About the Switch to Digital Television

Television, as we all know it, is about to change.

Under legislation passed by Congress - the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 - over-the-air broadcast television stations nationwide are required to turn off their analog channels on February 17, 2009 and continue broadcasting exclusively in a digital format. That means if you are not prepared, you may no longer be able to receive any broadcast signals on your televisions.

Subscribers to Pembroke Telephone's PAC TV have nothing to worry about, since it has always been digital and is fully DTV compliant to the new laws. PAC TV's all digital service begins at just $12.99 a month and works with almost any television. However, if you are not a PAC TV subscriber, you should continue reading.

Digital television enables TV stations to offer new and better services. In addition to providing dramatically better pictures and sound quality, DTV also enables TV stations to provide several channels of television programming at once. This is known as "multicasting." DTV can also be used to provide data services (such as enhanced closed captioning) that are not possible with analog technology.

Consumers who receive over-the-air television signals through antennas on television sets that are equipped with analog tuners - and who do not subscribe to a television service provider like PAC TV - will be affected by this transition. At least 19.6 million households receive over-the-air signals in their homes and 14.9 million households have secondary over-the-air television sets in their bedrooms or kitchens. Overall, nearly 70 million television sets are at risk of losing their signals on February 17, 2009 if their owners do not transition to DTV. Are you one of them? If so, you should consider subscribing to PAC TV today, with packages that include local channels starting at just $15.99 a month.

For more information on the required change to DTV, visit www.dtvanswers.com.