Now up for grabs: Federal funding for your digital-TV upgrade
If you want Uncle Sam's help in bankrolling your household's switch to digital television before analog channels go dark next year, you can start filing your requests now.
As promised, the U.S. government on January 1 began accepting applications from American households for $40 coupons to defray the cost of a basic digital-to-analog converter box.
The gadgets, which are expected to cost between $50 and $70, are supposed to enable analog TVs to continue functioning when analog channels are evacuated on February 17, 2009, per Congress' orders. (About a dozen models have been cleared for use with the coupons so far.)
It doesn't matter how much money you make or how many digital TVs you already own. Every American household will be eligible to receive up to two of the coupons during a first phase, in which 22.5 million coupons are expected to be available. If that first wave is exhausted, Congress could authorize an additional $450 million, creating up to 11,250,000 more vouchers. That crop would be limited to households that certify that they rely on over-the-air TV.
To sign up for a coupon or two, you can head to DTV2009.gov or dial 888-DTV-2009 (888-388-2009). You can also apply by mail or fax. The government says it plans to accept applications until March 31, 2009, or until the coupons run out, whichever comes sooner.
As of Wednesday morning, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration had received 277,457 applications for 528,354 coupons, totaling more than $21 million, according to spokesman Todd Sedmak.
The agency plans to begin mailing the coupons on February 17. By that time,
The NTIA, which is running the coupon program, has said it's confident that the vouchers will not run out, as it has estimated the demand at 10 million to 26 million coupons. Some Democrats in Congress, however, have called for making more coupons available, arguing that some 70 million television sets are expected to need converter boxes to continue functioning.
Most American TV watchers are not expected to need new equipment.
If you already have a TV, DVD player or other peripheral device equipped with a digital tuner, you're good to go. (Nearly all new televisions purchased after March 2007, for instance, should include a built-in digital tuner, under federal regulations.) Subscribers of satellite, standard digital cable, and Internet Protocol television, or IPTV, services also aren't expected to have to make any changes. In a nutshell, only people who rely solely on free, over-the-air broadcasts will need to make adjustments.
If you're still not sure whether you need an upgrade, the NTIA has posted a quiz designed to help you figure that out. And for more information about the switch, check out our most recent FAQ.
"TV converter boxes are not expected to be available in retail stores until late February or early March. You will receive your Coupon(s) then. The Coupon will expire within 90 days from the date it is issued."
out for nonproductive activities? How does this produce a return
for the economy?
Don't we have old bridges and roads that need fixing?
Me thinks, every unemployed person getting the coupon should
have to perform 2 hours of community service to qualify.
How about just a pure tax rebate instead of a gimmick? Or
simply allow the gizmo to be a tax deduction as a separate line
item?
I wonder how much money we're spending as overhead for this
program? Next time the government wants to raise taxes,
remember these programs and blame yourselves for taking part.
To this day, the government could fix health insurance for small
businesses and uninsured families by two very simple acts:
(1). Allow ALL medical costs to count as a business tax
deduction for small businesses whether or not the business
chooses to have insurance for their family.
(2). Allow ALL medical costs to count as a tax deduction for all
families as a separate line item in addition to the standard
deduction. At the very least, allow medical costs to be itemized
deductions without requiring insurance.
Right now, only insurance premiums are tax deductible... but
actual medical costs are not deductible.... ever wonder why?
until mid-Feburary
The 'gov' MANDATES digital TV but yet their "coupons" [u]expire[/u]!!! I don't think they should have an [i]expiration date[/i] [b][u]at all[/u]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/b]
Please! The author seems to think that the people who rely solely on free broadcasts are the "minority", but in fact, the other way around is true.
Just look at FCC reports, found on their WEBSITE (you know something called research???)
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/csrptpg.html
Roughly quoting from the 2005 report:
As of June 2005, there were 109.6 million TV households. Of that number, approximately 94.2 million TV households subscribe to cable/satellite/etc (MVPD service)...There are 15.36 million U.S. TV households that do not subscribe to an MVPD service and
thus rely solely on over-the-air broadcast television for their video programming,
representing 14 percent of all U.S. TV households.
This took all of five minutes, and I didn't have to use wikicrapedia.
Therefore, if you have an [u]analog[/u] TV set it needs a converter box no matter the [i]conveyance[/i] of the [b]signal[/b]...rabbit ears, satellite or cable.
For related info see my comments to the cnet article at
http://www.news.com/Broadcasters-get-leeway-on-digital-TV-switch/2100-1041_3-6224251.html
Much antenna info at http://www.antennaweb.org/
And read this article: http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/ReceptionOnTheFringe.html
(see the hdtvexpert.com website left side column for much related info)
Note: The FCC FAQ does not inform very well on the potential antenna reception issues related to digital TV.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html
The so-called 'digital' antennas are just UHF antennas.
