In about six months, traditional analog television broadcasting will be a thing of the past.
The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act requires all full-power television broadcasters to convert all of their programing to digital television by Feb. 17, 2009.
That means some consumers, who still have at least one analog television set in their home, will have to do one of three things: Replace it with a television with a digital tuner, connect it to cable, satellite or pay television service, or keep it working with a television converter box.
“It’s the first time the government has mandated a technology transition,” said Mary Lou Kenny, partnership manager of the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Kenny will speak today at 5:30 p.m. about the digital television transition to Baltimore residents at an event at the Baltimore State Office Center on West Preston Street.
“If your TV has rabbit ears, then it most likely won’t work anymore come February,” Kenny said. “There are about 13 million people across the country who still have analog televisions.”
To assist consumers with the transition, the NTIA initiated the TV Converter Box Coupon Program at the beginning of the year. The program allows all households to request up to two coupons each worth $40 toward the purchase of a certified converter box.
Since the beginning of the year, about 189,000 coupons have been requested in the Baltimore area, and about 63,000 have been redeemed at retailers, according to NTIA data.
At the Best Buy on Belmont Avenue in Baltimore, most consumers asking about converter boxes have asked if the coupon covers the entire cost, said Leslie Boyd, appliance specialist at the store. The cost of the converter is $59.99 at Best Buy, Boyd said.
“A lot of information has been disseminated, so most consumers who come in have known what it’s all about,” Boyd said.
The digital television transition will give viewers a clearer picture, more programming choices and free up airwaves for better communications among emergency first responders and new telecommunications services, Kenny said.
WEB EXTRA
Click here to go to the government’s Web site and get your coupon.
