Digital Home Thoughts: Rabbit-ear TVs About to Reach End of the Road

"Consumers who depend on old-fashioned antennas to watch television won't miss the 2009 Super Bowl, but their analog sets will stop working soon afterward. Analog TVs will no longer receive a signal come Feb. 19, 2009, unless users update their hardware to receive a digital signal. Federal officials announced details Monday about how that transition will work, saying the government will help consumers buy the necessary equipment to upgrade to digital -- a converter box that attaches to the TV set. The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said it is setting aside $990 million to pay for the boxes. Each home can request up to two $40 coupons for a digital-to-analog converter box, which consumer electronics makers such as RCA and LG plan to produce. Prices for the box have not been determined, but industry and consumer groups have estimated they will run $50 to $75 each."



Quite a few people have balked at the idea of the US government spending a billion dollars on set top convertor boxes, but they are forgetting one thing. The existing analog airwaves will go for between $8--10 billion dollars when they're auctioned off. Nonetheless, I suspect that the majority of people who take advantage of these coupons won't be the ones who actually need them. I think there will be a lot of people in rural areas scratching thier heads when the TV goes all fuzzy on Febuary 19th, 2009.