Consumers confused about digital TV
WASHINGTON (AP) - January 31, 2008 Some people think they need to buy new equipment when they
don't, according to a Consumers Union survey, and others say they
don't plan on taking any steps to deal with the change when they
should.
"Confusion about the digital television transition will cost
consumers a lot of money for equipment they may not want or need,"
Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for the Consumers Union, said
Wednesday.
Starting Feb. 18, 2009, full-power television stations in the
U.S. will turn off their old-technology analog signals and
broadcast only in a digital format, potentially leaving millions of
televisions displaying nothing but snow.
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports
magazine, says 36 percent of respondents in its survey were unaware
of the transition - a big number, but much lower than what has been
reported in studies from a year ago.
The great majority of consumers - anyone whose television is
hooked up to a cable or satellite service or owns a digital set -
will not be affected. Anyone who owns an older television that gets
its signal via antenna, however, will need a converter box, which
the government will help pay for.
As of December 2007, the Nielsen Co. reported that 13.5 million
television households, or about 12 percent, rely on over-the-air
television broadcasts for programming.
Among those consumers who are aware of the transition, 58
percent believe all televisions will need a converter box to
function. Forty-eight percent believe that only digital televisions
will work after 2009, and 24 percent believe they will need to
throw away all of their analog television sets.
None of these presumptions is true.
The government has allocated $1.5 billion to the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration to pay for
coupons that will subsidize the cost of converter boxes. But only
$5 million of that is for consumer education. Another $1.5 million
has been allocated to the Federal Communications Commission for
public education efforts.
While more Americans are becoming aware of the transition, 73
percent of those surveyed were unaware of the government coupon
program, according to the Consumers Union survey.
Each household is eligible for two coupons, regardless of
whether they have pay-television service or not. To request a
coupon, consumers can apply online at www.dtv2009.gov or call the
24-hour hotline, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009).
Also on Wednesday, the National Association of Broadcasters
released its own survey on consumer awareness. The broadcast
lobbying organization reported 79 percent of respondents said they
had "seen, read or heard something" about the transition. The
number was more than double the 38 percent reported in January
2007.
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On the Web:
FCC information: http://www.dtv.gov
To order coupons: http://www.dtv2009.gov
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
