# Will this tv work after switch to digital? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389 "2008-06-18T19:28:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/1 "2008-06-18T19:28:59Z")
Will [this tv](http://www.amazon.com/Hannsprees-Wood-10-Inch-LCD-Television/dp/B000A7W3KS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1213816984&sr=8-3) continue to work after the switch to digital signals in 2009? Assume it’ll be hooked up to a cable feed. Or is purchasing this TV ensuring a 1-yr lifespan max? (I’m helping a friend look for a 10" tv set that will work past the switch to digital broadcasting…) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/2 "2008-06-18T19:36:33Z")
At a guess I would say no. It only mentions a standard NTSC tuner. To receive the digital broadcast you need a digital receiver. If you have a TV that cannot do that natively you need a box between you and the signal source to do the conversion. In the case of cable television I imagine the box they give you anyway will do this. Plugging the cable directly into the TV however likely will not work when it is nothing but digital. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/3 "2008-06-18T19:42:22Z")
Short answer, no. The product spec you linked says, “It offers a standard NTSC television tuner…” So it won’t be able to receive broadcast digital signals. However, after the switchover, cable companies can still provide analog service via cable. The government mandate affects only over-the-air broadcasts, not cable. However again, many cable companies are going all digital and won’t provide analog signals. Two examples are Cox and Verizon FiOS. However the third time, they will generally provide the set-top boxes needed to convert digital signals to analog either no charge or for a fee. Verizon just sent me a free one for my FiOS. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/4 "2008-06-18T19:45:28Z")
I was under the impression that for a few years now all TVs sold in the US had to have a digital tuner. Is that wrong? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/5 "2008-06-18T19:47:51Z")
Yep, [they do:](http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html) > [@](#): > > How Do I Know Whether I Own a DTV? > > As of March 1, 2007, all television receivers shipped in interstate commerce or imported into the United States must contain a digital tuner. In addition, effective May 25, 2007, the Commission required sellers of television receiving equipment that does not include a digital tuner to disclose at the point-of-sale that such devices include only an analog tuner, and therefore will require a digital-to-analog converter box to receive over-the-air broadcast television after the transition date. Retailers must inform consumers by prominently displaying the following text if they are selling TV equipment with only an analog tuner: > > ``` > This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation’s transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. For more information, call the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commission’s digital television website at: www.dtv.gov. > > ``` > > Therefore, after May 25, 2007, all television equipment being sold should contain a digital tuner, or should be identified at the point-of-sale as not having one. Be sure to look for this label if you are purchasing a new TV. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/6 "2008-06-18T20:16:53Z")
What **CookingWithGas** said, but with more detail. From [the FCC DTV FAQ](http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#faq16): > [@The Feds](#): > > First, it’s important to know that the February 17, 2009 deadline for the digital television transition only applies to full-power broadcast stations. Cable companies are not required by the government to transition their systems to digital, and can continue to deliver channels to their customers in analog. Cable companies are actually required by FCC rules to continue offering local broadcast stations to their customers in analog as long as they offer any analog service. This requirement will continue for at least three years after February 17, 2009. The Commission will decide in 2011 whether the requirement should be continued beyond February 17, 2012. This means that customers who receive analog cable service (without a cable set-top box) will be able to continue to do so. > > However, for business reasons (among other things, digital is much more efficient than analog), cable companies may be interested in transitioning their systems from analog delivery to digital delivery. If a cable company makes the business decision to go all-digital (meaning it will stop offering any channels to its customers in analog), it must ensure that its analog customers can continue to watch their local broadcast stations. This may require customers with analog televisions to get a set-top box. If the cable company provides the customer with a set-top box, any costs related to it will be determined by the cable company. Therefore, it is recommended that analog cable customers contact their cable company to ask if a set-top box will be needed, and if there will be a cost. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/7 "2008-06-18T20:29:48Z")
If it’s attached to cable, it might. Cox guarantees analog cable until 2012 (at least in Arizona). Check with your cable provider. ---
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/8 "2008-06-18T20:33:21Z")
Funny how I work in TV, am a bit of a tech-head, and am still somewhat confused by all this. 😕 Thanks for the excellent info. So next question – does anyone know of any small, 10" tv’s that will work with a digital signal, which are available now? I haven’t found any… ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/9 "2008-06-18T20:33:57Z")
[QUOTE=filmyak] Will [this tv](http://www.amazon.com/Hannsprees-Wood-10-Inch-LCD-Television/dp/B000A7W3KS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1213816984&sr=8-3) continue to work after the switch to digital signals in 2009? **Assume it’ll be hooked up to a cable feed.** Or is purchasing this TV ensuring a 1-yr lifespan max? (I’m helping a friend look for a 10" tv set that will work past the switch to digital broadcasting…) [/QUOTE] Bolding mine. Yes it will, as long as you have cable or satellite with a tuner box. The box is a digital tuner. The output is analog. This is not changing. What is changing is that local TV stations are no longer broadcasting over the airwaves in analog. If you use an antenna, you need a digital tuner. If not, nothing will change. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/10 "2008-06-18T21:07:31Z")
How can Amazon ship this across state lines if it doesn’t meet the FCC requirement I quoted above? ---
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/11 "2008-06-18T21:11:15Z")
