[Grovenet] Here's a little more on the DTV (Not to be confusedwith HDTV ! ! ! ! )

[Ed Davie]

Did I miss something here? I thought you needed 
the converter if your TV wasn't digital. It 
wouldn't help to have cable or satellite! And, if 
your TV is digital you don't need the converter 
anyway.
Ed
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Vickie Madeoneup
  To: Forest Grove local interests list
  Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 6:35 PM
  Subject: Re: [Grovenet] Here's a little more on 
the DTV (Not to be confusedwith HDTV ! ! ! ! )


  would it be so terrible for people to have to 
buy their own converter?

  I'm really not certain why the government is 
forking out the money for these boxes anyway, 
we've known this is going to happen for a long 
time, plus it is almost a year before it happens, 
someone can't save $40 by then?

  also, I agree, many people will buy them and 
then find out they don't need them because they 
won't have realized that if they have cable or 
satellite they don't need them, that will cause a 
flood of them in Freecycle hopefully.

  Vickie

  Bob Browning <rab at jurislex.com> wrote: 
Crave
    A Blog from CNET

         Mar 31 2008
    Don't sign up for your $40 DTV converter box 
coupon--yet
      Matthew Moskovciak




     The DTV transition is less than a year away 
and as of January 1, 2008, Americans have been 
eligible to sign up for a $40 coupon to help 
purchase DTV converter boxes needed to receive new 
digital TV signals. While your instincts may tell 
you to sign up as quickly as possible, there's a 
strong argument to be made to hold off for a 
little while. Here's why:
   1. The coupon expires in three months
   If you carefully read you the FAQ on the 
government's Web site, the program clearly states 
that the $40 coupons expire three months after 
they're shipped. That's unfortunate because we're 
guessing many people don't think much of it, and 
are just trying to sign up before they forget. Now 
you're forced into getting whatever DTV boxes that 
are currently on the market, even though...
   2. Better, cheaper boxes are coming
   None of the DTV converter boxes we've seen so 
far are available for $40 yet, which means you'll 
need to kick in some real American dollars in 
addition to your coupon. Echostar is planning on 
releasing a $40 converter box, the TR-40, but it 
won't come out until this summer--so if you 
already have your coupon, you probably won't be 
able to get it. That wouldn't be so bad, except 
that the Echostar TR-40 looks like it's going to 
be substantially better than current models, 
offering a full EPG and program search 
functionality. Even if the Echostar device isn't 
everything it's cracked up to be...
   3. Current models will get cheaper
   This is just an educated guess, but don't be 
surprised if all of the current DTV converter 
boxes currently going for $50 to $60 suddenly drop 
to $40 once the Echostar TR-40 comes out. It will 
be near impossible for the other boxes to compete 
with free, so they'll be forced to sell for $40, 
which means it essentially free to consumers with 
a coupon.
   The main counterargument against waiting is 
that if you wait too long, it's possible that the 
government's coupon program will run out of money. 
That's definitely something to consider, as there 
are only 22.25 million coupons available. After 
those are used up, an additional 11.25 million 
coupons will become available, but only to 
households that solely use analog over-the-air TV 
(no cable, satellite, Fios, and so on). So if 
you're worried that you're not going to get a 
coupon at all, you can play it safe and sign up 
now. But it's probably a pretty safe bet that the 
current coupon program won't run dry during the 
next couple months, and you'll get more out of 
that $40 coupon.
   DTV transition resources
   CNET's Quick Guide to the DTV transition
   DTV Coupon Program
   FAQ: What the digital switch actually means
   Antenna Web: Find what digital signals you can 
receive


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   by xaxain March 31, 2008 8:40 AM
  I was at walmart this weekend and they had 2 
units both of them were $40. One was an RCA unit 
and I can't remember what the other unit was but, 
I have seen then for $40.   by Improviz March 31, 
2008 2:57 PM
     Every discussion or story about the DTV 
conversion should state, in bold letters right at 
the beginning: IF YOU HAVE CABLE OR SATELLITE THIS 
DOES NOT CONCERN YOU. YOU WILL NOT NEED A 
CONVERTER. This ONLY applies to people who get 
their TV over the air from an antenna. I don't 
know anyone who doesn't have at least basic cable. 
I realize there are parts of the country, like the 
9th Ward in New Orleans, that are maybe not wired 
for cable. And maybe economically disadvantaged 
people do not have cable. But really, responsible 
journalism demands that you try to stop a huge 
wave of people running out and buying these who 
don't need them and can't use them if they do buy 
them.




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