DTV Transition
Read and download the brochure (PDF).
Preparing Schools for the Digital TV Transition
The next frontier of television is coming. On February 17, 2009 broadcast TV is switching from analog to digital.
Is Your School Ready? As a comprehensive media campaign begins to educate and prepare consumers for the digital transition, educators are asking what it means for schools. Will schools have to buy all new TV sets or rewire their buildings?
The good news is that, for most schools, there is no need to engage in expensive audits, large-scale technology infrastructure upgrades and new television purchases. In fact, if your school receives cable television service, you may not have to do anything at all!
This brochure gives you the information you need to make sure your school is ready for the digital transition. However, the issues are complex and there is no simple answer that covers all situations in all schools. Be sure to speak with your principal, school technology coordinator, and/or library media specialist to ensure they have the necessary information about the upcoming digital transition
What is the digital transition? “Full power over-the-air stations”—your local broadcast TV stations, like those affiliated with CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX and PBS—are moving from an old system known as analog broadcasting to a new system known as digital broadcasting. The deadline for this change, established by the U.S. government, is February 17, 2009. After that day, full power TV stations will stop transmitting their programs using analog technology, and will start transmitting them only in digital.
Why the switch? Why change a system that has worked for decades? Changing to a digital format will free up the analog signal capacity, some of which will be made available to first-responders such as local police and fire departments. This will enhance public safety across the country. In addition, a change to digital broadcasting can enable TV stations to improve sound and picture quality, to use the new digital technology to transmit high-definition TV (HDTV) signals and to introduce additional channels.
What does this mean for TV viewers? 
TV sets that have a digital tuner will not be affected. However, many older TV sets will not be compatible with this new way of broadcasting TV signals. After February 17, 2009, analog TV sets – that is, sets that do not have digital tuners – that are receiving television through rabbit ears or outside antennas will not be able to display full power over-the-air TV signals unless they are connected to a service such as cable, or outfitted with a special digital-to-analog converter.
If you are a cable customer at home, you may not have to do anything to continue enjoying broadcast TV stations in their new digital format. As long as your older analog TV sets are connected to cable, they’ll continue to display local broadcast stations even after the digital transition.
The situation is similar for schools, libraries and other institutions, but there are a few additional things to consider.
How to know if your school is ready The first step is to determine if your TVs are connected to cable or other service, to an internal network or distribution system, or if they use antennas.
My school has cable. Do we have to do anything? If your school receives television service from a cable company or other multi-channel video provider, you may not have to do anything. That's because your cable company already has technology in place to handle local TV stations in the new digital format. It does this by capturing these digital signals and sending them to you through the same cable connection that delivers popular national channels like CNN, Discovery, The History Channel and hundreds of others. As long as your TV sets are connected to cable, they'll display local stations.
However, schools have many different kinds of internal networks and distribution systems – too many to cover in a brochure – and some of them may be impacted by the digital transition. Check with your school or district technology coordinator to find out if you might be affected.
Not sure if your school has cable? Ask your library media specialist, technology coordinator or check
www.ciconline.org/locator.
But what if all our TVs aren’t hooked up to cable? What if we don’t get cable? Even if your school has cable service, there may be some TV sets that aren’t hooked up to cable. TVs with digital tuners will not be affected. Analog TVs—sets without digital tuners—can continue to be used to play videos and DVDs but, in order display full power over-the-air TV signals, will have to be connected to cable or satellite TV service, or outfitted with a special digital-to-analog converter. Information about how to keep these sets useful can be found online at:
GetReadyforDigitalTV.com.
How can we tell if a TV set is digital or analog? The best way to determine whether your TV set has a digital tuner built in is to consult your owner's manual. If that's not possible, you may be able to look up information about your TV set on the manufacturer's website. Or, you can take an up-close look at your TV set. In any case, you're trying to find out if your set has an input connection labeled "digital input" or "ATSC" (it's the acronym for the new digital TV format). For more details, take the online quiz at
www.dtvtransition.org.
What are TV Converter Box Coupons and are schools eligible? Special digital-to-analog converter boxes are available through consumer electronics retailers. These boxes take the digital signal and convert it to analog, so it can be received by an analog TV set. TVs with digital tuners and sets connected to cable do not need a converter box.
Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program for households wishing to keep using older, analog TV sets after the digital transition. The coupon program allows a household to obtain up to two coupons, each worth $40, that can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes. More information about the program can be found at
www.dtv2009.gov.
Schools, libraries and other institutions are not eligible for the TV Converter Box Coupon Program but can purchase the equipment.
Our district operates an education channel on our cable system. Will it have to convert to digital?
The digital transition mandate applies to full-power broadcast stations. Public, Education and Government (PEG) channels that are seen only on cable systems are not included in this mandate. Contact you local cable company with any questions about program formats.
Where to Find More Information.
Do you have more questions about television’s digital transition and what you or your school may have to do? Contact your local cable company or go to
www.ciconline.org/dtvtransition.
The organizations listed below also have useful information targeted to a general consumer audience.
National Cable & Telecommunications Association: http://www.GetReadyforDigitalTV.com/ National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Coupon Program: http://www.DTV2009.gov Federal Communications Commission (FCC): http://www.DTV.gov Digital Television Transition Coalition: http://www.dtvtransition.org AARP: http://www.aarp.org/money/wise_consumer/telephones/digital_tv.html