First control what can be [u]shown[/u] on TV, then take it away altogether = [b]Dumbing down the population[/b].
Then control what can be seen on the net. Think China. ;)
Read this:
> [b]A Privacy Group Paints Much of the World in Black[/b] <
http://www.freepress.net/news/29310
...be [u]sure[/u] to click the link at the bottom of the article to view the map. ;)
The next article is a "tell" as to one of the plethora of reasons the 'gov' wants control:
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9849169-7.html?tag=nefd.only
BTW: This turns up some [i]interesting[/i] information:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLG_en___US205&q=Shadow+Government
Yeh, I know, you'll most likely have to copy and paste those links to get to them. CNazis' included in censorship of information.
- dtv converter joke
- by jmygrant February 13, 2008 11:40 AM PST
- NEED CONVERTER BOX HELP
- Reply to this comment
-
(36 Comments)The converter program is a jumbled mess. I have over-the-air (outdoor antenna) reception only. I get better service this way than from the
cable company. But now I am in a real jam.
I ordered the government coupons to be used for purchasing a converter. The period for ordering coupons is half over and there is a 90 day window to
use the coupons to purchase a converter---clock on that starts when Uncle Sammie drops the coupons in the Snail Mail.
I checked the DTV website for the coupon program, clicked on FIND A RETAILER and entered my address with the MAX 50 mile radius selected. Guess how many
were on my list? ZERO, nada, none! So I called, complained and was told that the list of participants who surely were in my area included Wal Mart, Target,
Radio Shack, Best Buy and Sears. Checked all online and found RS and Best Buy had listings, but not the others. Called Target--not sure when they will start carrying
"a" converter; called K Mart which is trying to get involved but having trouble getting the OK. Best Buy made a public announcement that they will carry
only ONE model of converter and pricing it at 20 bucks above the coupon (i.e. $69). Radio shack similarly carries one model at $69. Though not on their
website, Wal Mart now has in stock ONE model (a Funai) at $49.99. Funai makes a lot of products including manufacturing for some major brands. (My actual
experience with their VCR was short lived. But then again a tuner has no moving parts....) The other brands carried so far are Magnavox and Zenith.
Uncle Sammies DTV website has a list of "government approved" converters---try and find them. And why shop on the internet if shipping will add a significant
percentage cost increase to this already gargantuan consumer ripoff?!
So, HELP. Is there a "government approved" converter that is MUST HAVE? And just how good are the models which local retailers have picked to push? (So far
that's Zenith, Magnavox and Funai)
Why am I so incensed and calling this a huge consumer ripoff? Let me count the devices I have accumulated: one, two, three, four---well, it's fourteen.
I have new and older TVs that all serve me well. MY "full size" TV has to fit the cabinet that graces our family room---27" diagonal max. A 17" Panasonic in
the basement (still works great---two lightning strikes and 33 years later), a new (but not yet digital) 14" in the bedroom, along with a 5"color TV/Radio,
three 5" BW TV/Radios, a 12" BW TV and two more 13" color sets. Then there are two VHS VCRs and one SuperBeta VCR (the Funai isn't counted--long since dead).
And then there is last year's very thoughtful Christmas present from my wife. She was sold the very best that the American Red Cross had to market---an Eton
AM/FM/Weather/(and here's the rub)TV band emergency radio. Yes the TV band often delivers timely emergency information but NOT AFTER FEB 2009!!!!!
Paying an extra 10 bucks over the Sammie coupon is a ripoff. At 20 bucks, even more. But I have three more TVs that I do not want to replace, but at $50-70 each
for converters for them, I may as well shop for a digital TV replacement---which means I am sacrificing better quality electronics that have been trashed in
this fiasco. Maybe we should all get a tax credit for government theft! (So why isn't this a "taking" of property?)
One last thing---even SDTV is really clear. About like watching DVDs on my tube TVs. Nice. Then there is the sound----if I can find it. The sound level on
the digital channels is way below what was on analog. The level differential between programming and commercials is scary. And last but very far from least
is the amateurish dubbing of the voices---has to be dubbed; not an actor or news anchor is actually speaking. Can you say MILLI VANILLI? Yep, on analog
the voices and the mouths match up, but switch to the digital signal (my 27" TV is digital) and the out-of-synch sound/picture is terribly annoying.
The digital age is not coming easily.....and any help on converters would be a great service to the consumed public. (No typo; we are not a consuming public
but rather one that is consumed by this government mandated change. Wait until those big LCD screens go green like the one at my local pub---a short lived
and expensive venture, whereas the tube TVs can run for 15 years or more. This is the secret government plan to boost consumer spending!!!!)