http://www.hearusnow.org/2008/06/now_hear_this_newsletter_june_1.html
For months now we have been hearing from readers asking when the technical gurus over at our sister organization Consumer Reports would be providing ratings and reviews on digital TV converter boxes.
We are happy to announce that the wait is over and, in even happier news, it looks like some of the cheaper DTV converter boxes now on the market work just as well – or even better – than more expensive models.
Currently, there are only about 25 models of digital converter boxes available, all of which cost more than $50. Consumers can apply for two $40 government coupons towards the purchase of these devices.
The 14 models Consumer Reports tested are available for purchase either online or at stores including Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Radio Shack and have been approved for the government’s converter box coupon program.
But there is a very big problem – those coupons expire 90 days after they are issued. Since the government began issuing the coupons in March, many have already expired, despite the fact that there is still only a limited number of models and units available to consumers. Many more coupons will expire soon.
CU policy analyst Joel Kelsey sums up the situation well.
“This is a consumer Catch-22,” says Kelsey. “Those who acted early in requesting coupons face limited or expensive choices in converter boxes, but can’t wait for more options because their coupons are expiring.”
Consumers who do not have a digital TV and currently rely on over-the-air-broadcasts for news and entertainment will have to purchase a digital converter box in order to receive digital signals from U.S. television stations.
CR's recommendations, ratings and shopping tips
CR found there were differences in performance among the 14 models tested, though not dramatic, with price not necessarily an indicator of quality. In fact, some of the less expensive models offered better picture quality than higher-priced models.
For those considering a DTV converter, CR advises first choosing models with better picture quality, and then narrowing choices down to those that have desired features. The Tivax STB-T9, $50, was among those with the best picture quality. The Microgem MG200, $65, also stood out in CR tests for its picture quality.
When judging picture quality at home, however, consumers should also consider other variables that can affect picture quality – the quality of the video transmitted by stations and the quality of the television set, either of which can often be the weak link in the picture quality chain.
Another characteristic to consider is tuner sensitivity, the ability to receive channels when signal strength is weak. CR found that the tuners in all boxes performed comparably in tests of their ability to pull in digital stations.
The tests were conducted at CR’s headquarters in Yonkers, NY using a standard residential rooftop antenna. Though the results are a rough indicator, it suggests that any of these boxes should be able to detect a similar number of channels. However, reception can vary for each user, depending on location, local terrain, signal strength, and the type of antenna being used, as well as the number of stations broadcast in the area and their signal strength.
CR recommends choosing a digital converter box that allows for individual channels to be easily added. This feature eliminates the need for consumers to perform the more time consuming “scan-for-all-channels.”
Additionally, if no signal is found on a particular channel, some boxes have on-screen signal meters that allow viewers to monitor signal strength while optimizing the antenna position. Signal strength meters are available on all boxes but are typically active only on channels that have already been found.
Also consider the electronic programming guide. These guides range from very basic to more comprehensive.
Analog-pass-through will allow the TV to continue receiving available analog, as well as digital, signals, including those from lower-power TV stations, which may continue to broadcast in analog after the February 2009 deadline.
One final note: Unlike the boxes themselves, CR’s ratings and recommendations on the DTV converters are available free-of-charge online.
2 Posted by J. W. at 07/24/08 12:46 AMI was one of the proactive consumers that ordered my converter coupon as soon as they became available. I have yet to find a store that has a unit that is covered by the $40 coupon...
My coupon will expire on the 16th of this month. I will either have to invest twenty bucks of my own money or purchase a new TV. This is unfair to all the American consumers out there that are still using their old television sets. With the cost of cable and now these required converters I am amazed anyone even watches television!
3 Posted by Celia at 07/24/08 08:20 AMI would like to alert everyone about the D.T.V. converter boxes. These converter boxes do not gather T.V. signals properly. I, myself, and many other people, who have purchase these converter boxes. Are experiencing problems with them. They are complete waste of money and time. The U.S. goverment is urging everyone across the country. To buy these D.T.V. converter boxes. Because they requiring analog signals to be converted to digital signals. Which is a complete SHAM! I have contacted the F.C.C., the F.T.C., along with Consumer Affairs Dept. about this matter. Which i am awaiting their response. I have also contacted the Better Business Bureau also. To make an formal complaint against these companies. That manufacture these D.T.V. converter boxes for residental consumers. "Buyer Be Ware"!
