ADVISORY Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: June 6, 2009 Rick Kaplan, 202-418-1728 Email: rick.kaplan@fcc.gov Mark Wigfield 202-418-0253 Email: mark.wigfield@fcc.gov Washington, D.C. – You’re going to need good ears and a bow-tie to make the transition to digital television (DTV) on June 12. Ears, as in the rabbit ears of an indoor TV antenna, to pick up channels 2 through 13. And a bow-tie, as in the metal bow-tie or often, a loop, on the antenna to get channels 14-51. While some modern antennas have traded rabbit ears and bow-ties for more stylish components, any quality antenna, no matter the shape, must be capable of receiving channels 2 through 51. The digital signal will provide most viewers with better sound and picture, and more channels. But there are many reasons why a good antenna is important for DTV: · The “digital cliff” effect: if your reception is weak, you won’t get snow. You’ll get no picture. · The U’s: More stations are moving to the UHF range – channels 14-51 -- so you’ll need that bow-tie or loop, or its update, to pick them up well. · The V’s: You need rabbit ears or a more modern equivalent to pick up the channels that remain in the VHF range – channels 2-13. Some viewers may have to install roof top antennas. But try good ears and a bow tie first. You may be pleasantly surprised by how good they’ll make your TV picture look. On June 12, all full-power TV in the U.S. will stop analog broadcast service and transmit only digital signals. Consumers who do not subscribe to pay television services and have analog 6 DAYS AND COUNTING TO DTV TRANSITION Good Antenna Key to Making the Switch Antenna Resources FCC Antenna Guide http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consu merfacts/dtvantennas.html FCC Reception Maps: includes instructions on how to use FCC interactive maps to choose, aim an antenna http://www.fcc.gov/mb/enginee ring/maps/ AntennaWeb http://www.antennaweb.org/ Resource for antenna distributors http://www.dtv.gov/antenna_da ta.html Consumers Union DTV Guide http://www.dtv.gov/dtv_made_ easy.pdf televisions will need to have digital-to-analog converter boxes – and a good antenna -- attached to their televisions in order to continue receiving over-the-air television programming. -FCC- Resources for reporters covering the DTV transition are available in the DTV Media Toolkit at http://www.dtv.gov/media_toolkit.html