There are fewer than four months until the conversion from analog to digital television takes place, and some viewers remain confused.

A Nielsen study released earlier this month found 8.4 percent of homes across America were not prepared for the digital transition as of Sept. 1 (9.6 million of the more than 110 million homes with TVs in the U.S.), down 1.4 percent from a May survey. And then there are the homes with one TV that will work after the digital transition but secondary sets that remain unprepared -- another 12.6 million homes, according to Nielsen.

Of course, if people refuse to pay attention, confusion will reign come Feb. 17 no matter how much publicity the transition receives. Local stations have certainly been doing their part, running crawls that warn of the transition and suggesting steps to prepare for it.

Here are the basics:

• If you have cable or satellite service connected to your TV, you don't need to do anything. You'll still receive all the local channels you get currently come Feb. 17.

• If you don't have cable or satellite and get your TV signals over-the-air using an antenna, you don't need to buy a new set. You'll need an analog-to-digital converter box. If you're using rabbit ears now, that may or may not be sufficient for digital. If you have a rooftop antenna, it can be used with digital.

One problem with the changeover is its complexity. There's often no simple answer to the questions viewers have. In this week's TV Q&A (online at post-gazette.com/tv), Ellen from North Point Breeze asks, "If I buy a digital converter box, can I ditch Comcast entirely and still receive ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and Fox in February?"

Theoretically, the answer is yes. But in reality, it depends on where a viewer lives. The hilly terrain of Western Pennsylvania can make it difficult to receive a signal. And there is no guarantee that the channels you receive in analog will also come through in digital.

To get a better understanding of the digital converter box issue, I installed digital-to-analog converter boxes for my co-worker, movie editor Barb Vancheri, who has two smaller TVs to supplement a big TV that's connected to cable. She purchased two Apex DT250 converter boxes -- each the size of a hardcover book -- at Best Buy last month for $59.99. Final cost after government rebate: $19.99 per box. Request the rebates at www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-388-2009 (voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY). Remember, coupons expire 90 days from the date of mailing.

A few things to keep in mind:

• The converter boxes plug into an electrical outlet, so you'll need to find a spot for it to plug in near your TV.

• It seems to take longer to change channels through a converter box. Be patient.

• Barb's converter box came with both composite and RF coaxial cables for connection. If your TV is so old that it doesn't have a coax input (a circular plug with a single hole in the center), you may need to buy an inexpensive balun adapter (that's a matching transformer, about $5).

• Using the converter box, the picture on Barb's TVs was framed by 1-inch black bars below and above and on either side of the picture (a "postage stamp" view, engineers call it). The converter box has a "zoom" function that should bring the picture up to the full size of the screen, but a note that popped up on the TV screen claimed it was not available on all the channels we tried. (Engineers at local TV stations, who had not used this particular converter model, said it should be possible to adjust the picture from the postage stamp look to full screen, but I was unable to do that.)

• Location matters, and reception experiences will vary. Barb's house sits atop a hill, so her reception is less hindered by terrain than a TV in a home that's down in a valley.

Because one of the biggest issues with DTV is whether or not a TV watcher will get all her current channels, I wrote down all the channels she currently receives. After I hooked up the boxes -- it took about a half-hour to install both boxes and auto-scan for channels -- I compared the list of analog channels she received to what she receives in digital.

In analog she received 20 channels. In digital, she receives 17 channels, including digital subchannels such as WTAE's weather and traffic channel and WQED's Neighborhood Channel. She was disappointed to lose network affiliates from other markets, including WJAC in Johnstown, WTOV in Steubenville and WKBN in Youngstown.

She also does not receive WPCW, which won't broadcast in digital until next year, or WBGN, which is not broadcasting in digital and doesn't have to next year because it's a low-power station.

Because Barb bought converter boxes with "analog pass-through," she's able to turn off the box and still get these stations in old-fashioned analog. That's what she intends to do, mostly so the picture fills the frame of her 13-inch and 9-inch sets, and so she can see NBC's "Today" weekend mornings on WJAC. Of course, come February when the out-of-market stations cease to broadcast analog signals, she simply won't get those channels.

Barb uses indoor rabbit-ear antennas on her TVs, and it's possible with a better indoor antenna or a rooftop antenna, she may be able to draw in some of the missing stations. (On one TV, WJAC sometimes appeared as a frozen or an unwatchable, digitally degraded picture.) She'll have to decide whether it's worth the time and money to invest in possible solutions.

Engineers at local TV stations caution that rabbit ears alone may not work because those are VHF antennas and most local stations broadcast in digital on the UHF band.

"I get a lot of phone calls in reference to picking up signals," said WPXI director of engineering Annette Parks. "The biggest hurdle for our viewers is that antenna."

An old-school UHF antenna resembles a halo or bow tie. WTAE director of engineering Dave Kasperek said more modern, powerful antennas have been developed, but they're in limited supply.

Several engineers at local TV stations suggested consumers look into ClearStream antennas available from AntennasDirect.com. They all agree that if you're planning to get your TV signal over the air via a converter box, install it now. If an updated indoor antenna doesn't pull in all the channels you want and you decide to try a rooftop antenna, there's not a lot of time to get it put up before snow flies.

WPXI will explore the issue of violence in local communities in "11 In-Depth -- Violence Among Us." The one-hour special, airing at 9 p.m. tomorrow, is hosted by news anchors David Johnson and Darieth Chisolm and will explore the causes of violence and possible solutions.

WQED debuts "The Gardens of Pennsylvania" (8 p.m. Thursday), a new program hosted by Post-Gazette Backyard Gardener Doug Oster. Gardens featured include Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Chanticleer Gardens in Philadelphia, Erie Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Hershey Gardens and Marywood College Arboretum in Scranton.

This week's Tuned In Podcast includes discussion of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Mark Wahlberg on "Saturday Night Live," HBO's "Entourage" and NBC's "Crusoe." Listen or subscribe at post-gazette.com/podcast.

Tuned In Journal features a review of the season finale of "Mad Men," a "Supernatural" surprise and the return of "Frank TV."