As of February 17, 2009, a federal law requires that all full-power television stations change the coding of their broadcast signal from analog coding to digital coding. Any TV that is not capable of deciphering the new digital code will not be capable of displaying TV programming. In preparation for this change, federal law has required that all new TVs made after March 1, 2007 should have a digital tuner built in. As of May 25 of last year, federal law required that any TV seller must disclose to the buyer if the TV they are buying does not contain a digital tuner and will require a HD converter box.

For the many people who currently use a DVD player connected to their TV for viewing movies, this change will have little effect unless the DVD player is currently connected to an antenna for signal input. The DVD player can remain connected with the existing TV connection cable. DVD players, TVs and HD converters come in many styles, with an assortment of input and output connections. The connection styles are based upon when the device was built.

There is no need for an HD converter for those who are currently subscribed to a cable or satellite TV service. The biggest concern will be for those using an external antenna to receive TV programming. In this case, the HD converter can simply be inserted between the antenna and the DVD or TV. The HD converter input will connect to the antenna with a standard existing coaxial connector. The analog output will then connect to the DVD or TV with either another coaxial cable or a new style of cable based on the model of HD converter box purchased.