With a year to go until analog TV broadcasts give way to digital, the federal government on Tuesday started mailing $40 discount coupons for digital converter boxes to consumers who requested them.
Do you need one? And if so, do you really need one now?
Only consumers with older analog TVs who get their programming solely over the air — not through cable or satellite service — will need to plug their rooftop antenna or pair of rabbit ears into a converter box.
If you use an antenna to watch television, your older set won’t work after Feb. 17, 2009. One year from now all over-the-air TV broadcasts will be strictly digital.
Analog TV is going away and your old television can’t receive the new digital TV signal. So, if you use an antenna to watch TV, you’ll need to buy a digital converter box for your older TV.
As a side note if you use satellite or cable, you aren’t affected.
Converter boxes will sell for $50 to $70 and the government will even help you buy one.
They will send households two coupons to buy converter boxes good for $40.
It’s not too often the government offers you $80 to watch TV! To request a coupon, consumers can apply online at www.dtv2009.gov. The government also has set up a 24-hour hotline to take requests, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009).
The coupons will start arriving in mailboxes late this month. You’ll have your choice of at least 15 different brands.
You could decide to just buy cable or an HD capable TV but, don’t forget about those extra TV sets you have in your bedrooms and kitchen. If they’re not digital or hooked up to cable or satellite you’re going to have to get boxes for them.
Here is a list of eligible boxes.
The NTIA will maintain a list of approved CECBs to distribute to consumers and participating retailers.
The following is the list of approved CECBs.
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*The manufacturer has indicated that these models are capable of passing analog signals through to the TV set.
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Coupons are going out right now! I got my two, now to decide which box to buy :)
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A number of companies racked up fines today for violating FCC rules tied to the digital TV transition. According to Jeff Baumgartner, the FCC put out $6 million in fines targeted mainly at retailers who did not correctly label TVs with analog-only tuners. A couple of companies got hit on interstate shipping rules and a couple were fined for violating V-Chip rules.
So is this how the government plans to answer the next funding request from the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) to continue implementing the DTV coupon program? The fines are a hardly a drop in the bucket compared to the $450 million the NTIA plans to ask Congress for. But then again, $6 million is nothing to sneeze at.
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Nice people. Fast replies. Good customer service.
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