Vouchers for DTV converter boxes now available from the U.S. government

so the voucher is for $40, but the boxes run between $50-$70? I thought it was supposed to be free.

Did you actually trust/believe what the Government told you?

Anyway, if don't want the discount or don't need a voucher - don't get one.

how do i know if my tv is analog

Best way is to check your inputs. If they are RCA or coax, you are probably analog.

Finally we are hearing of a price that these things are going to cost before the use of the vouchers. Atleast those that need to use these are still paying less than half or more of the original cost.

I would have been pissed if they would have priced them so high that the use of the vouchers wouldn't have done any good.

Oh Poop. :-(

Nothing like a freebie discount coupon that I can't take advantage of.

Since I live in Canada, I guess I don't qualify for the US-Gov'mint coupon. I hope the boys here in Ottawa (Canadian Gov'mint) will come up with a similar offer - not that it matters because I'm going to get one of these boxes anyway. Just a little over a year now, and analogue OTA broadcasts will be a thing of the past.

Here in Canada, I believe the Government is going to auction-off the broadcast space (bandwidth) that the analogue signals now use, to the highest bidder.

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so the voucher is for $40, but the boxes run between $50-$70? I thought it was supposed to be free.

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Good heavens! Why should they (anyone) simply hand out totally FREE electronic boxes to just anyone who wants/needs one? It costs money to make these things and they will breathe new-and-extended life into yours and 5 billon-trillion-gazillion other analogue tv sets for the forseeable future. Besides, the converter boxes are cheap even without the coupon.

(You'll want to buy a digital tv set anyway) if only for the wide screen (16:9), and so that you won't be stuck with those annoying black bars on your analog set.

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how do i know if my tv is analog

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You have an analogue set, tucker001, believe me - you do. :-)

I could care less. I just figured that was the case from this article that I read on AD a while back.

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/11419.cfm]

"Korean based LG has become the first company to be certified by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to offer set-top digital to analog converter boxes that are redeemable with the government issued coupons."

I took that as meaning free.

my tv is a goldstar that is about 12 yrs old and has rca inputs

Well, I signed-up for my voucher... pretty easy Web-form. I have cable, but you never know when a free (or nearly free) converter will come in handy. Or, I can sell it!

Nobody can predict the price. It depends on supply & demand. If production costs are low enough and there is plenty of supply, the retailers will be fighting for their share of this government handout and they will price them at exactly $40 USD. I doubt that they will be priced any lower than $40.

In general, subsidies tend to push-up the price, because demand is increased when more-buyers have more-money to spend*. I will be adding to this problem, since I've requested a voucher and I don't really need one at the moment. If supply is limited, the seller can easily increase the price, since the government is paying the first $40.


* American college tuition is a great example of this. Most students get government grants & loans to attend college. This allows universities to charge huge tuitions that increase faster than the overall inflation rate.

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The vouchers are good for up to $40 towards the purchase of a converter box, which aren't necessary for anyone watching either cable or satellite television. The boxes are expected to retail for between $50 and $70.

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Thats not that bad. I first thought $40 is not much but after seeing how much they go for it is well ok.

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... "that are redeemable with the government issued coupons."
I took that as meaning free

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OK, gotcha. (I understand).

There are a lifetime and world-full of analogue tv sets out there - up until 'recent' times, it's all we've ever known. With the years'-delayed but (now genuine) advent of digital broadcasting and digital sets now widely available (both HD-capable and non-HD), it's no wonder that the big box stores like Walmart and Best Buy (and even our local grocery supermarket) now sell analogue tv sets more cheaply than ever before in tv's history. They're practically 'giveaways'.

These new set top converter boxes will let you use any of these traditional tv sets well into the future, and also give the Walmarts and Best Buys of the world a reason to keep offering inexpensive analogue sets, for a while yet anyway.

Can't wait to get a "real" digital set though. :-)

It's going to be a bit rough on my set-top Pioneer DVD-recorder though, when analogue broadcasts cease. The Pioneer only has a built-in analogue tuner. (The same situation exists for those still using traditional VCR's as well). But at least - with the converter box I should be able to pipe-in a composite or S-Video signal.

In fact, I expect Walmart will be selling the converter boxes and analogue tv-sets side-by-side. :-)

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my tv is a goldstar that is about 12 yrs old and has rca inputs

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Yep, it's analogue, tucker.

Originally posted by tucker001:

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my tv is a goldstar that is about 12 yrs old and has rca inputs

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One of my tv's is a 16 year old RCA that doesn't even have RCA's...it's coax. He he. It's keeps going so i don't have the heart to get rid of it yet.

It's like the Chronicles of Riddick DVD. CONVERT or DIE!

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Here in Canada, I believe the Government is going to auction-off the broadcast space (bandwidth) that the analogue signals now use, to the highest bidder.

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The 800 mhz car phone band is compromised of what used to be UHF TV channels 80-83. The new 760-806 mhz police and mobile radio services are taking over old TV channels too.

US broadcasters have multiple channels in that wide spectrum of old analog channels. Our local PBS station has three seperate programs running at once. The CBS and NBC affiliates have both analog and digital versions of their programming...

Where can one purchase a coupon approved Dtv converter box in
los angeles, california 90301, today?

how much will it cost with a government coupon? ***email removed***

Did you not read the article?

Originally posted by 7thsinger:

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Did you not read the article?

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7thsinger bro, I guess the answer was NO.

Originally posted by candymanw:

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Where can one purchase a coupon approved Dtv converter box in
los angeles, california 90301, today?

how much will it cost with a government coupon? candymanw@yahoo.com

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Oh, and you should probably remove thy email from your post.

candymanw, no email addresses per forum rules.

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US broadcasters have multiple channels in that wide spectrum of old analog channels. Our local PBS station has three seperate programs running at once. The CBS and NBC affiliates have both analog and digital versions of their programming...

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cousinkix - I wonder when Canada will cease analogue broadcasting? I haven't heard any specific cut-off date mentioned, but I assume it would probably coincide pretty closely with the American agenda - we receive many US channels, of course, and I'm sure you receive a few of ours.

Here in Canada, the CBC routinely broadcasts it's NHL Hockey games in HD digital. I don't know if any of these are available as OTA (Over-The-Air) terrestrial broadcasts, or if a Satellite dish or cable box is still needed to receive them. I used to have Bell Express-Vu Satellite (but no longer), so I wouldn't know.

But from what I can gather, you can receive an OTA signal with practically nothing more than the proverbial "wire coathanger antenna" hooked up to the new converter-box, provided you live in a strong signal area, like major cities for example.

But when an OTA broadcast finally wends it's way over to my neck-of-the woods (Nova Scotia), I'll be happy to spring for a simple-but-effective converter box and antenna combo. They're both pretty cheap thingees, and would fill a gap for the time being.

(Yeah yeah, I know - I could just pick up a digital tv-set), but I'd rather spend my limited dollars right now on women, cheap booze and pizza. ;-)

Originally posted by Sazaziel:

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It's like the Chronicles of Riddick DVD. CONVERT or DIE!

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Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated into our digital collective.

But......but...... what am I gonna do with these three old Sears tv sets in the basement?

Irrelevant. Sears is irrevelant. That is not a proper response. Sears' tv-sets will be melted-down into i-Pods and Sony rootkits.

But, but ...... [gasp], my other Seven-Of-Nine (arf, arf) tv-sets are analogue as well!

Non-secular. You WILL comply.

Whew! (Of course, if 7-Of-9 cared to join me in my apartment for a Pizza and some beers, to watch some old Star Trek reruns, I could probably be persuaded to divvy-up for one of those converter boxes). :-)