CAPITAL REGION — The Federal Communication Commission’s digital television transition Web site, www.dtv.gov, counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds.

The numbers — less than 150 days now — flicker across the screen, a not-so-subtle reminder of how little time people have to prepare for the switch from analog to digital broadcast television that will take place on Feb. 17, 2009.

As of Feb. 17, old analog televisions will no longer work without a digital-to-analog converter box. People can apply for these boxes through the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program, which is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Every household is eligible for two coupons, worth $40 each, toward the purchase of the converter boxes. Most coupon-eligible converter boxes cost between $40 and $79.

People can also elect to forego the digital-to-analog converter box and either switch to paid cable or satellite television or get a TV equipped with a digital tuner.

Many people have already switched to cable or satellite TV and won’t be affected by the transition to digital television.

But media advocates worry that some — particularly the low-income, elderly and disabled — are not prepared for the switch.

“It’s definitely an issue for low-income people, and people for whom English is a second language,” said Steve Pierce, executive director of the New York Media Alliance. Pierce, who runs the Sanctuary for Independent Media, an independent media and arts center in Troy, said the Sanctuary is considering offering a program on the digital transition to make people more aware of what’s happening. “It’s a major issue,” he said. “People who don’t have cable and satellite TV are going to be disproportionately affected. Most people who watch over-the-air TV won’t spend money on cable or satellite.”

Surveys show that most people are aware of the change, but that not everyone has made the necessary arrangements, if needed.

A recent survey released by the Association of Public Television Stations found that 62 percent of analog households said they would opt to buy a converter box or digital television, compared to 28 percent in November 2006. But the survey also found that the majority of the 8.8 million analog households who said they would buy a converter box have not done so.

Among all television households surveyed, only 9.2 percent said they had requested a coupon to purchase a converter box. Of those who requested a coupon, 64.4 percent said they received the coupon, 54.2 percent had redeemed the coupon and 38 percent had installed the converter box.

Overall, about 70 percent of analog households said they know what they need to do to continue to get television after Feb. 17.

According to a Consumer Reports National Research Center, 99 percent of adults live in a household with at least one television; about 15 percent of Americans live in households that rely exclusively on over-the-air programming.

Asked whether some people are still unaware of the impending change, Bart Forbes, a spokesman for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said, “I’m sure there are some.” But he said that at this point most people are aware of the change.

So far, 1.1 million New Yorkers have requested coupons to purchase a digital converter, according to the NTIA. Overall, 26 million coupons have been requested; 10 million coupons have been redeemed.

Last week the FCC conducted a digital television test in Wilmington, N.C. The agency received 797 calls, but only 23 of those calls were from people unaware of the switch. Other calls were from viewers who couldn’t get a signal, problems with reception and problems with converter boxes. FCC chairman Kevin Martin said, “While we believe that the transition in Wilmington is going smoothly, the measure of success in Wilmington is what is going to happen next February, and what we are able to learn from this experience and how we apply those lessons as we move this effort across the country.”

Broadcast stations in the U.S. are currently broadcasting in both analog and digital.

In 1996, Congress authorized the distribution of an additional broadcast channel to each broadcast TV station so that they could start a digital broadcast channel while simultaneously continuing their analog broadcast channel. Later, Congress mandated that Feb. 17, 2009, would be the last day for full-power television stations to broadcast in analog.

According to the Federal Communication Commission, a major benefit of the switch to all-digital broadcasting is that it will free up parts of the broadcast spectrum for public safety communications such as police, fire departments and rescue squads. In addition, some of the spectrum will be auctioned to companies that will be able to provide consumers with more advanced wireless services, such as wireless broadband. Digital broadcasting also allows stations to offer improved picture and sound quality.