It should be made clear that subscribers to cable, DirecTV and Dish Network TV do NOT need to be concerned with this transition!

I LOVE having the digital convertor box. The reception is amazing and I'm getting channels I never got before, lost a few also, but maybe they will come back in February.
Walmart has the best price in NJ.

My cable company says I currently get analog cable and I will indeed need a box. Any other thoughts? please e-mail me direct sgrych@yahoo.com

Coupons are expiring before many can get a converter box. Too few boxes for the number who want them. Suggest writing to Congress if you have a problem getting a converter box. Only Congress can fix the problem.

First off...don't wait to get your coupons as there is a limited number of them and the instructions say, first come, first served. Second, if you don't receive them, as in our case we applied, were granted two coupons, however, they never arrived...we have protested and reapplied and been turned down..they say there is a law that prohibits them from reissuing coupons...we are going to protest through the media now!!!! NOT FAIR!!

Ha! Congress created this problem by selling out to the industry in the first place! And have you even read Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez's comments comparing the expiring coupons to a coupon for cereal? This government official is stating that if 90 days is long enough for a consumer to choose a cereal, it's plenty of time to choose a converter box. Problem is, the last time I checked, there were plenty of Frosted Flakes lining the shelves of my local Walmart; however, three months of calling that same Walmart EVERY WEEK and still no converter boxes. Face the facts...Congress is using our tax money to subsidize this forced conversion, and the retailers are still jacking up the price on them while keeping supply low in order to make a buck.

I wouldn't wait until January 2009 to START. The $40 "coupons" take about two months to get.
Allow yourself a couple of weeks to shop for the best prices and/or some stores' "specials." Also google for brand comparisons and reviews and availability. You can't get the box via online, only in person at the store. My suggestion is to get your coupons by Christmas (apply by the end of October), and possibly look for after-Christmas sales. (Yes, I already have my converter boxes. They are "backup" in case the cable service fails.)

I ordered an ARTEC T3A Pro online for $50.45 minus the $40 coupon = $10.45..includes shipping.. Great little box & remote. Very eazy setup plus i used a three foot piece of coax with 10" striped & looped at the end for the antenna, hidden behind my et center.

I learned the hard way that the coupons expire on the Eastern time zone time. I went to WalMart late one evening to use my coupons. It was after midnight in the eastern time zone so my coupons didn't work even though I was in the Central time zone.

the best price I've found is $60.00 before the cupon.

The boxes are great and the only place that I am aware of to get them is radioshack. Everytime I go in and ask a question they either have them or in my case shipped it to my house. This was via Fed EX and took about a week. $20 after the coupon and the box still picks up the analog stations that won't transition right away.

Found a approved box at Sams Club for $44.88. NEt cost: $4.88, plus tax. Best deal around??

I would not wait to get your converter box if you need one. I am in electronic sales and we get boxes, but they don't have a steady supply. Maybe it is different here in the midwest because as soon as we receive the boxes it is a free for all usually involving behaviors reserved for the day after Thanksgiving.

We got the coupons AND THEN noticed the 90 day epiration date. the boxes were not even in the stores yet! So mine have expired. We have cable but what if it goes out or we move to a place with out cable and don't want to get satellite, your out of luck!

All boxes are not created equal. Prices vary from $50 to $60, so does the reception. I purchased a Magnavox TB100MW9 from Walmart and lost 2 high UHF stations switching from analog to digitial. I have to switch back to see the friday night baseball game. My sister in Syracuse lost 3 including the local fox channel. Something they don't mention.

I would not wait if I were you to get the coupons or to purchase the converter boxes. All expired
coupons will be recycled to give to the next person whom will apply and needs its. The government had no idea as to how many citzens
would need the converter boxes. Many persons have
cut off their cables or satillite systems due to the increased costs and the downturn in the economy. I purchased my first box in April from
Circuit City, Zenith by LG excellent quality, the
next was at Radio Shack Digital Stream, both are
excellent, reception same as cable, remotes are
easily programable. When the official change comes all digital programming will be equal. Get your coupons and boxes ASAP! When the money runs out, that's all Folks!

I would not even bother with a box, get a digital antennae, and a digital tuner tv. In most areas you will get at least 7 stations and some in HD. To do this correctly the entire package without tv will cost around 200$.

The NTIA said Thursday that 6.3 million converter boxes have been bought using the $40 coupons

Link:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6581507.html

Currently $890 million have been budgeted for the coupons, assuming all the budget goes to coupons (I know this is a big assumption) the total number of coupons will be 22 million.

According to a Nielson report 10.6 million US households do not have satellite or cable service plus to not own TVs with DTV tuners in them or connected to DTV converter boxes. 22 million coupons should be enough. (10.6 households X 2 coupons per house = 21.2 million)

Links for additional information:
http://dtvfacts.com/converter-box-coupons/

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6568956.html

Just bite the bullet people. It's the 21st century. Time to get that HD TV and see what you've been missing all these years! Stop whining that the government should have to pay for everything.

21st Century Mon

we also had a problem our walmart never had any boxes in stock, so we would just think oh we have 90 days we'll check next time. well the day before our coupon expired I finally asked for a manager and the manager told me that they don't think they will ever get any boxes in and the it is all a joke that the whole procedure has been messed up from the begining. OUr walmart is in Dubuque Iowa. This manager said that this is a big government mismanaged program. MY thoughts are why does the government put walmart on the card as a place to go purchase these boxes if walmart never intended to stock the boxes. If these stores were contracted to carry these boxes then they should be following through. We did end up finding the LAST box at a different store in DUBUQUE, but WHAT IS THE DEAL we went to all stores we could think of that sold these boxes and still had to pay $30 out of pocket. HUGE MESS....