A Little HeadsUp

Listening to the radio yesterday I heard that Canada is moving from analog to digital TV in August of this year. The U.S.A. did this in June of 2009 (was it really that long ago??). We knew this was happening to our southern neighbours because EVERY U.S. TV station advertised this fact for months and months prior to it happening, explaining what the difference was and offering financial assistance for those needing a converter box due to this change over.

What does this mean? Not too much for most you living in southern Canada, but for us in the north, there are a lot of TV sets operating on antennas or on rabbit ears. In fact, I went to the store not too too long ago to pick up a NEW pair of rabbit ears and they were ALL SOLD OUT. Where else in Canada (except perhaps in NWT or Nunavut) would that happen? In fact, I'll bet some of you reading this won't even know (remember?) what rabbit ears are! They are the small anntenas that attach to the top of your TV set and consist of two extensible rods shaped in a "V". They pick up analog TV stations - in my case I receive CBC TV English, CBC TV French and APTN. But I digress. So I googled this change in Canada and here is what the CRTC said:

"Canadian local over-the-air television stations moving to digital: August 31, 2011

By August 31, 2011, Canadian local television stations in certain areas will stop broadcasting in analog and will start broadcasting in digital.

The majority of Canadians will not be affected. If you receive your TV signals by cable, satellite or another TV service, the switch to digital will not affect you. You will continue to receive your existing television services with the equipment that you currently use. You will not be required to buy a new TV or other equipment, or subscribe to additional services.

The switch to digital may affect television viewers who receive local over-the-air TV stations using an outdoor antenna or “rabbit ears”. Once the switch occurs, these viewers may need to have either a digital converter box or a television with a digital tuner, or may want to consider receiving their TV services from a cable, satellite or other service provider.

Areas switching to digital signals on August 31, 2011

Local over-the-air television stations that fit the following criteria will be required to make the switch on August 31, 2011:

• national, provincial and territorial capital cities
• areas with a population over 300,000
• other areas where there is more than one local television station broadcasting over-the-air signals"

What do they mean by "may"? It should read "will either"..."or". You will not be able to pick up digital signals on an antenna.

So that means my little 14" Sharp TV I received as a gift in 1989 will not longer work unless I get a converter box AND get cable TV. Boo hoo. I loved that little TV.