I recently had someone contact me to talk about the pending digital television transition, and realized there is still a great amount of confusion regarding the topic. I hope this brief article is able to clear up some of the lingering questions and concerns regarding the country's switch to digital TV.
If you haven't already received a voucher from the federal government for a digital converter box, you still may apply for one at www.dtv2009.gov. Each household can receive up to two $40 vouchers, though there are still around 4.1 million people waiting patiently for their voucher.
The original DTV transition date was Feb. 17, but the government decided to delay the move since so many Americans were unprepared. It didn't help that the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) quickly ran out of vouchers to mail out to Americans.
The latest Obama-endorsed stimulus package includes additional funds for vouchers, so NTIA expects to begin mailing them out shortly. If you're on the wait list, then you should just have to wait patiently for your voucher(s) to arrive in the mail.
Although most of us won't even notice when the DTV transition takes place -- and many stations have already switched from analog to digital -- there still could be millions of people who are left out.
The headache of relying on the federal government to send out vouchers has led some Americans to simply purchase a new TV and avoid any issues. Wal-Mart, Best Buy and other retailers reported a small number of people who said they chose to purchase a new TV rather than pursue a voucher, with more Americans expected to do the same.
