households with TVs) who rely on free, over-the-air television signals could have problems with their pictures.ĭuring his Nov. Consumers requested about 7.2 million coupons in December, far higher than the 4.3 million the administration had forecast.Įven if they could get their mitts on federally subsidized converter boxes, the 20 million people (of the 125 million U.S. The department is also warning consumers that some stores may not have enough converter boxes to meet demand. The coupons help pay for set-top digital converter boxes that allow older TVs to receive digital signals.
But now, amid higher demand, the government is running out of money to subsidize the purchase of the converters.Īs of Monday, consumers who request the $40 government coupons are being put on a waiting list, Commerce Department officials said. 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. Yes, the gubment was doing that … until the program ran out of money.Īs the Wall Street Journal reports today: “The federal government is giving coupons to low-income folks so they can be redeemed for new digital converter boxes.” Burns makes the bigger picture point that the Federal Communications Commission-shepherded switch from the sometimes snowy analog signal to the promised crystal clear digital one is unneccessary, unworkable and, for too many cash-strapped Americans, unaffordable since the government is essentially forcing viewers of the free airwaves to opt for expensive cable, satellite or televisions with built in digital receivers to receive their daily fix Judge Judy fixes. Shearer's tales of looming digital woe are generally summed up in a segment he calls “Digital Wonderland.” Using anecdotal evidence, Mr. 19 switch from analog to digital signals. Frequent listeners of Le Show on KCRW (or podcast … or satellite … or short-wave radio) know that host Harry Shearer has long had a bug up his ass about broadcast television's midnight Feb.
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