Big switch w/ link to digital converter box coupon application

By Joe Hadsall

jhadsall@joplinglobe.com

As shoppers search the shelves at Best Buy, looking for Christmas presents, TJ McDonald said many of those shoppers are also buying things for themselves.

Specifically, things for their TVs. McDonald said a lot of those purchases aren’t gifts: People are buying equipment in preparation for a switch to digitally transmitted television.

“Mostly, people are looking for TVs, but we’re selling a lot of converter boxes, too,” said McDonald, sales operator for Best Buy. “It’s being driven by the switchover.”

About two months after Christmas, the airwaves will undergo a major shift. On Feb. 17, all TV stations will be required to broadcast their signals digitally, instead of using analog signals.

The change means that viewers will need special technology in order to receive local TV stations.

McDonald said that many customers are going straight to the TV aisle, looking for a new TV with a digital tuner built in. Other customers are choosing the least-expensive route: They are buying analog-to-digital converters, so that their old TVs can receive the new signal.

“We sell quite a few of them,” McDonald said. “People are calling every day to see if we have them in stock.”

Three choices

Customers have three main choices that range in price, from inexpensive to lap-of-luxury. Whatever choice they make, customers have about two months to make it.

n An analog-to-digital converter will allow an old analog TV to receive the new signals.

The boxes are the least expensive option, ranging from $30 to $80. Additionally, viewers who choose to keep their old TVs can receive up to two coupons for converters — each coupon is worth $40 toward the price.

However, those coupons will be gone soon. Dec. 31 is the last day they can be ordered from the Web site www.dtv2009.gov.

Installation of the converter is simple, said Phil Jones, manager of the Radio Shack store in the Northpark Mall. All you do is plug your antenna into the converter, then plug the converter into the plug on the TV that the antenna occupied.