High Definition Television
 HDTV or High Definition Television is set to become reality at midnight February 17, 2009. What that means is those of us with older TVs will no longer have reception at 12:01 AM on the 18th. This HDTV deadline has been pushed out a time or two but this time it looks like it is for real. The way I understand it, the move to HDTV will free up bandwidth and allow the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to bring in a boatload of money selling or reselling those frequencies.
If you have cable or satellite you shouldnít notice any difference, but if yours is a rabbit ears household like mine you will need to exercise one of several options and by the way the more TVs you have the more complicated it becomes. Option 1 would be to replace your old set(s), old may mean anything more than a few years old. While HDTVís have been on the market for several years only recently has the price has come down as they became the only thing on the market. Option 2 would be to fork out the monthly fee for cable or satellite, as a bonus you could have 500 channels to surf. Option 3 would allow you to purchase a new video player complete with a converter. Option 4 is to purchase a converter box, with or without the $40.00 coupon being offered by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration. Of course there is always the option to quit watching TV, but this is America and while that is certainly legal it may cause the neighbors to wonder about you.
The basic converter box is available at most stores that sell TVs and they retail for around $50.00. In a tip of the hat toward easing the pain, the FCC has instituted a TV Converter Box Coupon Program. By simply requesting you can receive up to two $40 coupons for the purchase of two boxes, limited time offer. We did receive our coupons, but in the meantime the little TV experienced an untimely death at 15 years. It was some consolation that the replacement cost about the same as the old one did way back then.
The number to contact for the coupons is 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009), www.DTV2009.gov or PO Box 2000, Portland, Or. 97208. In the meantime we need to decide what to do about the other TV, with about half the hours of the now defunct TV it should be less than half worn out at 12 years.
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