By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.Com
January 9, 2009
A massive and, many argue, ill-advised attempt to convert millions of television sets to receive digital transmissions has run afoul of the incoming Obama administration.
Obama's transition team yesterday urged Congress to extend the Feb. 17 deadline for switching the nation's TV stations from analog to digital, cutting off free over-the-air broadcasts to consumers who don't have a converter box hooked up and working by that time.
Consumers have complained for months that a government program to provide subsidized converter boxes has been marred by bureaucracy, inefficiency and sloth. Obama transition team officials say the program was inadequately funded and that more than one million consumers are on a waiting list for a converter box coupon.
The most often-heard complaint among the hundreds received by ConsumerAffairs.com is that the government is sending out converter box coupons that either have already expired or are so close to their expiration date that the consumer can't use them — and can't get a replacement.
"We received our DTV Converter Box Coupons after the expiration date. When we called to get new one with correct expire dates, they sent us a letter stating that we received cards and there would be no others issued," said Charles of St. Louis. "This program has been mismanaged the way our economy has been mismanaged."
"It really is an eye opener as to where the government is heading. It should have been as simple as using a coded debit card specifically for the converter boxes. Simple program could have fixed this, but they inconvenience the consumers they want to support this major change in viewing. Pretty lame actually," Charles concluded.
R.L. of Lake Dallas, Texas, had a similar experience.
"I applied for a coupon for a converter box on 9-19-08. It NEVER arrived. When I checked the website (dtv2009.gov) for a status on the coupon, it said it was expired. I applied online for another coupon on 1-5-09 (we're supposedly entitled to two), it said that because program funding is not currently available, you will not receive coupons unless more funding becomes available," R.L. said.
"I thought the government was supposed to be helping us with this DTV transition.....what a SCAM!"
Weak signal
But the complaints don't end with those who've been unable to get the converter boxes. Consumers who've hooked up the boxes — like Kenneth of West New York, N.J. — say they no longer receive as many channels as they did before.
"I only got less than half the channels. So I go to the web site and find if you don't get all the channels you need to get a new antenna, so I buy a new antenna. Lo and behold I still don't get all the local channels," Kenneth told ConsumerAffairs.com.
Kenneth said that, like many others who have reported problems, he can't afford to subscribe to cable or satellite service. "I am on a fixed inome from Social Security, so does that mean I am out of luck and can't watch TV any more?
Not a surprise
The problem has been obvious for months to anyone who took the trouble to read what consumers have been saying online and in opinion polls.
A poll by Consumer Reports late last year found that while 93 percent of Americans indicated they are aware of the digital transition, consumers are still unclear about how the transition will affect them. Nearly one-third of consumers in households with at least one TV affected remain unaware they need to take action, and more than one quarter of those who will not have any functioning TV sets in their home in February do not know that they are affected by the transition.
The poll also found that about 17 percent of Americans living in television households have at least one television set that will be affected by the digital transition, and 13 percent rely exclusively on over-the-air signals (OTA). Unless they take some action before February, nearly 19 million Americans will be in households without television programming.
"With the digital television transition just four months away, millions of consumers remain confused about how to prepare for it and are vulnerable to wasting money on unneeded or unwanted equipment," said Joel Kelsey a policy analyst with Consumers Union. "The federal government, broadcasters and cable companies have a responsibility to make sure consumers are educated about the most cost effective way to make this transition, and that simply isn't happening."
Transition misconceptions
Even consumers whose digital television sets will continue to function properly after the DTV switch are confused. Of the consumers aware of the transition, 63 percent have major misconceptions:
• 29 percent believe that all households will need digital televisions to watch TV
• 25 percent believe that every consumer must subscribe to cable, satellite or fiber TV to watch any television programming at all
• 9 percent believe consumers will have to throw away all analog television sets
Slow to take action
The majority of consumers who will have no functioning television in February still have not taken action. Moreover, while awareness of the government coupon program to offset the cost of converter boxes has dramatically increased, fewer than half of the consumers with at least one television affected by the DTV transition have requested a coupon.
However, many of these consumers have plans to request their coupon in the coming months:
• 36 percent indicated they are waiting to request a coupon until we are closer to February
• 38 percent have said they haven't had the chance to submit an application yet
What's with the boxes?
Currently, there are about 60 models of digital converter boxes available, which range in cost from about $40 to $90. Consumers can request a $40 government coupon to use towards the purchase of these devices. Among consumers who are aware of the transition and will have at least one television affected by the conversion, eight in 10 are aware of the government coupon program, although fewer than half have requested a coupon. Nearly half of consumers who requested a coupon have not yet used it to purchase a new converter box.
It is important to choose a digital converter box that allows for individual channels to be easily added without needing to redo the time consuming "scan-for-all-channels." Boxes with analog-pass-through will allow the TV to continue receiving available analog, as well as digital, signals, including those from lower-power TV stations, which may continue to broadcast in analog past the February 2009 deadline.
What you can do
The following sites have more information about the analog-to-digital transition:
- Our Dawn Carlson provides a thorough
overview of what you need to know.
- Visit the FCC's official DTV site to get more information.
- Apply for a converter box coupon at the NTIA's converter program Web site.
