New TV, converter box? What do I do?

WASHINGTON — There is major confusion among consumers about the looming transition to digital television (DTV), according to a new survey from Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Seventy-four percent of respondents who said they were aware of the upcoming transition had serious misconceptions of its impact.

The survey also found over one-third (36 percent) of Americans living in households with TVs are entirely unaware of the government-mandated transition to digital broadcasting slated for February 2009.

Costly confusion

“Confusion about the digital television transition will cost consumers a lot of money for equipment they may not want or need,” said Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

“Based on these survey results, it is now clear that the government and every media company that profits from people watching television must do whatever it takes to make sure consumers will keep getting broadcast TV without paying a dime more than necessary.”

The federal government has allocated $5 million in public education funding to the National Telecommunications and Information Association and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has requested $1.5 million for the same purpose.

This is in contrast to the $400 million the United Kingdom plans to spend on its public education campaign.

What do I do?

Even among those who are aware of the switch to digital broadcasts, there is widespread confusion about what it will require of consumers.

Among those consumers who are aware of the transition, over half (58 percent) believe all TVs will need a digital converter box to function, 48 percent believe that only digital televisions will work after 2009 and nearly one quarter (24 percent) believe they will need to throw away all of their analog television sets; none of which is true.

On Feb. 17, 2009, television broadcasters will end “analog” broadcasts and begin sending television signals in a “digital” format. The DTV transition will affect millions of consumers who use analog television sets to view free over-the-air programming.

Analog televisions will either need to be connected to a digital converter box, attached to cable or satellite service or replaced with a digital TV by Feb. 17, 2009.

Millions affected

Based on the survey, 99 percent of adults live in a household with at least one television, and many have two or more. According to the survey, 15 percent of Americans live in households that rely exclusively on over-the-air programming.

If these consumers do not take some action before February 2009 — such as buying a converter box — over three quarters (78 percent) will have no televisions capable of receiving over-the-air broadcasting.

That is 11 percent of Americans adults, or approximately 23 million people, who would be unable to watch TV.

Findings

Among paid television subscribers using analog TVs to receive their services:

Consumers may rush out to upgrade equipment, even though they may not need to:

Learn more

To find unbiased information on what their available options are, consumers should visit www.hearusnow.org/tvradio/12 and www.consumerreports.org/dtv.

Coupons

The government coupons worth $40 toward the purchase of each digital converter box are available by calling 888-DTV-2009 or visiting www.dtv2009.gov/Options.aspx. Each household can apply for up to two coupons.