The Big Switch-er-roo is finally here!

Oh the Big Switch! Yes, you're probably sick of hearing about it and quite frankly we in the newsroom are kind of tired of telling you about it since we've been mentioning it on air for nearly two years now. But, the time has come (June 12th) and we need to make sure you really are ready for the age of digital television.

Most people are ready for the Big Switch. If you have cable or satellite, you should be good.

If you are an antenna viewer, you need to know a couple things. First, all antenna viewers, whether you have a digital TV set or use a converter box, need to rescan their sets Friday morning. That's because KFVS is moving our digital signal to a different spot on the spectrum early Friday morning. So in order to watch us, you need to rescan so your TV can find us on our need home on the spectrum.

Second, if you try to watch us between midnight Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday, you may not see us. Our engineers will be hard at work shutting down our analog signal and transferring our digital signal. We hope to be back on air by 3 a.m. Friday.

If you still have reception problems Friday, you can call a special hotline KFVS has set up for Big Switch questions: 1-877-294-4422.

Below is a list of very helpful links to answer your questions.

• Important info to know before the Big Switch
• "DTV Made Easy" (pdf) - very helpful
• How to hook up a digital converter box
• General info about the Big Switch
• FAQs for KFVS12 Viewers
• Apply for a Converter Box Coupon
• DTV.gov
• 1 - 8 8 8 - C a l l F C C

You can go to dtv.gov or call 1 - 8 8 8 - C a l l F C C to have someone come to your house free of charges to set up your converter box. Below is a list of local DTV clinics where you can set a demo of setting up a converter box, bring in your own analog TV and converter box to have it programed, register for converter box coupons, set up and appointment for someone to come to your house to set up a converter box, and receive lots of helpful information to answer all your Big Switch questions.

Cape Girardeau Public Library – DTV Clinic
Thursday, June 11 – 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, June 12 – 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

McCracken County Public Library in Paducah – DTV Clinic
Saturday, June 13 – 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 14 – 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Carbondale Public Library – DTV Walk-In Help Center
Every day through June 19 – 12 p.m. 8 p.m.

I'll be focusing on Big Switch info the rest of the week on Heartland News. Feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below and I'll try to answer them or you can email me at chendricks@kfvs12.com.