Feds Offer Coupons for Digital Convergence: Here is How to Get Yours
In just over one year, you'll need more than just an antenna to watch your favorite TV shows if you don't have cable or satellite service. You'll need a digital to analog converter box.
These boxes will be announced next week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
To help you with the transition, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has set up a Web site, DTV2009.gov, designed to make it easy for everyone to understand the big analog to digital television transition set to happen on February 18, 2009.
Included on the Web site is the ability to apply for up to two $40 government-funded coupons to assist in the purchase of digital tuner boxes. According to information at the site, those boxes will range in price from $50 to $70 and will be required for individuals that depend on over-the-air television signals. According to the site, most cable or satellite customers will be safe as their set-top boxes can handle the digital signal just fine.
The information hotline says that boxes will be available in mid to late February and that coupons, good for only 90 days, will be mailed just before or at that time.
If you think you need a coupon, you better act fast. According to the site the first 22 million coupons are first-come first-serve, with the latter batch of 11.5 million going explicitly to households who only use analog television service throughout the entire house.
The coupon application process as easy as filling out your home information and clicking "submit." Next, the NTIA says it will send you--via mail--a coupon to buy a converter box from one of 11 hardware manufacturers.
If you're looking for details about the actual converter boxes at the NTIA Web site, you'll be disappointed. The site offers few details about the digital converter hardware. The site is also lacking information about where or how to purchase the boxes and how to install one.
In addition to the Web site, the NTIA also set up a 24-hour hotline (1-888-DTV-2009) where coupon requests can be made. This may be the better option at this point because the Web site is being bogged down due to the traffic.
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Today few knows what they really get for their bucks, with or wihout a NTIA coupon.
Stakeholders and the government agencies involved should do everything they can to
build a broad market of converter boxes and with that choices and price range.
The more brands and boxes there are the better chance for the consumer to get a
reasonable priced box with good quality.
And also, make it more clear on a local level how multicasting will work and how many channels you will get in DTV.
I write more about it here: dtvbrief.wordpress.com
Best / Anders
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If you have anything private to say, keep it private with PGP. Don't let "Big Brother" have complete access to your personal life.