DTV Transition

Consumer Alert on Digital TV Conversion

Could your TV look like thisafter the national switch to digital broadcasting in February 2009?
If you plan to keep using your old analog TV and you do not have access to a cable to digital broadcast service, you will need a digital converter box.
Consumers can get two $40 coupons per household from the federal government to help buy the new boxes. *ALERT1:* Not all converter boxes are the same, you may need one with a "bypass switch," especially viewers of ARCS in villages and Alaskans outside urban areas receiving signals from low power analog translators. *ALERT 2:* The $40 coupons are only good for three months. AkPIRG recommends waiting until later in the year when more and better boxes become available. Currently there are few models available with the "bypass switch." Get more information from http://www.dtv.gov and stay tuned for more info as the digital changeover gets closer.