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DIGITAL TELEVISION CONVERSION - WHAT
IT'S ALL ABOUT
By February 2009, the local ”over-the-air” broadcast television
stations (i.e. ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox), must comply with a federal
requirement to transmit signals from an all digital format, as
opposed to analog. Following conversion, cable subscribers with
analog TV sets that do not already subscribe to a digital tier of
cable service will no longer be able to view those channels.
To remedy the situation, the FCC issued rules requiring cable
operators to allow cable subscribers to view the digitally broadcast
local over-the-air channels by either carrying the digital signal in
an analog format or, if the cable provider is "all digital," to have
the necessary equipment available to subscribers to convert the
digital signal to analog. Costs of such equipment, such as a
digital-to-analog converter box, can be recouped from subscribers,
perhaps in the form of a charge for the equipment or an overall
increase in rates.
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