The digital TV transition, bye-bye analog

Perhaps your dream for a flat screen digital television is about to come true. The giant, box TV you inherited from your grandmother that you thought would never die is now on the endangered-species list and soon will no longer be found on retailer's shelves.

Congress has mandated that after Feb. 17, 2009, all full-power television stations will have to broadcast in digital only.

Digital broadcasting dates back to 1996, when Congress gave each broadcast TV station an additional digital broadcast channel, along with the simultaneous continuation of their analog broadcastings.

Originally, the Federal Communications Commission predicted that the transition to digital would be completed by 2006, but that was subject to periodic review.

Although the cutoff of analog and the switch to digital is more than a year away, Best Buy has already decided to take all analog TVs off its shelves.

Goodwill receives a steady influx of old TVs. Sami Mohammed, assistant production manager for the north store branch, said about half the sets they receive still work. Starting in January, they will begin putting signage on all analog TVs.

After Feb. 17, 2009, broadcasters will stop transmitting analog signals. Consumers who have analog TVs and rely on free, over-the- air TV will need a special converter box to receive the digital signals.

"It's important for people to know that if they rely on rabbit ears they will need to get a digital box," said Jenny Pareti, spokeswoman for the Consumer Electronics Association.

Coupon Program

Beginning Jan. 1, the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will launch a coupon program to offset the costs of the digital-to-analog converter boxes. All U.S. households will be eligible to request up to two $40 coupons to be used toward the purchase of digital boxes.

The projected cost for a converter box is about $60 and once you get the coupon, you have three months to use it, Pareti said.

"A lot of people do have analog because they are durable," she said. "They last an average of 10 years."

The CEA has a Web site, Digitaltips.org, which provides a guide for how to set up an analog-to-digital converter box.

Little value

But even those who make a living repairing TV's find that customers no longer see their analog TVs as valuable.

Allan Pierre, owner of Hancock Electronics Repair, said he has about 30 TV's sitting around, all analog sets that customers have failed to pick up after 30 days.

"I can't dispose of anything that belongs to a customer unless I send a certified letter and that costs $5," he said.

And some say the last resort is disposal in a landfill.

Melissa Lyby, director of public relations for Goodwill Industries of Colorado Springs, said before going to a landfill, any TV sets they receive that are not useable are first sent to what they call a G Store or Garage Sale Store where people can buy the parts per pound.

Prices falling

Neal Miller, owner of Total Theater, specializes in the sale of projectors for home theaters. Because the business is only two years old, it never had any analog sets.

"The digital revolution has given us the opportunity to provide a picture that big that is wonderful," Miller said, adding that their home projectors give the feel of sitting in a movie theater.

And the cost of that experience is decreasing. The price of a digital TV, according to the CEA, has fallen almost $700 since 2004.

Copyright 2007 Dolan Media Newswires
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