Get Your Digital TV Coupons While They're Hot
It might be risky to wait much longer to prepare for digital TV. The federal government reports that U.S. households have ordered about 13 million of the free coupons for converter boxes. That's more than a third of all the coupons the government will dispense.
The coupons each cover $40 of the cost of one of the converters, which start at about $50. The converter boxes will enable old TVs and VCRs to receive broadcast signals after the government turns off stations in February. Each household qualifies for two coupons.
Some have suggested waiting to order the coupons because they expire after 90 days. And niftier converters, with features such as cable-TV-like programming guides, are scheduled to arrive at retailers later this year. That would be too late for the earliest coupons.
But there is no guarantee coupons will still be available months from now. They probably will be, particularly as unspent coupons expire and become available again to new applicants. But applications could accelerate as the February deadline approaches. It's a risk I'd rather not take.
Tags: digital TV
Tools: 
Share
|
| Comments (2)
Reader Comments
Add your thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our comment guidelines.advertisement
iTunes
RSS
Coupon Eligiible Converter Boxes
The last date to request coupons is March 31, 2009 (if any are available). The last day retailers can accept coupons is July 9, 2009.
All coupon eligible converter boxes are required to have an electronic guide (EPG)including the ones being sold right now. The display capability varies from one model to another. Some just show the current program while others will store up to a seven day guide.
A lot of people are holding out for the DTVPal converter box which will not be available until mid-June. It is suppose to be priced at $39.99, basically free with your $40 coupon, and has VCR Timers that no other converter box is going to have. You can see http://www.ezdigitaltv.com/DISH_Network_DTVPal.html for more info on this box.
May 07, 2008 19:47:21 PM [permalink] [report comment]