Kal-el
02-17-2008, 11:06 PM
The airwaves will be silent.
With the end of analog TV broadcasts now a year away, consumer electronics firms, broadcasters and others are turning up the volume to inform people about the switch to digital-only broadcasts.
Government agencies and industry groups want to get the word out that millions of U.S. households will lose TV programming at midnight Feb. 17, 2009 they don't act.
At risk are households that rely on free, over-the-air TV broadcasts to get programming. If they have analog TV sets, their screens will go dark after the switch unless they buy a special converter box, subscribe to cable or satellite TV, or buy a new digital TV.
The digital TV transition has been a sensitive issue for politicians who worry that a rough changeover could rile voters. Meanwhile, electronics retailers are concerned about the task of educating consumers and getting enough converter boxes to meet demand.
The biggest open question is: How many converter boxes are needed?
Ratings firm Nielsen estimates that more than 13 million U.S. households get their TV shows over the air on analog sets. Another 6 million households have at least one secondary TV set that would no longer work after the changeover.
In a study released Friday, Nielsen found that adults over 55 are better prepared than younger households; and whites and Asians are more ready than blacks and Hispanics for the transition.
Nielsen said 10.1% of U.S. households would have no access to TV signals if the transition took place today. And 16.8% of all households have at least one analog TV set that wouldn't work after the switch.
Retailers such as Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - News) and Circuit City Stores (NYSE:CC - News) have started stocking the digital-to-analog converter boxes.
"You don't really need it until February '09. And that's making it a little difficult to gauge what the demand is going to be for these boxes," said Circuit City spokesman Jim Babb. "We don't know how compelled consumers are to run out and get them right away."
The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration is offering coupons to households to help finance the converter boxes, which are expected to cost $40 to $70. U.S. households can request up to two $40 coupons to buy converter boxes, but only one coupon can be used per box. Users can phone 1-888-DTV-2009 or go to the dtv2009.gov Web site.
The NTIA plans to start mailing coupons on Tuesday. It's sending out the coupons in waves to minimize shortages of converter boxes.
Congress set aside $1.5 billion for the program, which will fund 33.5 million coupons and other costs.
The U.S. government wants to free up radio spectrum through the digital TV transition so it can be used by emergency responders and auctioned for new commercial services.
More than 2.4 million households have requested 4.7 million coupons since the program started Jan. 1, the NTIA said Wednesday.
Of the households requesting coupons, 47% said they fully rely on over-the-air television.
Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas said the retailer will be promoting three options for consumers with analog TVs: get a digital converter box, subscribe to cable or satellite service, or get a digital TV.
The NTIA has approved more than 615 retailers, representing over 16,475 outlets nationwide, to sell the boxes. Besides Best Buy and Circuit City, they include RadioShack (NYSE:RSH - News), Target (NYSE:TGT - News) and Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT - News).
Wal-Mart has been carrying a Magnavox converter box, priced at $49.87, from Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG - News) since Feb. 11.
Some retailers will wait to stock up. For instance, Target expects to have converter boxes in stores the first week of May.
Best Buy is selling a converter box under its Insignia house brand for $59.99. Circuit City is selling a Zenith brand box from LG Electronics for $59.99 as well.
With the end of analog TV broadcasts now a year away, consumer electronics firms, broadcasters and others are turning up the volume to inform people about the switch to digital-only broadcasts.
Government agencies and industry groups want to get the word out that millions of U.S. households will lose TV programming at midnight Feb. 17, 2009 they don't act.
At risk are households that rely on free, over-the-air TV broadcasts to get programming. If they have analog TV sets, their screens will go dark after the switch unless they buy a special converter box, subscribe to cable or satellite TV, or buy a new digital TV.
The digital TV transition has been a sensitive issue for politicians who worry that a rough changeover could rile voters. Meanwhile, electronics retailers are concerned about the task of educating consumers and getting enough converter boxes to meet demand.
The biggest open question is: How many converter boxes are needed?
Ratings firm Nielsen estimates that more than 13 million U.S. households get their TV shows over the air on analog sets. Another 6 million households have at least one secondary TV set that would no longer work after the changeover.
In a study released Friday, Nielsen found that adults over 55 are better prepared than younger households; and whites and Asians are more ready than blacks and Hispanics for the transition.
Nielsen said 10.1% of U.S. households would have no access to TV signals if the transition took place today. And 16.8% of all households have at least one analog TV set that wouldn't work after the switch.
Retailers such as Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - News) and Circuit City Stores (NYSE:CC - News) have started stocking the digital-to-analog converter boxes.
"You don't really need it until February '09. And that's making it a little difficult to gauge what the demand is going to be for these boxes," said Circuit City spokesman Jim Babb. "We don't know how compelled consumers are to run out and get them right away."
The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration is offering coupons to households to help finance the converter boxes, which are expected to cost $40 to $70. U.S. households can request up to two $40 coupons to buy converter boxes, but only one coupon can be used per box. Users can phone 1-888-DTV-2009 or go to the dtv2009.gov Web site.
The NTIA plans to start mailing coupons on Tuesday. It's sending out the coupons in waves to minimize shortages of converter boxes.
Congress set aside $1.5 billion for the program, which will fund 33.5 million coupons and other costs.
The U.S. government wants to free up radio spectrum through the digital TV transition so it can be used by emergency responders and auctioned for new commercial services.
More than 2.4 million households have requested 4.7 million coupons since the program started Jan. 1, the NTIA said Wednesday.
Of the households requesting coupons, 47% said they fully rely on over-the-air television.
Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas said the retailer will be promoting three options for consumers with analog TVs: get a digital converter box, subscribe to cable or satellite service, or get a digital TV.
The NTIA has approved more than 615 retailers, representing over 16,475 outlets nationwide, to sell the boxes. Besides Best Buy and Circuit City, they include RadioShack (NYSE:RSH - News), Target (NYSE:TGT - News) and Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT - News).
Wal-Mart has been carrying a Magnavox converter box, priced at $49.87, from Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG - News) since Feb. 11.
Some retailers will wait to stock up. For instance, Target expects to have converter boxes in stores the first week of May.
Best Buy is selling a converter box under its Insignia house brand for $59.99. Circuit City is selling a Zenith brand box from LG Electronics for $59.99 as well.