What you can do to aid the conversion to digital TV

Xin Lu — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:06:04 +0000

The conversion from analog TV to digital TV was scheduled to happen on February 17th, but now it seems like it will be delayed due to various issues with the coupon program and general consumer education. Broadcasters are quite displeased with this delay because they have been looking forward to the savings they would reap from getting rid of analog transmitters and many consumers are simply confused as to what they are supposed to do. Here are a few things you can do to help with this transition.

1. Give your extra coupons away - Right now consumers are being put on waiting lists because the government's coupon program is tapped out. In case you only used one of your coupons for a converter, you could give the other one away to someone who needs it. You can organize a collection at your local church or school and give the coupons to the people that really need them.

2. Educate those you know with old TVs - Tell them that they do not need to buy a new TV and tell them about the digital converter boxes. It seems that a lot of people are abandoning their working TVs for new sets. This is good for the retail stores, but not everyone can afford a new TV right now.

3. Help someone purchase a digital converter - Rather than giving out your coupons, you could just go out there and buy a converter box that is free after the rebate and give the box to someone who needs it. People who are not up to date with all the latest gadgetry may find electronics stores very intimidating and could be suckered into buying more expensive things. It may be more helpful if you could save them the hassle.

4. Help people physically with setup - There may be someone you know who does not understand this new technological mumbo jumbo even if he or she had the converter box in hand. In that case you could help them out by setting it up for them. It does not take long to plug in a few cords and you will feel warm and fuzzy inside for saving someone's TV.

Many of us probably have no issues with this transition because we have relatively new TVs, but many elderly people depend on their old analog TVs for their entertainment and information. So before they are met with a blank screen, go out and help someone amidst this technological leap forward.

This article is from Xin Lu of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

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What you can do to aid the conversion to digital TV