Comcast Taking Advantage Of Mass DTV Switch Panic, Offering Up Free Cable
Comcast seems to be capitalizing on the inconvenient Converter Box Coupon program by offering up free cable for a year. Of course, there is a couple of catches here. Number one being that the free cable subscription only encompasses basic cable channels such as the free-to-air ABC, NBC, and FOX. Number two, the offer's only good if another paid subscription, such as phone or internet service, is agreed too. Really though, for those who still get all of there TV over-the-air and with growing government concern about converter box coupons running short, this isn't such a bad offer. And if you're firmly against paying Comcast for anything other than TV, the basic cable subscription can be had for $10/month for a year for new customers.
DTV2009: A Looming National Crisis, Battery Power, And The DTVPal Plus
As the February 17, 2009 digital TV transition date draws closer it seems mass panic is ensuing...among regulatory bigwigs anyway. Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye is calling for the feds to step up their efforts in preparation for the big day, especially as it'll occur less than one month into the next Presidential Administration.
The DTV transition has the potential to cause serious disruption not just to consumers, but to a new President who will just be getting his feet wet
Meanwhile FCC Chairman Kevin Martin continues to push for more battery-powered DTV converter boxes and battery packs that would allow converter boxes to operate with battery-powered TV's. This is important, he says, in case of public emergencies-kind of ironic given that the spectrum opened up by ridding the America's of analog signals is supposed to be used for a public emergency system.
If you're not looking for a battery-powered box, but are needing something with analog pass-through, DISH Network's DTVPal Plus is now available. NTIA-certified, the DTVPal Plus can be ordered with your $40 converter box coupon bringing the $69.99 MSRP down to only a penny less than $30. Pretty reasonable and you can get yours at http://www.dtv2009.gov.
In addition to the usual converter box functionality, the DTVPal Plus has an enhanced tuner that allows consumers in weaker signal areas to maximize the number of over-the-air channels they receive. Plus it has analog pass-through, so those in low-power areas that won't be converting next year can still receive unconverted analog signals. For all the details check out the full release after the jump.
Yesterday Wilmington, North Carolina became the first US TV market to go all-digital. Never to return to boring old analog, Wilmington is the first American market to make the digital switch in what will be a massive transition February 17, 2009. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was on hand to flip a symbolic switch yesterday morning and was happy with the first day-of the 180, 000 residents affected, the switch only generated a few hundred problem calls, mainly to do with simple issues such as converter box setup and antenna problems.
The digital television transition has been ordered by Congress to be completed by February 17, 2009 to open up spectrum for mobile data transmissions and a dedicated public safety network. Check out our help guide for all the information you need to make sure you're prepared.
Thanks to massive consumer education efforts, the majority of Americans are aware of the 2009 digital TV transition. But it seems the millions of dollars spent on television advertisements and real-world campaigns are missing one fairly large demographic--seniors. A survey conducted in June by Retirement Living TV has found that 25% of the senior population is completely unaware of DTV2009, increasing to a full 31% among seniors with no college education. Of all the major US demographics, seniors are one of the groups most affected by DTV2009 as many seniors receive OTA analog TV channels. There have been educational campaigns targeted specifically at seniors already, but it looks like it may be time for another one.
Universal TechTronics And The Art Of Digital TV Converter Box Scamming
It's no surprise that DTV2009 is bringing scammers out of the woodwork. You know, those that take advantage of the lack of consumer awareness surrounding the digital transition in order to make a few bucks. The latest crooked company, Ohio-based Universal TechTronics, has recently been running a campaign offering a "free" digital TV converter box.
The United States Deptartment of Commerce is preparing everyone for the switch to digital television by authorizing payment coupons for certified brands of these special TV boxes.
But the government process has us all tied up.
That's why Universal TechTronics is providing these Miracle ClearView TV boxes immediately to the general public for free for everyone who gets the 5yr. warranty.
