Consumer Reports led us to the Better Business Bureau's warning to consumers not to fall for advertisements promising free TV, without a government coupon.

The company, Ohio-based Universal Techtronics, is running full-page newspaper advertisements for converter boxes that translate digital television signals to analog ones.

That's what consumers who rely on over-the-air television signals will need to watch television after February 2009, but Universal Techtronics is charging a $59 fee for a 'five-year warranty' as well as shipping costs for the equipment.

Don't be fooled. The federal government is offering two $40 coupons toward the cost of converters, which retail at about $60!

Continue reading "Scams: no free TV with converter box" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

 (photo: Glenn Fawcett/Baltimore Sun)

Digital TV decisions got you down?

The folks at Consumer Reports want to help you pick the right digital television converter model to best convert the new digital signals that broadcasters will be sending out starting next year.   

If you rely on over-the-air television signals and an older television,  and haven't already cashed in your $40 coupon from the federal government for a converter to turn your broadcast signals into analog ones that your old television can process, check out their digital television converter reviews. Today's models retail for $50 or more, but $40 options are on their way. 

CR's advice?

Continue reading "Digital TV converters: which one is right for you?" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A new Harris Interactive survey shows that while 7 out of 10 people know that the format war is over and that Sony's Blu-ray beat Toshiba's HD-DVD, only 9 percent of non-Blu-ray player owners are planning on buying one.

This InformationWeek story cracked me up:

Harris found that nearly nine in 10 people own a standard DVD player, but fewer than one in 10 reported owning devices available today for playing HD content, namely, HD DVD or Blu-ray disc players, Sony PlayStation 3, and the external HD DVD player for Microsoft's Xbox 360. These numbers are surprising, given that more than a third of consumers overall report owning an HDTV.

Continue reading "New survey say consumers snubbing Blu-Ray" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Did you catch Whiz's tech column last week on the uneven quality of reception you get from the digital converter boxes people (who still get their TV the old fashioned way through rabbit ears) must buy to watch TV after Feb. 17, 2009? You know, when the whole digital conversion hits us?

Whiz did not give those converter boxes high marks, saying reception can depend on the age of your old TV, the box and location:

When it comes to old-fashioned analog TV reception, all sets are not equal. Some are much better at finding distant channels than others. Reception depends on many factors, including the converter you have, the quality of your set, your antenna and - as Realtors love to say - location, location, location!

But the more channels you receive today by antenna, the more likely you are to be disappointed - or hopping mad - when the broadcasters turn off those analog transmitters. This is particularly true if you watch sports or news on Washington stations or other distant channels.

With that said, one wonders whether this whole conversion is a big colossal mistakegood idea, possibly leaving people with perfectly good sets without TV come February. In an effort to avoid widespread disaster, the guvmint is launching a test run in Wilmington, NC.

Continue reading "Wilmington, NC to test run digital TV in September" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

The federal government has issued more than 197,000 coupons for digital converter boxes to Maryland residents and more than 12 million nationwide since the program kicked off in February.

As we've reminded you before, each $40 coupon --- two per household --- offsets the cost of purchasing a converter if you rely on antennae drawing over-the-air television signals to watch your favorite reality shows. Cable subscribers don't need to worry.  

Starting Feb. 17, 2009, broadcasters will switch to digital signals, which should come in clear on most new televisions with built-in digital tuners. If you're not sure, the National Telecommunication and Information Administration recommends you hunt around for an input connection labeled “digital input” or “ATSC” (for Advanced Television Systems Committee, the DTV format).

Already applied but haven't seen anything in the mail yet? 

Continue reading "Got yourself a digital converter box?" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Digital TV is coming. Are you prepared? (If not, check out our earlier posts for help.) Better yet, are broadcasters and the technology behind it prepared?!

Read my esteemed colleague and tech guru Whiz's terrific column today. If you aren't nervous about the conversion before you read it, I'm betting you will be after you're done.

No worries, though. Whiz wouldn't leave you hanging. He offers tips to find out if your signal is acceptable, how to buy a digital converter box and then how to test it when you get it home.

If you've already gone through this ordeal and want to share it with the rest of us, do let us know whether you agree with Whiz or if you think the technology works brilliantly for you.

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Just in case you missed my colleague Chris Emery's story on digital TV coming and how to obtain a TV converter box, read it here.

As Chris told us, households that use "rabbit ears" or a roof-top antenna to receive broadcasts on an older, analog TV will need a converter box. Coupons expire 90 days after they are mailed. Who can apply? Each U.S. household can apply for two $40 coupons to be used separately to purchase a TV converter box. Applications must include a home address. Applications that use post office box as address will be rejected.

How to apply:

Continue reading "Get yourself a digital converter box" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

More on the transition to digital broadcast television and the misinformation that is being perpetuated as a result:

A reader e-mailed this morning to say that she heard bad info at stores in Carroll County and Glen Burnie last week, just like the secret shoppers from Maryland PIRG found in their survey, Mixed Signals. She will be able to watch television after the February 17, 2009 deadline with a digital converter box and her outdoor antenna, despite what she was told.

Someone also commented yesterday, pointing out that you don't need an expensive 'digital antenna' to pick up those signals --- just a digital converter box. The PIRG study found that some sales clerks were directing customers toward pricey converters with lots of bells and whistles that aren't eligible for the coupon discount. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration posted a list of eligible converters on their transition Web site, where you can apply for the coupon as well.

And for cable or satellite television subscribers,  

Continue reading "A clearer picture" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

 
Yesterday, we told you that people who own older televisions will have to buy a digital converter box to continue to watch broadcast channels after February 17, 2009. But how do you know whether you need it?

All televisions purchased before 1998 have analog tuners, according to www.dtv2009.gov, a Web site about the coupon program we discussed yesterday. It's run by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. 

Some giant screen projection televisions --- 42 inches or larger -- purchased before 2004 might have digital tuners, and most televisions sold after 2004 at major retailers have them, as well.

But not all!

Continue reading "How old is old?" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Digital TV? HDTV? Direct TV?

After February 17, 2009, about 22 million consumers who watch broadcast television --- using an antenna to pull signals from the air --- will need a digital converter to continue watching their soaps and sitcoms on an older TV set.

But according to Mixed Signals, a report from the Maryland Public Interest Research Group, consumers can't rely on retailers for information about the transition, including the $40 coupons the federal government is giving away to help people buy converters. Check out my story about it here.

Nationally, about 40 percent of staff did not know when the transition would take place, and one in five clerks tried to convince secret shoppers to purchase a new television or a converter box with additional features that would disqualify it from the coupon program. 

Also, more than a third of stores were still selling analog televisions, which will be obsolete after the conversion without a converter. But at nearly 70 percent of those shops, sets had hard-to-read or incorrect labels.

Steve Hannan, executive director of the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, says that part of the confusion stems from a mix-up between digital television and high definition, or HDTV, which is a digital television format that offers enhanced picture quality.

Direct TV is a satellite cable provider, and no, you don't need that either. 

Here's the bottom line:

Continue reading ""D" = digital, dilemma" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)