CEA partnered with Florence Henderson, America's favorite TV mom, for the Convert Your Mom DTV transition awareness campaign. Florence helped CEA make sure everyone was prepared for the transition to digital television.
The message was simple: if you watch TV over-the-air on an analog set, before June 2009 you will need to make a choice. Luckily the message spread and those who needed to made the transition successfully. Below you find out full details about the DTV transition.

What is the DTV transition?

All full-power television stations in the USA stopped broadcasting analog TV signals on June 12, 2009. This means that every television must be equipped to receive digital signals in order to continue viewing. Below is information on the switch to digital television, and how you can help yourself and others.

Why did this happen?

The transition freed up scarce and valuable airwaves for public safety and new wireless services. This is possible because the modern technology of DTV is more efficient than analog TV technology, allowing for many new and critical uses of this very limited resource.

What do I need to do?

If you subscribe to a pay-TV service (cable, satellite, or Internet TV), you don't need to do anything. Likewise, if your TV has a built-in digital tuner, you don't need to do anything. Pay-TV subscribers and people who own digital TV sets connected to an antenna are already prepared. If you watch TV on an analog set with "rabbit ears" or an outdoor antenna, there are three choices:

• Buy a new TV with a built-in digital tuner. Digital TV sets are now widely available for under $200.
• Subscribe to a pay-TV service.
• Purchase an affordable Digital TV converter box to continue to enjoy free over-the-air television.

What is a Digital TV converter box?

A Digital TV Converter Box receives over-the-air digital TV signals and converts them for analog viewing. The box is about the size of a paperback book and should fit on top of a small or medium-sized TV set. You need one converter box for each TV set that's being used to watch over-the-air broadcasts.

How do I get a converter box?

The converter boxes can be purchased for between $30 to $70 at thousands of stores throughout the country.

How do I install the converter box?

Converter boxes are easy to install. You won't need tools, and the converter will come with a detailed instruction manual. For simple instructions for setting up any converter box, print out my handy guide, "Flo's Digital Tips," and share it with your family and friends. You can also find out more information by downloading CEA's digital TV converter box setup guide(pdf) [En Español]

How do I rescan for digital channels?

After hooking up a converter box to your TV set or installing a new digital television, you will need to scan, or auto-tune, for new channels to ensure you receive all of the digital stations broadcasting in your area.  While some boxes do this automatically, you may need to scan manually.

Using the remote control for the converter box or digital TV, select "menu" or "setup" or a similar term.  Then select "scan," "channel scan," "auto scan," or "auto program."  Next, select "OK" and wait while your converter box or digital TV searches for all the channels available to you in your area. Once complete, you should be able to select the channels you want to view with the remote control.  For TVs connected to a conveter box, you will need to use the converter box remote control (not the remote control for the TV) to change channels. Please note that these are general instructions; for detailed instructions, please consult your owner's manual.

Where do I go if I want more information?

For more information about the digital television transition, watch this video: DTV 101. For details on the federal digital TV converter box progam, visit www.dtv.gov.