[QUOTE=RedSwinglineOne] Bolding mine. Yes it will, as long as you have cable or satellite with a tuner box. The box is a digital tuner. The output is analog. This is not changing. What is changing is that local TV stations are no longer broadcasting over the airwaves in analog. If you use an antenna, you need a digital tuner. If not, nothing will change. [/QUOTE] I’m doing this research for a friend of mine. He doesn’t want a cable box, he wants the TV to be cable ready without an external box. I know, he’s not making this easy on me. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/12 "2008-06-18T21:11:56Z")
Um yea…if its connected to cable then its not even using its tuner at all right? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/13 "2008-06-18T21:13:14Z")
[QUOTE=filmyak] I’m doing this research for a friend of mine. He doesn’t want a cable box, he wants the TV to be cable ready without an external box. I know, he’s not making this easy on me. [/QUOTE] As I mentioned before, you really need to check with the cable provider. Most cable will still have analog channels available. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/14 "2008-06-18T21:49:00Z")
It does have an RF input, which means it should accept a cable. But, again, it depends on whether the cable company will continue to provide an analog signal, and for how long. Wal-Mart and Sears now have small TVs with digital tuners. Not as cute as the one in the link, though. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/15 "2008-06-18T22:09:04Z")
Surely if it has an RF input then you just connect the output from the digital set-top box or cable box? At least that’s how it works here in the UK - I still use an ancient TV with a cable box. The TV doesn’t know or care where the signal has come from, right? What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/16 "2008-06-18T22:11:28Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] How can Amazon ship this across state lines if it doesn’t meet the FCC requirement I quoted above? [/QUOTE] Anecdotally, and in my experience, the FCC’s digital tuner requirement is very laxly enforced. That it lacks an ATSC tuner is perhaps a violation by the manufacturer. “Perhaps” because I suppose it’s remotely possible that the device was manufactured before the requirement was modified to include all small sets. That doesn’t seem likely, though, and you’ve probably just got a small manufacturer ignoring the FCC rule, and betting that they won’t bother about it. The seller, on the other hand, is off the hook if they display that “This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner …” message sometime during the order process. I wonder if they do, but I’m not going to buy one to find out. Amazon is probably covered by the fact that the real seller is some entity called Hannspree; Amazon is just brokering the sale. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/17 "2008-06-18T22:36:33Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Surely if it has an RF input then you just connect the output from the digital set-top box or cable box? At least that’s how it works here in the UK - I still use an ancient TV with a cable box. The TV doesn’t know or care where the signal has come from, right? What am I missing? [/QUOTE] What you’re missing is that the cable may soon only have digital signal available, which the TV in question cannot process. This is probably _not_ going to be the case, as the FCC has mandated that cable providers make analog signal available at least until 2012, as previously mentioned, but it is best to check with the cable provider. All that being said, on the self-same Amazon page in the OP, it says that 45% of customers ultimately buy [another model of TV](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00166KEG2/sr=8-3/qid=1213816984/ref=dp_cp_ob_title_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1213816984&sr=8-3), which _does_ have digital input, and for a lower price. Why not consider that one? ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/18 "2008-06-19T02:25:47Z")
This may be out of bounds, but I’m curious. One of the creatures my husband works with has no cable box, but his TV is hooked directly to the coaxial connection. He hasn’t said directly that he’s stealing cable, but I’m guessing he is. He asked hubby if he would still have a signal after the change over, or should he get a converted box. We had no answer, and I would never give the creep any information that might help him steal. My question is, do the converter boxes, besides digitizing the signal redirect to the high numbered channels? Like, now, our HD channels are all on channel 200 or greater. If this is too close to a “work around” I don’t need to know that badly. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/19 "2008-06-19T06:34:13Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] What you’re missing is that the cable may soon only have digital signal available, which the TV in question cannot process. This is probably _not_ going to be the case, as the FCC has mandated that cable providers make analog signal available at least until 2012, as previously mentioned, but it is best to check with the cable provider. All that being said, on the self-same Amazon page in the OP, it says that 45% of customers ultimately buy [another model of TV](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00166KEG2/sr=8-3/qid=1213816984/ref=dp_cp_ob_title_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1213816984&sr=8-3), which _does_ have digital input, and for a lower price. Why not consider that one? [/QUOTE] We don’t have this problem in the UK. The set-top or cable box converts the incoming digital signal to RGB which is then connected to the TV (of any age) using either a SCART connection or an RF modulator. This means then we go completely digital in the UK by 2012 all you have to do is buy a very cheap (£20) box for each of your TV’s to continue watching. The one difficulty is with VCR’s. They usually have analogue tuners and will have to be replaced, usually with a hard disc ( think TIVO) or recordable DVDs. The most elegant solution is to use a combined set-top-box / recorder with twin tuners. This means you can watch one channel while recording another. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2008, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389/20 "2008-06-19T13:21:38Z")
[QUOTE=Rayne Man] We don’t have this problem in the UK. The set-top or cable box converts the incoming digital signal to RGB which is then connected to the TV (of any age) using either a SCART connection or an RF modulator. This means then we go completely digital in the UK by 2012 all you have to do is buy a very cheap (£20) box for each of your TV’s to continue watching. [/QUOTE] That’s not a problem here, either, _if_ your TV is hooked up to the cable box. **Terminus Est** was talking about what would happen for those who connect the cable directly to their TVs, without using the box. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-this-tv-work-after-switch-to-digital/453389.md?page=2)