Getting the picture: Digital TV high on to-do list

Want a digital TV this holiday season? You can get one pretty cheaply, without changing your set.

You don’t have to buy a new television — although some of you may want to; prices will certainly be low enough in hopes of spurring sales. But if you’d rather not splurge, you can spend around $50 for a converter box to take your TV from analog to digital. It’s a switch you’re going to need to make before Feb. 18, when television broadcasts around the country go completely digital.

“Because of the downturn in the economy, we are seeing that consumers are more comfortable with buying a converter box rather than purchasing a new TV, despite aggressive pricing,” said Riddhi Patel, iSuppli Corp.’s principal analyst for television systems.

Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas said the company is “seeing a lot of interest in converter boxes. But it’s hard to draw a correlation to the economy, really. Converter box interest was strong through most of the summer and into fall. It’s hard for us to know if people are deciding on a converter box when originally they were thinking new television … or the other way around.”

“Our advice to consumers has been they should look at converter box options first,” said Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports. “It’s the least-cost path to switch to digital television.

“If you don’t have a huge amount of disposable income to spend, the $40 converter box is a real viable option. It’s one that mitigates the cost of this transition for people who are most unlikely to fork over the hundreds of dollars it could cost for a new TV, even at a dramatically lowered price.”

A federal government coupon program provides each household with two $40 coupons toward the purchase of two converter boxes. That $40 will cover most of the cost of a box, with prices generally ranging from $50 to $70.

Apex Digital Apex Digital's TV converter box, regularly sold at Best Buy for $59.99 is on sale for $49.99. After using a government coupon, that would make the cost about $10.

It takes several weeks to receive the coupons. Consumers should try to apply by Dec. 31 in order to make sure they receive the coupons in time to buy and install the box before the digital transition, said Todd Sedmak of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees the coupon program.

Since the coupon program began this year, 35 million coupons have been requested, and there are another 15 million available. However, less than one-third of those who have asked for the coupons have redeemed them, said Sedmak. The coupons are only valid for 90 days from the time they’re issued.

“There are still millions of households across America that have yet to prepare for the digital transition, and we’re only about three months out,” said Kelsey.

Consumers Union also is concerned that the “number of boxes on store shelves is going to come up short in terms of what consumers expect,” he said.

Converter boxes should be in plentiful supply at stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Radio Shack, said Sedmak. What isn’t known, he said, is whether Congress will approve more funding for additional converter box coupons in January or February.

Are you already digital?
If you already have a TV with a built-in digital tuner, or if your television sets are hooked up to cable or satellite, you won’t need a converter box.

If you’re not sure whether your set is digital or analog, check your owner’s manual. If you do decide to buy a new TV, make sure the label and packaging on the box say the television has a built-in digital tuner.

Since March 2007, all televisions imported into the United States or shipped in interstate commerce have been required to have digital tuners. The wording you'll want to see on the set's box or instruction manual is "ATSC tuner," which is a digital tuner, vs. an NTSC, or analog tuner.

TVs with analog tuners can still be sold, but are supposed to be labeled prominently for buyers because of the switch to digital.

“You might get a great price on an analog television — either from retailers or people in your community who are selling them — but every analog set — including small and battery-powered televisions and televisions in your RV — will need a converter box to get a digital picture,” the Federal Trade Commission said in a consumer alert issued earlier this year.