Need a digital TV coupon? Get thee to a wait list

Anybody else sort of see this one coming?

It's a matter of weeks before the U.S. cuts out analog television signals entirely, switching to an all-digital market, but the fund established by the government to provide $40 subsidies to people who need to purchase digital converter boxes is out of money and has established a wait list. More than 100,000 people had already been wait-listed as of Monday, USA Today reported.

So, if you rely on "rabbit ears" and are still in need of that coupon, here's what to do. The application process on the TV converter box Web site is still the same, but now, you'll be put in line for the first-come, first-served waiting list as more funds become available. You'll also be given a reference number, much like a package-tracking number, that you can input into the Web site to check up on the status and check up on your estimated mailing date.

The all-digital transition is set for February 17, which means that more than 70 million analog televisions in the U.S. will be rendered useless unless they have the proper converter boxes to work with their indoor ("rabbit ears") or outdoor antennae. USA Today reported that the Department of Commerce's National Television and Information Administration isn't sure when more funds will be available, and attributed the shortage to a surge in coupon requests late in 2008 that exceeded expectations.

One option for the government is to delay the analog-to-digital transition--again. In the meantime, the Web site recommends some pricier alternatives: buy a converter box without the coupon, buy a digital TV, or subscribe to cable or satellite programming.

Or you could just ditch your TV and just go outside instead. The digital TV transition Web site, however, does not suggest that.

[xenophod]

How much time have people had to get ready for this? If they have not yet done the fault totally rests at their own lazy feet. The fact our Government even felt the need to subsidize the industry with $40 coupons is wrong. Your idea of ditching the TV is about the best idea!

[BigGuns149]

Considering how many recent and not so recent TV shows can be viewed online I have to agree that analog over the air TV going away is much ado about nothing. I know some members of Congress claimed that TV served an important role in emergencies, but in emergencies radio still plays a far more important role than TV because radio tends to get better range and virtually everyone has a radio that doesn't require AC power. Even before the Wall Street meltdown I thought that the government had better things to spend their money on and with everything that has happened in the last year worrying about at most 10% of people who still rely on over the air analog TV seems silly.

[b_baggins]

So, let's see. It's perfectly acceptable for the government to mandate how television stations must broadcast their signals and make millions of perfectly good televisions obsolete, but it's a slob American who doesn't salute crisply and spend money to salvage said television.

[brettak81]

To reply to BigGuns149..

do you seriously believe that the average person watches ANY tv shows online??

sorry to burst your bubble but we're a good 10 - 15 solid years away from viewing television shows mostly over the web.

this is a technology the the majority of americans do not even know enough about to even begin to do it on a regular basis.

[jmh21586]

Yes bigguns149. Many families sit around a computer to watch online tv. [end sarcasm]

[xenophod]

How much time have people had to get ready for this? If they have not yet done the fault totally rests at their own lazy feet. The fact our Government even felt the need to subsidize the industry with $40 coupons is wrong. Your idea of ditching the TV is about the best idea!

[rmva]

If USA Today had this story on Monday, why is CNET regurgitating it on Wednesday?

[cooperalex2004]

You Snooze, you loose. They could be smart and use the money from the expired coupons (they are good for 90 days from issue) and they have a lot of them that expired!

[botscop]

this program that congress approved cost over a billion dollars. this fault that you mention has short changed the tax payer again. not to mention this whole scheme is about forcing people to pay for television that was once free. also to monitor everything that is seen or heard.

[nicmart]

Wait until single-payer healthcare arrives. There will be a lot of premature expiration due to long waiting lists.

[simmons142]

I saw this coming -- because this was the stated plan all along. A certain amount of money was set aside for the coupons, and they'd provide the coupons until the money ran out. They'll send a few more when people allow their coupons to expire unused. I don't think there's any embarrassment to be had, since they explained in the beginning how the coupon program was going to work.

@botscop -- While the government is certainly skilled at shortchanging the taxpayer, I doubt this is the case here. The government is making gazillions of dollars from the licensing of the spectrum that is being freed up by the digital conversion, and I suspect a chunk of that was used for the coupon fund.