The premise behind the offer is that the US government if having trouble pulling through its end of the $40 converter box coupon program and Universal is providing a public service by offering its free Miracle ClearView boxes. The only problem with this is that the box is free with the purchase of a $88 5-year warranty and a nearly $10 shipping charge. The company also claims the Miracle ClearView converter box is certified by the NTIA, but not so. This same company has used questionable sales tactics in the past and has been deemed "unsatisfactory" by the Better Business Bureau. Word to the wise: sometimes it's just better to wait on your $40 coupon.
DTV2009: First Orlando Analog Shutoff Goes Off Smoothly
The first test run of Orlando's analog shutoff has gone off successfully. The 12 stations that participated cut their analog signals for 10 seconds last Wednesday affecting 365, 000 households. Those that weren't ready for the February 17, 2009 switch saw a black screen and those that were ready saw a message confirming they passed the test. Given that the test affected such a great number of household, it was impressive to see that only 501 viewers called in to complain. It wasn't entirely a surprise though, only 7% of viewers affected receive their broadcast signals over-the-air.
Most Americans are aware of the upcoming digital TV transition now, even though some numbers estimate that half of those that need to prepare for it have no plans to. If you have an older TV and receive over-the-air analog channels, you will need to prepare sooner or later unless you like the idea of watching a screen full of fuzz. The simplest way to do that is by purchasing a digital converter box and with the $40 Converter Box Coupon Program paying for a good chunk of that purchase you could be looking at only forking out $10 to $20 to keep on watching all of your favorite shows.
That said, it's hard to decide what converter box to buy. Sound & Vision mag has pitted the Digital Stream DTX9900, the RCA DTA800, and the Zenith DTT900 against one another and come up with some interesting results. These three boxes are probably the most popular on the market right now and with the $40 coupon, you'll probably only pay a maximum of $20 for either of these models. While the three converters feature similar specs which you'd think would result in similar performance, they all performed very differently. From usability to interface to picture quality, differences were apparent. So if you want the biggest bang for you converter box buck, maybe give that article a little look-see.
If you're still looking for a DTV converter box in preparation for DTV2009, the digital TV transition, coming February 17, 2009, you may have absolutely no idea where to start. First off, we recommend checking out our homegrown info guide if you're really in the dark. Second off, we recommend heading over to Consumer Reports if you know you need a converter box, but aren't sure which one. The reviewers over there have tested and rated 14 converter boxes according to their picture quality, and have a breakdown of each boxes pros and cons. If you're looking for the absolute best picture, your best bets are the TIVAX STB-T9,LASONIC LTA-260, SANSONIC FT300A, and the MICROGEM MG2000. Unfortunately if you're still in an area where you have access to some analog channels after the switch, none of these boxes have analog passthrough. Time's running out!
DTV2009: NTIA's TV Converter Box Coupon Program Running Out Of Money To Buy Stamps
Here's some DTV2009 humor for you: apparently the TV Converter Box Coupon Program, being headed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is looking at the possibility of running out of funds to mail out all of the $40 converter box coupons. Says Bernadette McGuire-Rivera, associate director of the NTIA, the converter box program will "have to get more money, basically to buy more stamps to send out coupons." What? How could the NTIA make such a financial miscalculation? Well, they didn't really. The problem is that only 42% of the 800, 000 converter box coupons that have expired in their 90 days so far were redeemed. The unredeemed $40 coupons will be returned to the program coffers, but due to expected reapplications, the NTIA is looking at a shortage of postage stamps to send out the extras. Wouldn't that be something? After all the hoopla about consumer education, a quarter of the US loses their TV service come February 17, 2009 because the NTIA ran out of stamps.
84% of Americans are aware of the digital TV transition
50% of those that watch analog over-the-air channels don't have plans to address the problem
50% of Americans are aware of the TV Converter Box Coupon program
17% of those that are aware of the coupon program know how to get the boxes
33% of those that don't need converter boxes are applying for them anyway
464, 000 of the 800, 000 coupons that have already expired were never used
15.8 million households need a converter box or new digital TV to maintain service after the switch
adding in multiset households with one or more sets that receive analog over-the-air channels, the number that needs to take action is closer to 39 million households, 34% of all households in the US
It's interesting to note that all of the consumer education campaigns seem to be doing a good job of reaching those with only over-the-air analog reception, but failing to reach those with multiple TV's in the same household, one or more of those set to lose service come DTV2009.
