Appalachian State University Housing is bringing digital cable to on-campus residences March 3.
A majority of the channels received will now be in high-definition, while a few channels will remain in standard definition. Director of University Housing Tom Kane said he did not yet know which channels will continue to be broadcast in standard definition.
The change will alter which channels can be received and the channel numbers will also be different.
Channels that will be available that were not before include BET and NBC Sports, Kane said.
According to an email sent by the university, most televisions that were made in 2008 or later should have a digital tuner built into the television that should allow it to translate the new signal by completing a channel search.
Most televisions built before 2008 and some from that year will require a digital to analog converter box. These typically cost $30-$50 and can be bought at places such as Walmart or amazon.com.
The cost of the converter box is the responsibility of students.
Kane said if Appalachian wanted to continue using Charter Cable as its provider, the switch to HD cable is necessary. The university has had the same cable contract since the 1980s, according to an Oct. 29, 2012 article in The Appalachian.
“The whole town of Boone is going through a transition right now with Charter Cable, they are doing the university first,” Kane said. “We would lose all cable service if we denied the upgrade and we would lose everything.”
Story: Nicole Caporaso, News Reporter