Televisions using analog signals will fade to black starting August 31, as Canadian broadcasters make the switch to digital.
Viewers still using an antenna will have to buy a new TV or digital converter box to get the new signal. Those with a newer TV or using a satellite or cable service won't be required to switch or purchase new equipment.
Canada is making the switch from the traditional analog signals, which are transmitted by radio waves, because of their inconsistency and poor picture quality. Digital signals will feature a sharper picture and improved sound.
Engineering crews have had to upgrade 23 different sites across the country in order to make the deadline at the end of the month, set by the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission.
CTV's engineering department has been preparing for the switch for more than two years. In July, crews replaced an 800 foot (243 metre) transmission tower with a digital tower in Barrie, Ont.
About 10 per cent of Canadians watch TV with an antenna or rabbit ears.
For people at home it means that they will have to get rid of their old TV or buy a new set top box, according to Jeff Forgeron, of CTV's Engineering Department.
The digital converter boxes are hot sellers, according to sales staff at The Source.
"Normally, we get two to three people buying them and at one point we were sold out," said one sales associate Ravin Pandya.
The boxes sell for between $50 and $100.
With files from CTV Toronto's Pat Foran.
