Attention needy folks with rabbit ears
p2pnet news view | TV:- On February 17, analog TV bites the dust in the US and more than 100,000 people were already on the Hello-Digital-Goodbye-Analog wait list as of Monday, observes CNET News, quoting USA Today.
“Rattled by the recession, many consumers facing the upcoming switch to digital television are taking the cheap way out – buying inexpensive converter boxes instead of new digital TV sets,” said p2pnet, quoting the Wall Street Journal.
But the government is running out of money to, “subsidize the purchase of the converters”.
That’s because millions more TV devotees than anticipated were, and still are, looking for the $40 government hand-out coupons for analog-to-digital converters.
The WSJ figures the recession has something to do with that, but we think the answer may be a little closer to home, but still involving financing.
Forty bucks against hundreds of dollars for a brand new digital TV?
No contest.
So, “if you rely on ‘rabbit ears’ and are still in need of that coupon, here’s what to do,” says CNET, adding:
“The application process on the TV converter box Web site is still the same, but now, you’ll be put in line for the first-come, first-served waiting list as more funds become available. You’ll also be given a reference number, much like a package-tracking number, that you can input into the Web site to check up on the status and check up on your estimated mailing date.”
“The all-digital transition is set for February 17, which means that more than 70 million analog televisions in the U.S. will be rendered useless unless they have the proper converter boxes to work with their indoor (’rabbit ears’) or outdoor antennae.”
CNET News – Need a digital TV coupon? Get thee to a wait list, January 7, 2009
p2pnet – US switch to digital doesn’t click, January 6, 2009
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January 8th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Well I applied for my coupons almost a year ago and got a letter in the mail saying even though I don’t have cable or a dish, I’m still not elligable!!! Well fine, screw TV, the advertisers just lost another customer! Looks like it’s downloading for me now on!
January 8th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
TV sucks anyway
No more big brother for Australia in 2009 lol
January 9th, 2009 at 3:30 am
Meanwhile Canada is getting screwed in the transition.. governments message “Get cable or Satallite”