Digital TV converter box reception problems

December 7, 9:29 PMNews You Can Use ExaminerMary Schwager

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3/6/2009 New update on converter box coupon program wait list:

For the latest updates on this topic, including delaying all digital, all the time broadcasting to June 12, 2009 and other snafus, click here for coupon program problems  and click here for converter box reception problems.

A glitch in the switch, what you don't know about the switch to digital.  

By Hank Phillippi Ryan and Mary Schwager

We've found there could be some glitches in your switch to digital TV, especially if you have an over-the-air television (the kind that uses rabbit ears or rooftop antennas). You're going to need a special converter box. But if you don't prepare now, in a couple of months you could be looking at a blank screen.

1. Don't wait to redeem your converter-box coupon!

If you ordered the coupon the feds are providing to help pay for your digital converter box, head to the store and use it. Now. Even though broadcasters pull the plug on analog television on Feb. 17, 2009, the coupons, worth $40, expire 90 days after they're mailed. The feds say make sure to order yours by Dec. 31, 2008 so they arrive before the big switch.

2. Uh-oh. I just checked and mine expired.

Yeah, that's the problem. We obtained the actual redemption rates of the coupons sent to viewers in the Boston-Manchester, N.H., television viewing area. At this writing, more coupons expired than were redeemed! Some 102,000 were used. But 121,000 are now just useless pieces of plastic. You can't use them to buy a converter box. (We're hoping they at least can be recycled.)

3. What do I do?

That's exactly what we asked the U.S. Department of Commerce, the agency that runs the coupon program. Its rules say only two coupons can be mailed per household. But listen to this: the agency's advice? Hit up your friends or family! Find a pal who doesn't need a converter box because he uses cable, satellite or has a digital TV. Then, the feds say, ask the friend to order a coupon and have him give it to you.

4. What? Really? Hit up my neighbor?

Yup, your tax dollars at work. And we're not suggesting you fool anyone. This whole thing was the feds' idea.

 5. So once I bum a coupon off my brother, I get the box, plug it in and I'll be set?                  

Well, that actually depends on where you live. Buried in the fine print of the Federal Communications Commission's website is a little warning about the "digital cliff" effect.

6. A digital cliff? What's that?                
 

It's a metaphor. If you live in an area near trees, hills and tall buildings, or depending on the material your house is made of, the digital signal may not reach your antenna. (It will fall off a cliff.) The result is pixilated pictures or the dreaded "no signal indicator." You know how your analog TV gets some stations perfectly but others are snowy? With digital, there's no such thing as a "so-so" picture. It's pretty much all or nothing.

7. This switch was hailed by the government as being cheap and easy!

It may be for some people, but we've already found others having problems. If you find you're living in a digital fallout zone, you may need to shell out more money for an upgraded TV antenna, especially if you are relying on rabbit ears attached to your set. So get a converter box ASAP. Try it out. If your reception isn't good, you may need to get an upgraded or roof-top antenna, which can be costly to buy and have installed.

And if all this is frustrating and you need a good laugh check out this video from YouTube.

This article was originally published in Exhibit A news magazine.

Every month, WHDH's consumer investigation reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan and producer Mary Schwager give Exhibit A readers seven tips for avoiding scams, navigating bureaucracy, and understanding their rights. Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is on the air at Boston's NBC affiliate where she has broken big stories for the past 22 years. She has won 26 Emmys as well as dozens of other regional, national and international honors for her work. She is also a best-selling mystery novelist. Mary Schwager is a journalist with more than 16 years of experience and is the investigative producer at 7 News. She's won more than two dozen awards for investigative, consumer and feature reporting and writing, including 10 Emmy Awards, seven Edward R. Murrow Awards and three Associated Press honors. She was also a state licensed detective and performed criminal investigations on behalf of the Wisconsin Public Defender's Office.

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