Jan 12, 2009 7:01 pm US/Central
Sorting Out Mess Of Digital TV Conversion
(WCCO)
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The old version of WCCO is on Channel 4.0, and won't work. The digital channel is 4.1, and it will.
CBS
If you're confused about the coming switch to digital television, you're not alone. Do you have cable or satellite, and do you need a converter or not? It's still quite a mess.
On Monday night, WCCO helped people figure out if they're seeing the right thing. During a 5 minute test, people who were seeing the digital signal saw Wheel of Fortune. People who were still getting the analog signal saw a test program, instead. It's was a chance to test equipment before the Feb. 17 switchover.
"There are still some people out there with some misinformation," said Brandon Bailey of Best Buy. "Not knowing that if they have cable or satellite, they don't need a converter box, or if they have a new television, they don't need a converter box as well."
If you get TV with an old-fashioned antenna, though, you'll need a new-fangled converter.
Best Buy sells two, one for $49 and another for $59. They connect to your TV and antenna with coaxial cables, and come with their own remote controls.
"This becomes the tuner," said Bailey. "So you don't use the channels on your television anymore, you use the channels from the box."
The converter boxes connect to most antennas, digital or analog, but some folks are upgrading anyway. Just one decision as we approach the transition.
"People are starting to get a little bit more nervous and we get a lot more people coming in with questions over the last week or two," said Best Buy's Todd Tibesar.
"We came out Saturday, we got one of the converter boxes, tried it out at home, and coming back for the second one," said customer Kelly Donohue.
Now she's set up for the digital transition, but needs to know one more thing before our digital test. The old version of WCCO is on Channel 4.0, and won't work. The digital channel is 4.1, and it will.
"If you're watching tonight when they do the test, make sure you're on 4.1 or a digital channel ... and you'll be fine," Bailey said.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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