By Seven Weaver Producer
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports
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Stumble It!A big change is coming to television early next year. By government mandate, television stations will stop sending analog signals and go totally digital. That will free up valuable signals for more programming and for cell phones, as well as for fire and police. But it means sets in 42,000,000 households will go dark unless people take action.
People with an analog set have several options, all involving money. Consumer Reports says the least expensive option is a digital converter box. It costs $50 to $70 and converts the digital signal to analog.
The government has an assistance program to help people who need to buy a digital converter box. The program is offering a $40 coupon toward the purchase of the box, but it's on a first-come, first-served basis. To get the converter box coupon, which became available January 1st, call 888-DTV-2009 or go to www.dtv.gov.
Another option is to buy a new television that's able to pick up digital signals. But be aware: You don't need a high-definition television. What you need is a TV with a digital tuner. And you can get one of those for a few hundred bucks.
A third option is to buy a new DVR or DVD recorder with a digital tuner for around $200. You route signals from your antenna through the recorder and into your television. The fourth option is to sign up for cable or satellite service.
The TVs that will be affected by the switch to all-digital are those that need an antenna to get television signals and older TVs, and even those that are HD-ready, unless they have a digital tuner. You can get more free advice on how to survive the switch to digital at www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/news-electronics-computers/pulling-the-plug-on-analog-tv-206/index.htm.
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