At long last, the digital TV transition will take place. Local television stations will turn off the transmitters pushing the old analog signal, making old TVs with only rabbit ears useless. Instead, stations will be using digital transmitters that require users to have digital receivers. Those with old TVs need a digital TV converter box to pick up the new standard of over-the-air signals.

Viewers with new TVs will need to rescan the TV’s channels to pick up the stations on their new frequencies. Additionally, stations will not be transmitting at full power on these new transmitters for a few months, in most cases. Be patient, and if you are having trouble tuning a station throughout the summer, don’t forget to rescan the channels to accommodate the transitioning TV spectrum. Most stations plan to have their new transmitters up to full power by the summer’s end.

Cable subscribers will not need to do anything unless they view local HD channels through an antenna. For subscribers viewing local HD channels without an antenna, but on 5.1, 11.1, etc, no action will be needed. Also, this transition is not to be confused with Time Warner Cable’s own conversion of their signal to “digital” (QAM256). That conversion actually has to do with freeing up space for more HD channels and is not scheduled to happen soon.

In the meantime, you can follow WRAL’s instructions or just watch for important information in this video:

Digital Transition 2009