That digital TV deadline is now just 188 days away. This week on Computer Corner, we're going to take a look at options for your old analog VCR.

Last Friday, I took part in an online chat with Channel 8 viewers who had questions about the switch to digital TV. Many are still puzzled about what happens to analog VCRs and DVD recorders.

First, the good news: After February 17, 2009 — when analog television ceases to exist — you'll have no problems playing back any videotapes or DVDs in your library using your existing equipment.

But if your VCR or DVD recorder doesn't have a built-in digital tuner (and only the most recent models do), you will no longer be able to record programs off the air unless you have a source for the digital broadcast signal.

For many people, that source is a cable TV or a satellite receiver. But if you get your local TV using an antenna, you'll need a digital TV converter box, available at most electronics retailers for $60 or less (and you are eligible for up to two $40 government coupons to subsidize the purchase).

Hook up the converter box to a VCR or DVD recorder just like you would connect it to a TV set, using either an antenna cable or (for a better quality picture) audio-video cables.

Unfortnately, if you use your recorder for time-shifting TV programs, your options will be limited because you can no longer set the analog tuner in the VCR or DVD recorder to change channels; you're stuck with whatever channel you have pre-set on your digital converter box.

There is one digital converter — the DTVPal from Dish Network that we showed you a couple of weeks ago — that aims to tame the digital divide. It has a built-in timer that can turn the unit on and change channels at predetermined intervals.

It's as simple as selecting a future program from the on-screen DTVPal program guide, then choosing how often you'd like it to tune in (Once? Daily? Monday-Friday only?) to the show you'd like to record.

You still have to set your VCR or DVD recorder to turn itself on at the right time and to record from the source you have connected the converter box to.

In other words, you essentially have to set two different devices — your VCR and your converter box — to record one program. If you don't have a DTVPal (or a converter box with a similar feature), you'll be limited to recording from a single channel while your recorder is unattended.

Also — if you intend to record one program off the air while watching another channel, you will need two digital converter boxes if you are using an analog TV and an analog VCR. That's because you need one digital tuner for each channel you want to watch (or record) simultaneously.

If you do a lot of off-air recording, you might want to consider a new VCR, DVD recorder or digital video recorder with a built-in digital tuner. I've seen a basic DVD recorder with a future-proof tuner at prices starting around $130.

Any way you solve it, you'll be rewarded with a clear, ghost-free digital picture and extra channels that you can't get with a traditional TV!

• LINK:   DTVPal Digital TV converter box
• REVIEW:   DTV Pal digital TV converter box
• REVIEW:   RCA DTA800 digital converter box
• STORY:   Solving digital TV reception problems
• LINK:   Connecting your digital converter box with a VCR
•  LINK:   Apply for $40 government coupons
•  MORE:   WFAA Digital TV Countdown: Answers to your questions

Since our last visit, a new global hot spot has emerged. Along with it comes a development that could herald the beginning of desktop warfare.

You've seen the pictures of the tanks and jets and explosions in the conflict between Russia and Georgia over a breakaway Georgian province. But computer security experts say techno-warriors in Moscow are also attacking Georgian targets — via the Internet.

Georgia's official government Web site has come under assault by relentless (and bogus) requests for data, overwhelming the nation's computers to the point that they can't be accessed from the outside world.

Security experts say hackers in Moscow are behing the cyber-attacks.

The Web site for the National Bank of Georgia was also targeted.

For a society that increasingly relies on the Internet for instant communication, desktop warfare appears to be a chilling — and potentially effective — new weapon.

Watch Computer Corner every week on News 8 Midday at noon Wednesdays, or online any time.

E-mail askwalt@wfaa.com