In preparation for the conversion from analog to digital television, local cable TV provider Mediacom Communications will hold two open house events next week to provide customers with information on the switch and converter boxes, if necessary.

The set-top boxes will be required for customers whose televisions are not equipped for digital reception.

Open house events will be held Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 9-11, at the local Mediacom office, located at 325 North Plum St.

The office will have extended hours on those dates to accommodate customers.

Hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Mediacom officials invited current customers and consumers interested in the improved digital cable service and expanded channel lineup to attend.

“We want to make it as convenient as possible for customers to learn about the benefits they will gain from this move to an all-digital channel lineup,” said Dale Haney, Mediacom’s area operations director for western Kentucky.

“Most importantly, we want customers to leave with the equipment they will need in order to get a picture on their existing televisions.”

Mediacom’s transition to an all digital television system will require each TV to be connected to a digital converter box, or the TV must have a built-in digital tuner.

As of Nov. 19, television signals delivered through Mediacom’s fiber-optic cable network will be digital only.

A digital set-top box is a receiver that converts digital television signals so that viewers can receive a clear picture using their current, or older, televisions.

Customers without digital converters will receive digital receivers for their primary television sets as part of their standard cable service.

Additional boxes will be available for secondary TV sets for $1.99 a month.

Some customers already have digital receivers to use advanced digital cable services on their primary television sets and may need additional converters only on remaining televisions in their homes.

Sixty new channels will be added to cable lineups on Nov. 19.

Free food and prizes will be available at the open house events; customers can also register to win a 32-inch high-definition TV.