[bob39412bc]

Need a digital TV coupon? Get thee to a wait list.

Why would we want to get digital TV coupons? For to many years, the bean counter accountants have cut down the quality of
TV shows to all most zero. Do we really want to watch cheaply produced, reality based TV shows, of fat people
climbing dirt piles on the brooklyn bridge in HD? Or a guy who looks like a evil, bald headed Las Vegas pimp, who has his cheer leaders holding metal briefcases in the background in HD.

According to the Nielsen ratings Television viewer ship is dropping rapidly. Americans want well written scripts, and good acting. They could care less if they can see the zits in HD.

I find my local newscasters are very hard to look at in my HD, Multi-Bad facelifts and excesive lip coligen treatments look bad in HD for the older TV anchors. They should just let them selfselfs look
old and experinced, even if they are just plain stupid over paid idots spewing right wing crap!

[wnbear]

I love the contradiction here - "Why would we want to get digital TV coupons...to watch overpaid idiots spewing right wing crap".

Too funny, Bobby...

[sanenazok]

In Chicago, DTV opens the door to excellent programming in Spanish. Every morning, a chick in a bikini prances around for no reason. Si si! Actually, we also have a nice international news channel which shows original news broadcasts from South Africa, EU, and other places. I don't watch network programming, except for sports. If you don't like it, don't watch it.

[globalist_agenda]

Reception issues with over-the-air HDTV. Many consumers won't be able to receive HDTV due to obstructions like trees, buildings, or distance from TV stations. In most cases these same people are able to receive analog signals. You will see massive discontent when HDTV goes live. Poor people that don't have cable will riot if they don't have any TV. Is Uncle Same prepared to offer free cable TV? I'll bet not. Broadcasters knew about these problems but chose to hide them from the public.

[pugster]

Maybe if they stop spending money on commericals on giving out the $40 coupons than to actually giving them out, that would help.

[b_baggins]

Wow. What a surprise. The government offers something for free and lots of people line up to get it. Then the government runs out of money, and there's a shortage.

Get used to it, folks. You're going to be standing in line for a lot of things these coming months and years.

[misterbeer]

I highly doubt that anyone still using rabbit ears would be checking out tech articles on this site. haha

[GardenLobster]

Why would anyone who needs a converter be reading a tech blog on the internet in the first place? I mean, geez, my grandfather thought the coupon was a scam and didn't use it, because he only occasionally watches PBS on TV. Had I not told him that ALL TV was going to go snowy next month, he would have turned on the TV to white noise and been playing with those rabbit ears and banging the set all day long.

[kingtrae79]

Am I the only person who thinks that digital SD looks like a crappy Youtube video? at least it does on my 42'' Sony Rear projection HD TV. now the HD stuff looks great, and even the analogue SD looks acceptable, but the digital SD (thanks comcast) looks like garbage, especially when picked up through the TV's tuner and not the Box. the one thing I never liked about this whole transition scheme was that it's too easy to degrade digital signals at the source, before it even gets to you, creating a two tiered or even three tiered market

[Stefaninafla]

My vote is to ditch the TV and go outside. The only reason my house has cable is because someone else is paying for it.
If I really want to watch something, I'm sure I can find it here on the 'net.

[GlennW007]

I'm surprised they don't have converter box rabbit ears? Something for all the portable little TV's that have been sold over the years?
It may be a bit late to stop the conversion to digital TV. Perhaps part of the bailout money can be used to keep broadcasting in analog too till the bugs are worked out?

[gary85739]

geez, does this mean those Gilligan's Island reruns won't come over the rabbit ears anymore...:-(

geez, how will I get my ginger fix?

[jmh21586]

Anybody that accepts these coupons and uses them is a complete looser. Why do I have to go to work everyday and work hard just to pay taxes so that money can be spent to pay for some bums tv to work??
Are you telling me these loosers couldn't save up $40-$50 over a four year period since this program was introduced to buy their own damn converters?? People should be ashamed.