Read-More Mixed DTV News From GAO Read-Analog Turnoff Could Affect 34% of US Households
9.4% Of US Households "Completely Unready" For The Digital TV Transition
The massive $1 billion consumer education campaign put together by major broadcasters and the American government in hopes that come February 17, 2009, better known as DTV2009 around these parts, no TV set will lose its service when over-the-air analog signals officially hit the deadpool, still hasn't reached everyone. A study conducted by Nielsen Media Research has found that although most, or about 75%, of household are prepared for the digital TV transition, 10 million households or about 9.4% are "completely unready" for DTV2009. Among those unready households, a high proportion are African-American or Hispanic in ethnicity, and TV's in either bedrooms or kitchens face a greater chance of going dark. An additional 12.6% of households were labeled "partly unready" and surprisingly, given the uproar regarding seniors' rights in this whole analog mess, those above 65 years old are among the most prepared for DTV2009.
If you're a user of over-the-air TV signals and aren't sure what DTV2009's all about, check out our guide to see what you need to do to get prepared.
DTV2009: Cable Companies Dreaming Of Subscriber Dollars Rolling In
Cable companies are jumping with joy at the thought of acquiring a big chunk of the 18-22 million homes currently getting their TV over-the-air that'll be forced to go digital come February 17, 2009. While most cable providers already provide digital service, a good percentage of those with OTA TV would be either first-time subscribers or those who've let their subscriptions expire. Research company SNL Kagan estimates that at least 10% of those with OTA TV now will opt for pay TV come DTV2009 and the majority of those will head for cable. Interestingly a weak US economy is helping the situation as people flock for entertainment in its cheapest form possible: cable. Maybe that's way companies such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable, both of whom were flagging badly in the first couple of months of 2008 have since respective stock price increases of 40% and 38.5%. We never thought we'd say this, but maybe it's a good time to invest in the cable industry.
DTV2009: NAB Wants FCC To Answer Some Wilmington Questions
Though the National Association of Broadcaster's wasn't consulted by the FCC in the planning of the Wilmington analog shut-off, they do want the FCC to look for a few things post September 8 to see exactly how smoothly things will run on February 17, 2009 when the entire country will forever lose their analog TV signals. What are those things the FCC should be looking for? The NAB says answers to the following questions:
"What is the coordination plan between the federal, state and local governments to distribute information about the Sept. 8 experimental analog shutoff?"
"How will the government ensure retailer coordination so that enough coupon-certified converter boxes will be available given the increased demand of the early shutoff date?"
"In particular, what specific actions will the government take to ensure that retailers have "analog pass-through" converter boxes available, given the low-power television stations in the Wilmington market, including one major network affiliate?
"How will the government prioritize converter box coupon application requests originating from the WilmingtonDMA, given the current national backlog of coupon requests?
"What action will the government take to ensure that national messaging or messaging from bordering markets about the February 17, 2009 transition date does not result in confusion in the Wilmington DMA?
"How will the government ensure that satellite operators accelerate their coordination schedule?
"How will the government ensure that cable operators serving the Wilmington market are prepared to coordinate in early analog shut-off and have they made plans to ensure viewability to analog television subscribers?"
So what do you think? Will Wilmington be ready September 8, 2008?
DTV2009: Orlando Testing Out Digital Switch Starting June 25
Wilmington, NC's planned digital switch this September 8 is getting all the attention, but 11 Orlando, Florida stations are planning their own analog shut-off testing, starting this June 25 at 8 PM. The participating stations include WESH, WKMG, WFTV, WCEU, WKCF, WMFE, WVEN, WRDQ, WOTF, WTGL and WBCC and two more tests will follow the initial June 25 switch. So far tests in Las Vegas have gone off without a hitch, but some concerns have been raised about the Wilmington switch being smack dab in the middle of North Carolina's hurricane season.
Comcast Taking Advantage Of Mass DTV Switch Panic, Offering Up Free Cable
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