Watching television is a favorite pastime for a lot of people, but sometimes people with analog TV sets want more channels than what they already have. If you want your analog TV sets to receive digital broadcasts, then you need to get a digital TV converter box. This device, which is about the size or a cable box, hooks up a conventional analog television so it can receive and show channels that are digitally broadcasted. This is sometimes called a “set-top converter box” or a “digital TV adapter.”

A typical converter box includes features that allow you to still use a standard analog television even after it is phased out. It has a tuner for a wide range of broadcast channels and subchannels or “multicasts”. It comes with a remote control and a cable to connect the converter box to the analog TV. It has inputs for a VHF and UHF antenna, and outputs for audio and video. It also has a built-in, on-screen electronic program guide, and support for closed captioning.