4 Posted by Elaine Giamette at 07/24/08 08:45 AMIf you have a dvd or vcr with a digital tuner, will this solve the problem or do you still need a converter?
5 Posted by David at 07/24/08 08:48 AMI just got rid of the old box for which I was charge $5.00 per month. I bought cable ready tv's... two in fact. I rely on Channel 98 to bring me the channel guide. So what does Comcast Connecticut do to someone like me with a one income household? They put the channel/program guide on "100" which I and many others do not get with the extended basic package. If I want the program guide I WILL HAVE TO RENT ANOTHER BOX. I ASKED IF I WILL BE CREDITED THE $5.00 FOR NOT RECEIVING THE CHANNEL... ABSOLUTELY NOT I WAS TOLD. IF YOU LOOK AT A TV GUIDE MAGAZINE.... THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ANY LISTINGS BEFORE 7PM BUT THERE IS A NOTE "TUNE TO TV GUIDE NETWORK ANYTIME FOR 24/7 LISTINGS". DISGUSTING! AND COMCAST IS THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN!
6 Posted by John at 07/24/08 08:56 AMIn response to Carmen - if you have cable, you don't need a converter box. This article should point out that the converter box is only for receiving digital television signals off the air, which applies to a minority of households these days.
7 Posted by Joan at 07/24/08 09:00 AMI'm so glad much of the TV I watch now is internet based. I can watch shows any and time any where. No fussing w/ ATSC/NTSC/QAM and all the othere garbage out there!
8 Posted by rwm at 07/24/08 11:28 AMI, too, ordered my coupons early. The problem wasn't finding ones that were covered by the coupon, but the fact that none of the stores had them in stock (and I called EVERY store in my area). Finally, someone at Radio Shack told me that I could come in, order the box and use my coupon, and it would be shipped to my home address, with no shipping charge. He did say that it would take about 2-3 weeks before I received the box, as the manufacturers were very slow. That was about a week ago, so I'm still waiting to receive the box, but at least I got to use the coupon!
9 Posted by Nick at 07/24/08 11:40 AMI have noticed that the National Broadcasters Association has been showing ads that make it appear you have to buy a new flat screen HD TV to get the new signal. It shows a son warning his father he won't be able to see his golf progams so the dad decided on a 50 inch model. I think this is very misleading. I can't believe no one has protested this commercial seen in the Omaha area and tied in with a local furniture/appliance store. It also galls me that the new flat screen t.v.'s are reputed to use at least twice and probably more energy than the old sets and are aggressively marketed. Especially hypocritical after all the marketing of the new incandescent light bulbs to save energy.
10 Posted by Makitka at 07/24/08 12:07 PMI was able to purchase my converter box #22729
at Target Stores. I did not pay the $80.00 as you reported, Target was selling them for $50.00 and with my $40.00 card, it only cost me $10.00 plus tax. Plus, your report is to late for those who already purchased theirs.
Nick M.
11 Posted by Writer at 07/24/08 12:22 PMPosted by David at 07/24/08 08:48 AM
David is on the ball here..."In response to Carmen - if you have cable, you don't need a converter box. This article should point out that the converter box is only for receiving digital television signals off the air, which applies to a minority of households these days."
Funny… how news channels will sensationalize this whole thing during a 40 sec blurb, but fail to mention this fact.
I too am a bit disappointed with Customer Union too.
12 Posted by Robert Kowalski at 07/24/08 12:23 PMI find it disturbing that more and more of *the public airwaves* are being co-opted, forcing us to buy expensive/redundant products in order to stay "informed." This is already done with radio bands constantly under assault by private cell-phone corporations. When will someone cover THAT angle of this creepy centralized-information story?...
13 Posted by Raymond Woolfe at 07/24/08 12:25 PMIs there anything WORTH watching on TV. Even the sports broadcasts are overloaded with advertising that it becomes a chore to watch!
14 Posted by Fonz56 at 07/24/08 12:27 PMTelevision is perfectly viewable as it is today. To be FORCED by mandate, with the approval of the FCC, to have to purchase a "converter" for the new digital form of television bing FORCIBLY imposed on us is nothing short than an abominable boondogle of the American public. WASHINGTON (CONGRESS) WAKE UP! STOP THIS OUTRAGE against the American consumer - NOW!
Sincerely, Raymond G. Woolfe
15 Posted by Stan Slotter at 07/24/08 12:28 PMCarmen, I ordered my coupon early and had no trouble finding a converter at Wal-Mart. As you get closer to the 90 day cut-off it gets harder to find one because of people making a run for the converters. Sears, Radio Shack are a couple of others that have the cheaper $49.00 converter box.
