History

• By the mid 2000s, HD broadcasting and TV sales were growing rapidly. The FCC mandated that all broadcasts be digital-only by February 2009, meaning the signals would not be picked up by analog TVs, leading to the invention and production of the HD converter box.
  
  

Converter Coupons

• Because of the switch, the federal government created a program to distribute coupons to cover much of the cost of the converter boxes, so that people with analog TVs viewing over-the-air stations wouldn't be left in the dark. Delays in the program and greater-than-expected demand forced the government to push back the switch to digital-only to June 12, 2009.
  
  

Function

• The HD converter uses an antenna to pick up the digital signals from the broadcast channels available in that area. When connected to the cable or antenna input of the TV, it allows the analog TV to view those channels. Some converters also have an analog "passthrough" feature, which allows TVs to also receive analog signals until they switch to digital.
  
  

Software

• A number of software companies now have HD conversion software for converting standard video to HD and vice versa. Most allow for multiple formats of HD video, including AVI, MPEG, DivX, AVCHD and Quick Time, where they can then be burned onto a DVD or Blu-Ray, or be stored and viewed on your computer.
  
  

The Future

• As prices of HDTVs continue to drop and more consumers make the switch, HD converter boxes will no longer be necessary. And as computer technology continues to advance, eventually all video sources will be in HD, making conversion software a thing of the past as well.