely led them to the federally funded converter box coupon program instead of subscribing to cable or DBS.
If you watch television via satellite or cable, you won't be affected.
Regulators are reallocating that bandwidth for other purposes, such as advanced internet wireless and emergency public safety services. Digital TV, or DTV, is a new format for broadcast television that allows high-definition video (HDTV) and surround-sound audio to be sent over the air for free, without cable or satellite service.ĭTV uses less bandwidth than analog TV.