16 Posted by MSS at 07/24/08 12:30 PMThe comment from CARMEN needs commenting on. If you have cable TV service, you don't need the converter box even on older TVs. The boxes are for "over-the-air" broadcasts.
So, to reiterate to CARMEN, if you don't like the cost of cable TV, get rid of it and get yourself a digital converter box. Otherwise, skip the box.
17 Posted by Kathleen Eaton at 07/24/08 12:32 PMI couldn't get a coupon because I use a PO Box to receive mail and don't have a mail box at my house (for several reasons.) I tried several times to convince them that I am a legitimate homeowner, but they refused to send me a coupon unless I had it sent to my street address. So I still have not received a coupon.
18 Posted by Matt at 07/24/08 12:33 PMI distinctly remember being reassured in government announcements when all this was first proposed, that the converter boxes would cost $10 each. Obviously, the lobbyists for the manufacturers have gotten to Congress as the prices have gone up and up. Since the government mandated this, why does it not mandate a price for the boxes?!
19 Posted by Don Rumer at 07/24/08 12:36 PMCU should STOP jumping on this band wagon of over blowing this switch from analog tv to digital tv.
The world will not end if you can't watch any tv!!
Most people have moved beyond analog tv anyway unless they are still living in a log cabin :-)
20 Posted by Jerry at 07/24/08 12:37 PMI bought two of the converters but then found out I would have to also buy a bowtie antena with additional cables to hook it up through the converter into the TV. For a person not electronicaly adept this is a real downer. Why dosen't the converter have a built in antena?
21 Posted by Glenn at 07/24/08 12:43 PMThis whole thing about going digital is just a scam perpetuated by the electronics industry with the help of the government to force people with good working equipment and satisfied with it, to go out and spend money to buy all this new gear.
I have a 1990 toshiba 32" tube tv with a picture that excellent. Why in the world would I want to spend money when what I have is good enough.
22 Posted by Bill at 07/24/08 12:52 PMThis is going to place a huge financial burden on low income folks. I bought a converter box from Radio Shack for $20. with coupon. Then found out I needed something called an ab switch for my VHS/DVD player- another $20.+ to Radio Shack and a nightmare to hook up. Then I found out I needed a powered indoor antenna (I just have "rabbit ears")-$32. and even with it I can only get two channels! So now I have to upgrade to a more powerful powered indoor antenna $50. to $130. with no guarantee it will pull in any more stations.
I can't afford cable or sattelite and I'm sure I'm not alone. I have seen a lot of older Americans at Radio Shack each time I had to go back for something more. I suspect retired seniors on fixed incomes and the working poor will get priced right out of the ability to watch television. Wait 'till the deadline draws nearer and procrastinators realize realize they've been sold out by the FCC to make the airwaves available for cell phones or whatever. Disgusting!
23 Posted by Patty at 07/24/08 01:45 PMWill one have to use the converter box to change channels? I have several/many vhs and dvd players/recorders media ready computers that all are analoge, will these have to be digital or connected individually to this converter box. My home is wired from a central location/antenna to the Family/Bed/Living Rooms. My question is will one box convert the signal and send it to all devices and areas or do I need separate converter boxes for all the many different devices.
24 Posted by paul at 07/24/08 02:34 PMMy brother just bought a digital TV & now gets extra channels than I do & we both have the exact same plan with the cable co. If I buy a converter box, will I get more channels, like my brother does?
25 Posted by Charles Etheridge at 07/24/08 04:33 PMWe foolishly requested our coupons right away,not knowing about the 90 days. There were very few boxes available, but I thought "at least I have until July 30, so by then there may be better selection, and cheaper." Except...it wasn't July 30 but July 3rd! Went to buy the boxes....sorry, expired.
26 Posted by Sanford Jaffe at 07/24/08 05:01 PMHere in Atlanta Comcast digital Cable is the same price as conventional and one digital/analog converter is free; extras are $5.00/month. At the same time I upgraded to digital cable I got a Pinnacle digital Hi Def tuner for my computer and got a HD station selector box to go with it. That combination works quite well with a coax connection from the box to the tuner. The output to the tuner is on channel 3 only and channel selection is with a Comcast remote to the box. With a 24" monitor this gives very high resolution pictures and with the tuner costing about $70 is much cheaper than buying a digital or HD TV. As little as I watch TV I would not consider using an Over the Air system. We also have two analog TVs and their reception is very satisfactory with the converter boxes. Just for the record the computer is a Gateway FX530XV with a HDCP rated monitor running Vista Ultimate. Incidentally, I also have WinDVD 9 Plus Blu-Ray along with a Toshiba SD-H802A drive for HD DVD and a Sony BWU-200S for Blu-Ray, all of which, as I already had the computer, was very much less expensive than an HD TV along with external DVD players. This is the sort of arrangement that I would highly suggest to others.
