right now from what i understand, they’re giving out $40 off coupons, but if you wait until the February of 2009, the coupon will be for a free converter box (actually 2 per household). right now the boxes sell for around $79 at worst buy. just a heads up
from what I think I read this just applies to tv that use an antenna to get signals. if you are currently subscribed to cable or satelite you will be ok. seems every tv that came “cable ready” since like 1990 will work. The ones that you need a converter box are the old ass tv’s that when you sign up for cable they gave you that old black box you had to change the channels on back in the day.
In a nutshell:
Any UHF type antenna will work great with Digital OTA (Over the Air) signal. (For the suburbs of Pittsburgh, a directional is best.
Go to http://www.hdtvpub.com/ for unbiased info on the subject.
Cable providers are allowed to use the freq of their choice. But the FCC mandate stems from the military want VHF back for their use (channels 2 to 13) Once the cable companies update their headend distribution, they to will go 100% digital. (Analog just wastes too much available digital bandwidth)
There are alot of Digital tuners available. Ussually Samsung has the best bang for the buck. But I would suggest waiting before buying…get the coupon though.
My reasoning, the hardware is fully developed, but the software is not. The software tells the digital tuners how to scan and how much deeper to scan when a signal peak is perceived. There will be improvements in this area.
The conversion to digital applies to more than television. Many other analog frequency users are affected such as OnStar.
Here is another link to info about the DTV converter boxes:
and another:
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/2007/DTVretailers_121107.html
Forgot to update this.
The Coupons arrived in June only took 5 months 
2 $40 each. So if anyone needs them. can have them for free.
Who doesn’t have a digital TV? I dont’ think I know anyone that doesn’t have one. Just curious. I know there must be some out there being that they are making a huge stink about it.
My grandma
me
Actually I know several people that still rock the antenna, especially out in the country, and I have a 9" TV at the shop but no cable. I’m sure there are a lot more analog watchers than many people think.
Watch the expiration date on the coupons. If they expire or get lost in the mail and come later,they will NOT be replaced.