The Law Planet Blog

The broadcast television world will change on February 17, 2009, when traditional analog television will go "dark." For information on the changeover, see the NAB website DTVAnswers. How does this affect the practice of law, one might ask.

If you received a small portable television, for watching the news, weather or for emergencies, on February 18, 2009, that TV will no longer work, other than as a paperweight. Remember all those "cute" small color TVs that could be held in your hand? Well, they'll be dead, too. So will the TVs that are mounted in your car, RV or your conference room.

The one saving grace is that this applies only to over-the-air broadcasts. Most cable systems, for now, will continue to broadcast both analog and digital signals. If you've never seen an HD broadcast, which is a high definition digital signal, you are missing out on something. The picture and sound quality are better than anything that you've ever seen.

The federal government is assisting in the conversion. The government is giving away 40 dollar coupons that you can use towards the purchase of a digital converter box. You can make old TVs compatible with DTV by purchasing a converter box. The basic boxes are rumored to be priced between 50 and 70 dollars. Simply hook up the box to your antenna and your old TV and "voila" - digital TV. It is reported that even old TVs will display a better picture with digital signals.

Here in Florida, I'm thinking hurricane preparedness. If the power goes out, the cable goes out. If the cable is out, I need to receive over-the-air television. To do that, I have a couple older TVs that will need converter boxes (it's a REALLY BAD IDEA to hook up big screen TVs to a portable generator). So I'll be signing up for the coupons and getting at least one converter box.

That's the rabbit-eared view from The Law Planet, Jupiter, Florida.