Search »

Congress Offers Coupons to Convert Low-Tech TVs to Digital

Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, anyone who does not own a digital television set and who still gets programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer receive a picture; to help out, the U.S. government is offering $40 coupons to help low-tech TV owners buy special converter boxes.

The television industry is completing its transition from old-style analog broadcasting to digital in February 2009, writes the Associated Press (via the Globe and Mail). Converter boxes that will allow old TVs to receive a picture will cost between $50 and $70 and will be available at most major electronics stores; viewers who have satellite or cable service will not need a converter.

The U.S. Congress, which ordered the transition, set aside $1.5 billion for the coupon program, which will fund 33.5 million coupons.

The first 22 million coupons will go to anyone who requests one - for example, households that have cable service for one television but has a spare TV that still uses an antenna could receive a coupon.

The remaining coupons will go to homes that do not subscribe to a pay-television service.

To sign up for coupons, consumers can visit a government website  or can call 888-DTV-2009. The government, which as of this morning had received 277,457 applications for 528,354 coupons, plans to accept applications until March 31, 2009 or until the coupons run out, writes CNET.

Most new televisions purchased after March, 2007, should include a built-in digital tuner, under federal regulations. Nielsen estimates that about 13 percent of the 112.8 million total TV households in the U.S. rely on over-the-air television broadcasts.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the FCC have been criticized by Congress for their work on the transition, which said there was no comprehensive plan in place. The concern focuses on public education. Congress, which allocated the $1.5 billion budget for the coupons, gave only $5 million for education. According to a September survey from the Association for Public Television Station, 51 percent of participants were unaware of the transition that will take place.

The FCC website includes a page on digital TV, including questions and answers about the switchover.