In January, the US Government postponed the mandatory DTV transition from February until June 12th, as it was clear that over 6 million households were not ready.
Today, the federal Department of Commerce has said that if you are still unready and have not applied for a converter box coupon, you should do so no later than Monday, or risk having no TV signal by the time of the transition.
Every household can receive two $40 coupons to use towards the purchase of converter boxes, and more information about the coupons can be found at 888-DTV-2009 or www.DTV2009.gov.
As of May 10th, Nielsen estimated that there are still 3.3 million households not ready for the transition.
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A website which specialiazes in electronics reviews and ratings is offering a unique solution for US residents who need DTV vouchers. They’re offering to match people who need the coupons with those who have already received theirs but won’t be using them.
When the DTV Delay Act passed the US House of Representatives last week there were still more than 2 million people on the waiting list to receive government vouchers for DTV converters. If you’re one of thoe people Retrevo’s program isn’t meant for you. In fact their website notes it’s illegal to get more than two vouchers per household, regardless of the source.
But if you’re not already on the waiting list, time may not be your only concern. The DTV Delay Act only extends the amount of time before analog signals switch off. The money for the voucher program remains the same.
At the same time it provides a provision for replacing vouchers that expired before being used, making even more people eligible to get on the waiting list. There have been bills proposed to either increase the money available for the voucher program or give a tax credit for the purchase of a converter box. So far though, none of them appears close to becoming law.
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Just in case there wasn’t enough chaos surrounding the US DTV transition, an executive from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) gave the FCC some more bad news last Thursday. Speaking at an open meeting of FCC commissioners on the DTV transition Michael Petricone, CEA’s Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs, said there may soon be a shortage of converter boxes.
The problem, Petricone explained, is the consumer electronics industry’s inability to accurately predict demand for the boxes, most of which will be purchased with the assistance of government vouchers. Once the transition is complete there will be little or no market for them, which is why most manufacturers stopped production in early January in anticipation of a February 17 switchover.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen problems with the DTV converter supply chain. With some notable exceptions, such as Best Buy and Radio Shack, many retailers were unable to meet consumer demand last summer. During the last few months of 2008 retailer stock seemed to catch up to demand.
Ironically the good news for consumers in need of DTV converters is the bad news for the economy. Due to decreased demand for consumer electronics many assembly lines which would normally have been re-tooled to make other products have simply been shut down instead. This means it should be possible to get additional units on store shelves in half the normal time.
