Horst Happenings....: Digital TV- The New Horizon Beckons

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Digital TV- The New Horizon Beckons

I was talking with one of the teachers at school yesterday. She mentioned that she and her husband bought a digital television converter box at Wal-Mart this weekend. She said that her husband had applied for the Digital-to-Analog Converter Box coupon that the government is sending out to consumers. The purpose of the coupon is to allow consumers to buy the boxes at a reduced price. The coupon is valued at $40.00. I suppose that this is another example of our tax dollars at work. The box at Wal-Mart is made by Magnavox and costs $52.97. That makes the box $12.97 + tax after the coupon. She also said that the TV they used it on has a much better picture on it.

I decided to check it out on-line. I applied for my coupons several months ago. It turns out that the site has a link to check the status of your application. I checked and mine is supposed to be in the mail soon. The web-site Digital Television has all the information you need. This is a government web-site and it has the link on it that takes you to the Coupon application page. It is off-site so you have to go through a confirmation page first. Here is the direct link to the coupon application page. PS: It is still a government page; just not the FCC. If you have already applied you can go to the status page to check the status of your application.

Remember, if you have cable you do not have to buy a box. The cable company already converts the digital signal and makes it analog for the older TV's. BUT, if you want to ditch cable and use an antenna you need to have the converter box in order to watch TV after February 17, 2009. Also, if you already have and HDTV with an HDTV tuner you will not need a converter box.For more information on digital tv and converter boxes check out Digital TV Facts.