The folks at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) know that the switch from analog TV to digital will be a bit tricky for some people, and so as a plan to help out with getting the word out, they’ve launched a YouTube contest to help drive awareness and promote converting from old analog TV sets to digital before the February 17th deadline.

The Contest

Make a video no longer than 3 minutes in length that helps family and friends understand how and why they need to convert. The theme of the contest is: “Digital TV: Convert Now!” (The exclamation point makes me want to convert, and I already have a digital TV).

Country band Whiskey Falls (not to be confused with Jason Falls) created a video (no embed code) to talk about the conversion and give you more info on the contest.

Want to know what you win?

According to the information I have:

One grand prize winner will receive a home entertainment center including a flat screen high-definition TV, a Blu-ray disc player and a surround sound audio system. The grand prize-winning entry will be announced on December 10, 2008.

Contest Ends December 10th

So, it looks like a chance to swoosh in, make a video that’s helpful to others, and get the chance to win some decent loot.

Maybe Steve Garfield will lob an entry or two their way. I don’t think of Steve as a contest kind of guy, but he’s definitely a video guy and an educator.

Three Ways to Convert

For those wondering what happens in February in the US, all the analog signals that power most typical TV sets will go dark on February 17th, 2009 (or that’s the plan at present.) At that point, people will need to have done one of three things:

• Buy a new TV with built-in digital tuner;
• Purchase an affordable digital TV converter box to receive over-the-air digital TV signals and convert them for analog TV viewing or;
• Subscribe to a pay TV service like cable or satellite.

So, if you want a shot at winning some mega gear, swing by the YouTube channel and watch the Whiskey Falls video.

Full details of the contest are here

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