By Ivan Berger 

Are you ready for digital TV? In just over a year, the old tried-and-true analog TV broadcasting system will cease to exist.

They’re pulling the plug on analog TV. Just over a year from now—at midnight on February 17, 2009—every television station in America will turn off its analog transmitters and broadcast only digital TV signals, including HDTV. Many TV watchers won’t even notice the transition. Others will see their screens go blank forever—unless they prepare for it.

Why is the transition happening? After more than a decade of debate, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress decided that TV stations must transition from the analog system that has been in place for more than 50 years to the more efficient digital broadcasting system that delivers vastly improved picture quality and sound, among other benefits.

The conversion will free up parts of the broadcast spectrum for other uses, including public safety and emergency services—which is more important than ever in light of 9/11—and new wireless services. (For more information on the move to digital TV, visit dtv.gov/DTV_booklet.pdf.)

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