At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting.
Analog television that receives free over-the-air broadcasting will no longer work after February 17, 2009.
A digital television converter box is absolutely required for analog television in order to continue to receive free over-the-air broadcasting.
Cable and satellite television will not be affected.
Digital television broadcast is already available in all major US cities.
Congress created a coupon program for purchasing of DTV converter boxes. Each household can receive up to TWO $40 coupon.
Each $40 coupon is eligible for a single DTV converter box purchase only. You can not apply two coupons for purchasing of a single DTV converter box.
You can use multiple coupons to purchase multiple DTV converter boxes from the same retailer. There is no limit on how many coupons you can use at the same time.
Coupons are valid up to 90 days from the date they were mailed.
Coupons will take weeks to ship so apply now.
Last day to request government coupon is March 31, 2009.
A new antenna may be needed for digital television reception. You can go to AntennaWeb to see whether your current antenna is compatible and what channels are available in your area.
A full listing of CECB (coupon eligible converter box) can be found on Wikipedia
