The digital television (DTV) transition refers to the switch from analog to digital broadcast television. Congress mandated that, by June 12, 2009, full-power television stations will stop broadcasting in analog, and will broadcast only in digital. While the majority of consumers in the U.S. can receive the programming of full-power over-the-air stations, there are three other categories of broadcast TV stations – “low-power,” “Class A,” and “translator” stations. Although these types of stations also must eventually switch to digital broadcasting, there is currently no deadline for them to turn off their analog signals.

The FCC established low-power television (LPTV) service in 1982 to provide opportunities for locally-oriented television service in small communities. These communities may be in rural areas or may be individual communities within larger urban areas. More than 2,450 licensed LPTV stations are in operation. LPTV programming can include satellite-delivered programming services, syndicated programs, movies, and a wide range of locally-produced programs.

Class A TV stations are former LPTV stations that have certain interference protection rights not available to LPTV stations. These stations are technically similar to LPTV stations, but unlike LPTV stations must air at least three hours of locally-produced programming each week and comply with most of the non-technical regulations applicable to full-power stations. Approximately 520 licensed Class A TV stations are in operation.

A TV translator station rebroadcasts the programs of a full-power TV broadcast station. TV translator stations typically serve communities that cannot receive the signals of free over-the-air TV stations because they are too far away from a full-power TV station or because of geography (such as uneven terrain or mountains). Many of the 4,500 licensed TV translator stations operate in mountainous or more remote areas of the country.

There are several ways to determine whether the broadcast stations you view over-the-air (with a rooftop antenna or "rabbit ears" attached to your TV) are LPTV, Class A, or TV translator stations. Class A stations are required to visually or aurally identify their stations with their community of license and call sign (that includes the suffix “-CA” for analog Class A or “-CD” for digital Class A) at sign on, sign off, and on an hourly basis. LPTV stations also must regularly identify their station call sign. When locally originating programming, they must visually or aurally identify their call sign and community of license at sign on, sign off, and hourly. LPTV call signs may consist of four letters followed by the suffix “-LP” for analog Low Power or “-LD” for digital low power or, alternatively, five characters beginning with the letters K or W followed by two additional letters.

TV translator stations rebroadcast the programming of a full-power station, but on a different channel. Your television will indicate the channel on which you are receiving the programming. If the station you are watching with an antenna (and not through a paid provider such as cable or satellite) identifies itself with a different channel than the one indicated on your TV, you are likely receiving the programming from a TV translator station. If you are unsure of the status of a particular station, contact that station. Further, LPTV, Class A, and TV translator stations may regularly broadcast information as to their status, and may include information regarding the DTV transition.

While the June 12, 2009 deadline for ending analog broadcasts did not apply to low-power, Class A, and TV translator stations, the FCC required these stations to convert to digital broadcasting sometime thereafter. More than 3,500 of these stations have been authorized to construct digital facilities and more than 1,600 are already broadcasting in digital. The FCC is currently considering the remaining issues involved with the low-power digital transition and will make decisions regarding these stations in the future.

If you have an analog-only television that receives free over-the-air programming (with a roof-top antenna or “rabbit ears” on the TV), you will need to purchase a digital-to-analog converter box in order to watch digital broadcast television.

If you purchase a digital-to-analog converter box to watch digital broadcasts on an analog TV and also wish to continue watching analog LPTV, Class A, or TV translator stations, you should purchase a converter box with “analog pass-through” capability, which allows analog broadcast signals to pass through the converter box to be tuned by your analog TV. Converter boxes are still sold at some department and electronics stores and online. When shopping for a converter box, check to make sure the converter box you are purchasing has analog pass-through capability. The government program that provided discount coupons for the purchase of converter boxes has ended so you are no longer able order coupons or use any coupons you may still have.

If you purchase a digital-to-analog converter box without analog pass-through capability, you can use an “A-B switch” and/or a “signal splitter” and some extra cable to route the analog signals around the converter box in order to watch analog channels. A set-up guide is available at www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/converterbox-analog-digital.html. Or, you can disconnect the antenna from the converter box and re-connect it directly to the TV to watch analog broadcasts. Check with the manufacturer of the digital-to-analog converter box and your retailer if you need additional instructions on how to connect the box to view broadcasts from both analog and digital stations.

For more information about the DTV transition, go to www.dtv.gov or contact the FCC by e-mailing fccinfo@fcc.gov; calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:

Federal Communications Commission 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau 
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division 
445 12th Street, SW 
Washington, DC 20554.

For this or any other consumer publication in an accessible format
(electronic ASCII text, Braille, large print, or audio) please write or call us
at the address or phone number below, or send an e-mail to FCC504@fcc.gov.

To receive information on this and other FCC consumer topics through the Commission's
electronic subscriber service, visit www.fcc.gov/cgb/contacts/.

This document is for consumer education purposes only and is not intended to
affect any proceedings or cases involving this subject matter or related issues.

08/12/10

	Federal Communications Commission · Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau · 445 12th St. S.W. · Washington, DC 20554
	1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)  ·  TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322)  · Fax: 1-866-418-0232  · www.fcc.gov/cgb/