27 Posted by C. Gunderson at 07/24/08 05:52 PMWe used one of our $40 coupons to purchse a Zenith DTT900 from the local Circuit City. I am told the same unit is being sold by Best Buy under their house brand name.The price was $59.00. This was a $19 out of pocket added cost.
I had an opportunity to try the Magnavox unit sold by Wal-Mart for $49. Both units worked well with the exception that one unit picked up local channal 31 but not channel 51. The other did the reverse. Neither unit picked up both channels. We live in an Eastern suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The Zenith is worth the extra money because it has a learning capable remote the Magnovox does not have the learning feature. With this feature it is possible to control not only the box but the ON/OFF switch on the volume control on the TV. A considerable convenience.We have a 27 inch Hitachi which is some 18 years old but provides an excellent analog picture. In the digital mode the picture appears even sharper and more vivid. Also we can pick up a PBS station channel 49 which is some 35 miles away with moderate sogma; strength where we live with excellent sound and picture. In analog mode the station is unwatchable a good deal of the time and the picture is never very good.
28 Posted by Tom at 07/24/08 06:11 PMWe got our converter and it works fine,but can't hook it up til next year as it scrambles all stations. A friend had to return his to Wal-mart as it didn't work and they would NOT return the coupon so he could shop in another place. Avoid them.
29 Posted by Steve Markowitz at 07/24/08 06:58 PMCome on people. This is easy. Get your teenage grandchild to hook it up if you are electronically challenged. HDTV is the future. You can buy a cheap HDTV. The transition will go smoothly for most of us who have a clue and don't live in a cave somewhere.
30 Posted by lin jaynes at 07/24/08 09:35 PMWhy is it any of the government's business what kind of TV I watch? I don't believe that the government should be forcing people to convert to HD. The coupons are just a way for the government to give money to the electronics industry. If people want to stay with "rabbit ears," roof antennas or just pieces of wire, they should be able to. In particular, the government should not be financing this. I can think of many better ways the money could be spent.
31 Posted by Demetria at 07/25/08 09:53 AMi remember my folks bought a green screen magnavox in the early 50s when i was 5 or so. It had three channels & a knob to turn it on & one to turn the sound up or down & as i recall only a couple stations were on & went off very early. And the rabbit ears [remember those] looked real strange, but now i realize how fortunate we really were then, before the idiots we now have that are running this country,let's just throw the tv out & go to the drive in again,bet they will think twice about idiotic boxe's then.
32 Posted by John at 07/25/08 10:47 AMHD is a big rip-off and no improvement unless you had no TV at all before. Nicer picture and sound - ONLY if you buy into a signal provider.
HD is only an improvement for adding channels, most of them duplicates of themselves or re-runs from earlier that day, etc.
The signal is a higher frequency and very choppy - you still need an antenna (my way) or to join the cable/satellite sets. The VHF and UHF are better for broadcast frequency that you can pick up at home. I'd rather have a snowy VHF picture and be able to hear the show, than to get a picture that 'freezes' or disappears if someone walks into the room, or if the cell phone rings, or if the Wi-Fi router signal is 'pulled' through the room to a computer - anything and everything interrupts the pictures and sound, sometimes both at the same time.
The higher frequency is interfered with easily. I can disrupt my neighbor's signal if i use a radio signal remote or hold my cell phone next to their window. There is a lot of medical research that has been done on the effects of higher frequency radio(TV) waves causing disruptions in our soft tissues and our brains. This is you, the consumer, bringing these high frequency devices into your home willingly, and you py for the 'privilege' of it. The waves are still an electro-magnetic field you are setting up in your homes to bombard your bodies with. Remember that the companies who manufacture these devices pay for the safety tests too. Tobacco was 'proven' safe or not unhealthy for about decades, as was DDT, etc. Health complaints later? Good luck getting any dampening of the fields for safety - that would interfere with signal reception. It is your high frequency choice, my fellow consumers.
