CONVERTER BOX COUPONS FOR UPCOMING DIGITAL TV SWITCH
Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, anyone who does not own a digital set and still gets their programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer receive a picture. That's the day the television industry completes its transition from old-style analog broadcasting to digital. The converter boxes required for older sets to receive digital programming are expected to cost between $50 and $70 and will be available at most major electronics retail stores. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has begun accepting requests for two $40 coupons per household to be used toward the purchase of the boxes. Viewers who have satellite or cable service will not need a box.
People who have old televisions who receive free over-the-air broadcasting -- which means they are not hooked up to cable or satellite or another pay TV service -- have to make a decision.
They have three choices:
Between January 1 and March 31, households can apply for two $40 coupons online at dtv2009.gov, by phone at 1-888-DTV-2009 or by mail. The coupon program officially begins January 1, but the NTIA won't start mailing out the coupons until Februrary 17. That's exactly one year before the last day of analog transmission. U.S. television goes all-digital Feb. 18, 2009.
Note: Those that reside in nursing homes or a hospital-type setting don't have a separate mailing address and currently are not eligible for a coupon.
Only about 55 - 60% of Boston households subscribe to cable and only about 5% use satellite. That leaves more than a 1/3 of households that would need to buy a converter box. But many viewers have no idea that their TV sets could stop working. Democratic US Representative Ed Markey of Malden, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications said he's particularly concerned about poor people, minorities, and the elderly, because fewer people in these groups have cable or satellite service. "As recently as last year, up to 30 percent of Hispanics in America had only free over-the-air television," Markey said.
Unfortunately, it's not easy to tell whether a TV has a digital tuner; some display a label like "Integrated Digital Tuner," but others do not. People who aren't sure should find the TV's model number - usually on the back of the set - and contact the manufacturer.
-Adapted from: “Coupons available for digital TV switch” By Associated Press, January 1, 2008; “The Converter-Box-Coupon Czar: Q&A with NTIA's Baker, Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Meredith Atwell Baker Speaks with B&C's John Eggerton” By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/29/2007; “Coupons Available for Digital TV Switch” from http://www.cityofboston.gov/cable/coupon.asp , and “ Do adjust your set: If your TV is more than a few years old, you'll need a new one - or a converter box - once broadcasting switches to all-digital” By Hiawatha Bray, The Boston Globe, January 7, 2008.
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