(or apartment building master antenna system)

Most consumers have been hearing the word “digital” for a long time now.  We think that terms like digital or analog tend to confuse the consumer. What is really happening is that the old system for transmitting television programs will be turned off on June 12, 2009 at 11:59 PM. The new system is not compatible with older TVs (like the ones that have a square shaped picture tube).

If you have an older TV set with a square shaped picture tube and you use the "rabbit-ears" antenna like the picture on the right or your TV is connected to an antenna mounted on the roof, then you will need to purchase a converter box. (If you have a newer television with a "DTV Tuner", you should be okay. Check your TV's manual.)

The converter box is a device that receives the television transmissions that from the new system and converts them to the old system for use by the older TVs.

To install the converter, first, unplug the antenna connection on the back of the TV. Then connnect the antenna cable to the "converter box" at the place labeled "antenna ". The converter comes with a series of cables. One looks just like the antenna wire except it has a plug on each end. Connect one end of this wire to the converter box where it says "TV". The other end of the wire connects to the same place on the TV set where the antenna was previously connected.

Almost there! Plug the "converter box" power cord in a wall outlet. Push the power button. Next, turn the TVpower on and set the channel selector to Channel 3.

At this point, the converter box is connected to the TV set, but it is not ready to receive TV programs. You will need to run the coverter box setup. This proceedure causes the converter box to look at all the new channels and tells the converter box information about the new stations. Each "converter box" is different; consult the manual. (Some :converter boxes" call this "scanning".)

Once the setup program has completed its scan, you should now be able to use the converter box remote control to select the channels you want. The TV set stays on Channel 3; From now on, the "converter box" does the channel changing.

After 11:59 PM on June 12th, some stations will be making technical adjustments. You will need to run the setup(scanning) program again at this time so the converter box can note the changes.

That's it. You should be set. Good Luck!