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If you have looked at television sets at any of the big electronics retailers lately, you know that digital TV, or DTV, is a BIG deal right now in the United States. Most stores have whole areas devoted to digital TV sets. You are also hearing a lot about four other topics:

Unless you are among the people in the United States who have purchased a DTV set, what you have in your living room is a normal analog TV that seems to be working just fine despite all the hype.


Most people, faced with this level of product proliferation, can only ask, "What the heck is going on here?!"

In this article, we will explore the world of digital television so that you can understand exactly what is going on in this medium!

Digital TV Deadline
The FCC currently has a February 17, 2009, deadline for the transition to all digital broadcasting. On this date, all analog broadcasting will stop, and consumers will need to buy converter boxes to receive programming on their older TVs. This deadline has been pushed back several times in the last few years because of both broadcasters' and consumers' inability to meet the FCC's criteria for a successful transition to digital broadcasting. TV stations must have the equipment to send digital broadcasts, and consumers must have the TVs to receive them.

For more information on the transition to digital, visit the FCC's Web site www.dtv.gov.