NTIA OKs 19 DTV-to-Analog Converter Boxes, 250-Plus Retailers
QVC Among Retailers Approved to Sell DTV-to-Analog Converter Boxes
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/7/2008 6:08:00 PM
The National Telecommunications & Information Administration told a 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show audience in Las Vegas Monday that it certified 250 retailers, including QVC, and 19 digital-TV-to-analog converter boxes.
The NTIA Jan. 1 began handing out government-subidized $40 coupons toward the purchase of the boxes -- up to two per household -- and said Monday that it had already received more than 1 million requests for more about 2 million boxes.
QVC, the TV retailer, said it will provide a toll-free number for viewers who want to use the coupons toward the boxes.
Others certified included Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Sears, Roebuck and Wal-Mart.
The NTIA will begin mailing the coupons Feb. 17, one year out from the DTV-to-analog switch, but some viewers may want to wait depending on whether the anticipated $60 price point for the boxes comes down in the wake of EchoStar Communications' announcement Monday of a $39.99 box.
That box won't widely available until June. Unless someone steps up with a similarly priced box before that, the coupons of the earliest adopters could expire before the cheaper boxes hit most shelves.
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What are you talking about?!?!?!
President Obama does not support funding for "slaughter in Iraq".
You have your facts all wrong. Get on board with the program and get with your head out of your A**. It's a new day and you are way far behind with your RV that I'm sure you got with your fat tax cut from Bush.
NTIA is awesome!!!
Give NTIA love and note H8
Max Power - 1/23/2009 5:12:27 PM EST -
Who are these brain dead bureaucrats at NTIA? I bought my digital/analog converter box for my modest Airstream trailer home a year ago. It was a Winegard unit made for RVs. First I had to wait nearly a year for their \"program\" to begin. Than I had to submit an application for a coupon and now I am hearing that my unit may not be on their list. The entire migration of the US to HD digital video is a decade late and a billion dollars short. But what should I expect from a country that will turn down 15 million for our children\'\'s health insurance while funding billions for slaughter in Iraq.
