Easy Ways to Get Ready for Digital Television (DTV)!

National Public Radio's morning news program, Morning Edition, featured an on-air article on September 9 about Wilmington, NC's rollout of digital television (DTV).

The people who will be most affected by the nationwide switch to digital television are those who own analog televisions and receive their television channels "over the air" with antennae, rather than cable or satellite.

The accompanying print article includes links to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) DTV information website, a DTV info site provided by the Consumers Union (a non-profit pro-consumer organization), and the government coupon program for digital-to-analog converter boxes.

There is a very good article that explains how a digital-to-analog converter box works and why you may need one on the howstuffworks.com website.

Since February 17, 2009 (the date all full-power broadcast television stations must switch over to digital) will be here before we know it, now is a good time to dig out your television manual, put new batteries in your remotes, vacuum and dust your television, DVD player, digital video recorder (DVR), audio receiver, speakers, and other electronics gathering dust right in front of you. Check the audio and video cables. Replace pinched, bent, or broken wires, which not only will negatively affect your video and audio signals, but may present a fire hazard.

If you cannot find the user manuals for your electronics, most manufacturers have downloadable Adobe PDF versions available on their websites, even for older models.

SPECIAL NOTE: If you watch low-power channels, such as local access, community, or religious stations, be sure your digital-to-analog converter box includes an "analog pass-through" feature or button. Low-power stations are not required to switch to digital (the equipment costs are often prohibited for small stations). If your converter box does not have an analog pass-through, you will not be able to pick up those channels. For a good explanation on this issue, you can listen to a five-minute report on NPR's Weekend Edition program from May 2008 or read this article from the Consumer Reports blog.

If you have any questions about digital television, your specific equipment setup, or how to choose a digital-to-analog converter box, comment here or e-mail a Totem Media multimedia specialist at InfoRequest "at" totem-media.com.

Recycling Electronics

National Public Radio's Morning Edition program recently had an article about recycling consumer electronics (MP3 players, DVD players, TVs, etc.). You can read and hear this article here. There are also links to other articles about recycling at the bottom of that page.

A general recycling article from Morning Edition can be found here.

It is not easy to recycle or properly dispose of broken or unneeded consumer electronics, especially in smaller urban or rural areas, but it is worth the time and effort, if you want to keep mercury, various metals, and non-decomposing plastics out of your water, land, and air.

Check with your local grocery store or office supply store. Some store chains are actively recycling used printer ink cartridges, cell phones, and plastic bags. Consider donating old cell phones to women's shelters or other community organizations.

Check with an electronics repair store to see if your player can be repaired for at or near the cost of buying a new one. Sometimes you can get the old one fixed and use it for a few more years, saving money and resources.

I see so much waste of reusable items, lack of recycling or proper disposal of consumer goods, overpackaging of consumer goods, and more and more "use and toss" cleaning products that I have come to call western culture, the "throwaway society."

When it's actually a matter of health, and not just a marketing scheme, I understand and can support single-use items. Even though media players have dropped so dramatically in price that it's actually cheaper to buy a new player than fix an old one, I still can't easily and willingly throw it away.

Cheap electronics can help close the "technology gap," which is good, but I'm saddened by the lack of quality in a desire for higher sales.