Do I really need a digital converter box for my TV?

As important as television is to many people in the United
States, the technology behind the medium hasn't changed that
much since its introduction. Early television began in the
1870s, but TV didn't really catch on until the introduction
of electronic television in the early 20th century. Though
there were regular broadcasts, people at large didn't adopt
television until after World War II. In 1945, there were only
nine commercial TV stations broadcasting, but by 1949, there
were 48. And by 1960, there were 515 commercial stations,
with TVs in 85 percent of American homes.

Color TV was around as early as 1946, when CBS engineer Peter
Goldmark -- who also had a hand in creating the long-playing
vinyl record -- developed a method of broadcasting in color.
Unfortunately, his color-broadcasting standard wasn't
compatible with existing TV sets, and in 1953, the National
Television Standards Committee (NTSC) adopted RCA's method of
color broadcasting instead.

From there, we have incremental introductions -- the remote
control, cable and satellite providers, and videocassette
recorders (VCRs), et cetera. But in general, you don't have
to have all those things to watch TV. If you live in an area
near a broadcast station, you can still plug a pair of rabbit
ears into the antenna jack on the back of your set and get
programming.

On Feb. 17, 2009, some analog channels in the United States
went dark -- with a few exceptions, the rest did so on June
12. Regular broadcasters in the United States have completed
the transition to digital television (DTV). The reason?
Broadcasters moved their signals to another part of the radio
spectrum. One reason for the switch was to free up space for
police, fire and other public safety communications. The
remaining portion of the broadcast signal will be available
to consumers for wireless services.

The original date for the analog-to-digital transition had to
be moved because the FCC needed to raise awareness of the
change among the population. The idea was to make sure few
people are left behind, but their efforts caused some
confusion. To receive digital television signals, some people
need a converter box.

If you live in the United States and use a regular antenna to
get television signals over the air, this is probably the
reason why you can't see your old stations today.