The digital TV date is February 17, 2009?
It changed to June 12, 2009, but some stations did make a successful conversion to digital-only on February 17. The rest made their transition on June 12.
The mandate was set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It only affected over-the-air (OTA) full power broadcast stations in the United States. It didn't apply to cable or satellite.
Will I need to buy a new television set after June 12, 2009, in order to watch my favorite show?
No, but if you use an antenna and own an analog TV then you will need to buy a DTV converter box. The same applies to anyone that wants to use a VCR to record digital TV signals regardless of the TV type.
Will all stations broadcast in digital after June 12, 2009.
Most stations will broadcast in digital after June 12, 2009. It's true that all full power stations will be in digital, but there are many class A, low power, and translator stations that will continue analog service after June 12.
Will I need to pay for TV (cable or satellite) in order to pick up a digital or High Definition signal?
If you want to watch a non-broadcast network like TNT then you'll need cable or satellite service. If you want to watch a broadcast station, like FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC, etc, in digital or HD for free then you will need to use a HDTV along with an antenna.
Will all programs be broadcast in HD?
While the amount of high definition content is increasing there is far too much programming already created in analog. It's also more expensive to create HD content so cost will likely play a role in limiting high definition programming.
Will cable or satellite providers require subscriptions to digital programming and cut analog service after the digital transition?
The digital transition is a government mandate for full power broadcast stations to follow. While there is carryover to the cable/satellite world the reality is that free will, not government mandate, is the reason change may or may not be coming to those services.
For satellite subscribers, you are already on a digital service so the transition shouldn't impact the satellite business model.
For cable subscribers, your company has a decision to make. Do they cut analog service and alienate a bunch of subscribers or keep business as usual? It's a little bit of both...at least business as usual for now. Some providers are phasing in mandatory digital receivers in order to get programming while others aren't doing anything right now.
Bad news for analog subscribers is that at some point the industry is going to have to move to a receiver-only service. Calling the company is the best way to get the direct answer but there might also be information about this topic included with your monthly cable bill.
Why do some broadcast stations have more than one channel, like 24.1, 24.2, and others don't?
These extra channels are called digital secondary or sub-channels. These stations actually represent one of the key advantages of digital TV - an ability to broadcast multiple signals at the same time on the same channel.
At this time you can only get sub-channels with an antenna.
Some stations use their space to send out a second or third channel. In my area there is an all-weather sub-channel, Retro Television Network sub-channel, and a couple of PBS art stations in addition to the local PBS.
