Big Switch Won't Affect NewWave Customers
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[By now, most people have heard something about the television "switch" from analog to digital, scheduled for February 17, 2009. Television users who are still receiving signals via an antenna will have to take action between now and then.
So, what does a consumer have to do? Choices include getting a set-top converter which is being made available through a government voucher program, or viewers can sign up with a television provider like NewWave, and they won't have to do a thing. NewWave will handle this upcoming television transition for new and existing customers.
There are several reasons why the federal government is mandating this change, but the main one is to free up space on the old analog waves for other kinds of information such as safety services (911 signals) and other emergency and public use channels.
The up side of the "Big Switch" for TV viewers is that digital technology brings a crisper, clearer look to your TV picture, including high-definition (HD) programming. In order to get the full effect of HD programming, however, TV viewers will need to buy an HD TV and sign up for HD Service. HD TV sets have dropped significantly in price over the last few years and, while some can still be rather costly, today there are HD TV sets which retail for under $500.
If a viewer has an HD TV set and signs up for HD programming through NewWave, he will get not only the local networks in HD, but other networks in HD like ESPN, USA, Discovery, ESPN2, TNT and more.
It's estimated that 47 million households in the U.S. have HD TV sets but many consumers don't realize they must sign up for HD programming from their cable provider or use rabbit ears to receive the programming free via their local broadcaster. Consumers need to remember that in order to get the full benefit of HDTV, they must sign up for the programming as well.
As a service to the community, NewWave customers and non-NewWave customers alike are encouraged to log on to newwavecom.com to get in-depth information about the switch, or they can call 1-888-8NewWave.