Digital Television for Dummies

TV Digital television

About a million years ago – 2009, if you're really interested – the U. S. television broadcasting system went digital. Plenty of people found themselves confused by the switch, not least because the FCC kept talking about "digital," while people making money off the switch talked about "high-definition." Consequently, plenty of people had questions, and plenty had answers. Not all of those answers were good, though: some were like the post called "Can You Receive Digital Broadcasts on a Digital TV Without Box?" [sic] penned by George N. Root III and appearing at ItStillWorks.com.

Digital TV Signals for Dummies

Digital converter box hookup for analog TV

If you've been in a second-hand store in the past few years, you've probably noticed the large number of big ol' television sets that are available. Not everyone has bought a flatscreen, after all, and those who have often think "I know, I'll donate it to Goodwill!" Of course, a lot of charities no longer accept those huge rear-projection models like everyone used to have in the basement. But if you're wondering whether one of those is a great bargain, you have to take the 2009 Analog to Digital switch into consideration. In other words, you might ask, "Can Analog TV Receive Digital Cable Signals?"¹ With any luck, you won't find the answer Mandi Titus posted at eHow.com.

Oh, Titus got the basics right, informing her readers that,