Cable users confused about DTV transition

Some cable subscribers are under the impression that they need to buy a digital TV converter box or they'll lose certain channels they now get in analog—all because of the DTV transition.

That's not the case, but an incident related by our friends at the Consumerist shows there's a lot of confusion here. Folks worried about losing analog cable channels need a digital cable TV box, not a DTV converter box, and the reason they need one is because their cable company has decided to drop some analog channels for business reasons—not because the government told them to do that. (Lest every cable subscriber reading this blog panic, let me reassure you that most cable users don't have to do anything to keep getting the stations they now get.)

The changes in a cable company's channel lineup have nothing to do with the DTV transition, though some cable TV companies' ads might seem to suggest that. A DTV converter box works only with an antenna to pull in free over-the-air TV programming, the major networks and a few other channels. You need a converter for any TV (or VCR) that doesn't have a built-in digital ATSC tuner. You have to buy one from a store such as Radio Shack or an online retailer.

A cable TV box, on the other hand, can be hooked up only to a cable TV service. It can bring you hundreds of channels, including the major networks plus stations such as CNN, ESPN, Disney, and others that are available only on for-pay services. A cable TV box can be used with any TV, including HD sets. You can't buy a box outright (at least not at present); you have to rent it from your cable TV company.

So if your cable TV company says you need a converter box to get channels they're "migrating to digital," what they mean is a cable TV box that can unscramble signals the company is now sending you in encrypted digital format.

Why are cable companies dropping analog service? The reason usually cited is that they can fit many more digital channel into the bandwidth required by one analog channel, freeing up space for more high-definition and video-on-demand programming.

The company must notify affected consumers (it might be in small type in your monthly bill) and offer the equipment they need—not necessarily for free, mind you. A digital cable TV box and remote generally cost about $6 to $7 a month for each TV. So even though the company is not raising your rates or moving channels to a silver or gold tier, you'll wind up paying more to keep getting all the channels you did before on all your TVs.

Most cable TV companies are moving steadily to digital TV transmission (satellite and phone companies are already there), so the handwriting is on the wall. Unfortunately, there's not a heck of a lot you can do about this, other than paying more or getting less—either by watching only what you can get on cable without a box, or by dropping for-pay cable TV service entirely and watching only free TV over the air. You won't get all the channels cable TV service has, but you might be surprised by the quality of free digital TV broadcasts, including HD, which rivals or even surpasses what you get from cable. It's your call. —Eileen McCooey