33 Posted by Nick Mongello at 07/25/08 10:55 AMto DAVID: I wonder if the cable goes out, could the box be of benefit.
to PATTY: I suspect your brother may be getting "illegal" channels due to cable technician error...he'll probably want to 'fess up to be legal again.
34 Posted by Janet at 07/25/08 11:27 AMI purchased the GE converter box a Target Stores
and it was listed as $50.00 not the $80.00 you
quoted. With my $40.00 coupon it cost $10.00 plus tax. I'm glad it was rated the best.
Nick
35 Posted by ellyn musser at 07/25/08 01:25 PMThere's a tremendous amount of misinformation going around. First of all, if you have a TV with a DIGITAL tuner and you receive signals via antenna - you DO NOT need a converter box. But if you have a TV with an ANALOG tuner and receive signals via antenna you WILL need a converter box. If you have cable or satellite to receive your signals it doesn't matter whether your TV has a DIGITAL or ANALOG tuner. I was born in 1943 and I was weaned on TV. My father worked for RCA and his life was all about TV. I wonder what he would think of all this if he were alive today. Somehow, I don't think he would be in favor of all of this.
36 Posted by Connie613 at 07/25/08 01:57 PMWe have a second home--an apartment where we use a VCR for our tapes and rabbit ears to get one local station for "emergency" news when we are there, getting us fine pictures from the tapes on a large old analog TV. My daughter has a full time similar situation on a limited budget. I plan to get 2 converter boxes but can find no good info on using rabbit ears in apartments. She cannot afford all the upgrade items people talk about.
anybody know the answers?
37 Posted by Nick Pasquine at 07/27/08 01:37 PMTo MSS regarding not be able to get one because of P.O. Box. Ask a friend or neighbor who has cable and doesn't need a converter box, to order one and they can give the coupon to you. There is no name and/or address, etc. on the coupon. If you have good friends, I'm sure they would do this for you. Good luck.
38 Posted by Rich at 07/27/08 08:23 PMOne of the first to get a coupon but limited availablity of boxes except for the walmart crap which I won't touch. And now of course the coupon has expired. What a joke. We will just skip TV in rooms that do not have cable. Less commercials to put up with.
39 Posted by Linda A. at 08/01/08 11:18 AMWhat gets me is tht when this whole thing was considered no one mentioned that VCRs won't work anymore, since they are analog. So now I have to buy a DVR or VCR with a digital tuner. Moreover, I hooked up the converter and found that the DVD player doesn't show up on the TV with the converter. There should have been coupons for all the electronics we have to buy for this change. Another example of a government of, by and for the industries, rather than the people.
40 Posted by Rafael Block at 10/05/08 12:39 PM"Come on people. This is easy. Get your teenage grandchild to hook it up if you are electronically challenged. HDTV is the future. You can buy a cheap HDTV. The transition will go smoothly for most of us who have a clue and don't live in a cave somewhere."
Why so rude, Tom? Not everyone HAS a "teenage grandchild," you know, so that was a dumb thing for you to say.
Anyway, I picked up my Insignia (Best Buy's store brand of the Zenith DTT-900) converter box at Best Buy over the weekend. (My coupons expired July 31.) Fortunately, I am NOT "electronically challenged" and hooked it up to my VCR myself, but I won't know for sure until the transition happens whether or not I hooked it up correctly. My TV and VCR are working just fine, right now, so I assume I did. (I have basic cable with no cable box.) I've gotten used to having the flexibility of being able to tape off one channel while watching another, and I understand that when the transition goes through, the converter box will be needed to be able to do this. (By the way, whatever gave anyone the idea that you can't get the coupons if you have a P.O. box. Yes, you can! I did.)
I wholeheartedly agree with you Jerry, but whether it's a "scam" or not (and I, like you, believe it is), the transition IS going to happen. Everyone without cable or satellite just needs to be ready by getting their box(es).
41 Posted by Charley at 11/06/08 08:27 AMWell, far from being a 'scam' this is long overdue: The television we have in the US is nearly unchanged since before Kennedy was president...the rest of the planet has updated and upgraded their television at least once since the 1950s.
Do not succumb to fear, uncertainty and doubt: For almost everyone, there will be no need for these devices as nearly every household is using cable or satellite, including Linda A. If your TV works using your cable, you will be able to use it, and your VCR, after the changeover. You don't need a converter, or a teenage grandchild to hook it up.
I sure wasn't able to get my coupons by using my P.O. box
