Digital Converter Boxes

A digital-to-analog converter box lets a TV with only an analog tuner show today's digital broadcasts. It receives ATSC digital signals from an antenna, decodes them, and sends the picture to the TV over a composite, S-video or RF connection. The TV simply displays what the box sends.

Why converter boxes exist

When full-power US stations ended analog broadcasting and switched to digital, older analog TVs could no longer receive them with an antenna. To help, the federal government ran a coupon program through the NTIA that gave households up to two coupons toward eligible converter boxes. That program has long since closed, but converter boxes are still the way to keep an analog set working with an antenna.

What a converter box does and does not do

  • It receives over-the-air ATSC 1.0 digital broadcasts. It does not receive ATSC 3.0.
  • It works with an antenna. The FCC points out that a converter box does not contain an antenna or boost the signal, so you still need a working antenna.
  • Most converter boxes made for antenna use do not tune cable QAM channels. For cable, use the operator's box or adapter, or a tuner that lists QAM support.
  • Some models had analog pass-through, which let the TV still tune any analog stations, and some include a program guide or recording features.

Cable digital adapters

Cable companies offer a different kind of small box, often called a digital transport adapter or DTA. A DTA tunes the operator's digital channels, including encrypted ones you subscribe to, and outputs them to a TV. It is tied to that operator's system and is not interchangeable with an antenna converter box. See Cable Encryption and Clear QAM.

Setting one up

  1. Connect the antenna to the converter box's antenna input.
  2. Connect the box to the TV using the best connection the TV has, or the RF output set to channel 3 or 4.
  3. Turn on the box, run its channel scan, and use its remote to change channels.
  4. Rescan from time to time to pick up channel changes, as the FCC recommends.

A newer TV with a built-in digital tuner does not need a converter box. See Over-the-Air Broadcast TV.

Sources

Good to know. Cable lineups, encryption policies, equipment fees and device support are set by each provider and manufacturer and can change. Check with your provider and the sources listed before you buy equipment.
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