(Disclaimer: The Amazon links in this blog post are affiliate links, so I can make a few extra coins to help pay for a fraction of the cost to host this website. #CommissionsEarned)
At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting.
You will need a Digital TV converter to watch TV on your old analog TV set. The government is offering $40 coupons. Each household can get up to two coupons at www.dtv2009.gov.
The government recommends just four national retailers: Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Radio Shack, and Best Buy. Each of them offers only one or two options. Here they are:
Best Buy
Radio Shack
Circuit City
Wal-Mart
- Magnavox TB100MW9 Digital-to-Analog TV Converter Box: $49.87
- Thomson RCA DTA800 Digital TV Converter Box: $49.87
You can’t purchase any of these online. They must be done in-store (probably because they want you to redeem the coupon in-store). And I couldn’t find any new ones offered on Amazon.com.
There’s a graphic by MCT that shows a typical setup for a converter to analog TV: http://www.mctdirect.com/visuals/preview.php?doc=KRT%2Fkrtweeklyfeaturelive%2Fdocs%2F003%2F854
Thanks to Unlikelymoose for inspiring this post. You can read more about the government conspiracy with this switch-over on his blog at: http://www.unlikelymoose.com/blog/the-reason-behind-analog-digital-tv-switch//
I’ve worked in the TV world, and have been following this rollout for years. Man, has the U.S. ever botched it, that’s for sure. Thanks for the info on the boxes. I’m still waiting for my coupons to arrive in the mail!
This is absolutely thrilling news! Now I could easily access all those websites that I have been craving for. Plus, it all goes digital now which is super cool high technology.
NTIA has certified an online retailer check out http://dtv.bsat.net they are selling for $49.50
http://dtv.bsat.net now has the RCA DTA800 for $47.99! It is the cheapest price so far!
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