Digital TV Converters Program Running Again

It looks like those of you who were one the DTV coupon waiting list are in for some good news finally. The government’s digital TV coupon program is back on track. This is great, as you won’t need to use any of your income tax refund check to buy your digital TV converters.

This information comes courtesy of the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is in charge of overseeing the digital TV converters program. The agency has now announced that it had begun to “clear” its waiting list for the digital TV converter coupons, which now has 4.1 million pending requests. NTIA said it expects to “eliminate the current waiting list” within three to four weeks. This is great news for consumers that have had their television habits affected by this change. Many in the nation have been left with blank pictures due to the programs lack of funds.

The program exhausted all of its $1.34 billion funding limit in late December, forcing the agency to put consumers on to an ever growing waiting list. This shortfall prompted members of Congress and President Obama to approve another $650 million in funding for the program in the latest stimulus package, allowing NTIA to restart the money stalled program. This comes as a relief to millions of viewers that are not paying for digital cable or satellite service.

The program offers $40 discount coupons –- a limit of two per household -– for the purchase of digital TV converter boxes, which turns the freely broadcast digital signals into analog so they can be displayed on older televisions. The DTV transition only affects viewers of over-the-air TVs that use antennas. Cable and satellite TV customers are not affected (unless they have TVs that are not connected to their pay television services), though they are still eligible for coupons.

The USA’s switch to digital TV has been rescheduled to take place on June 12. That’s a four-month delay from the original Feb. 17 date, which was changed after the coupon program ran out of money. All areas have not pushed back their transition date though; in my area, most stations went ahead with the original transition date. The digital TV converter boxes are essential for over-the-air TV viewers. Once the stations in your area make the switch, all of your analog TVs will go dark unless they’re hooked up to a converter.

If you need more information, feel free to browse the rest of our digital converter box reviews. We’ve done all the hard work for you, so you can just sit back and bask in the glory that is digital TV. If you’ve already picked up your digital TV converters, you’re not finished yet. You also need a good digital TV antenna to get great digital TV channels for free. We’ve reviewed all the top models ranging from the smallest indoor digital TV antennas to the best outdoor HDTV antennas that can pull in stations from up to 70 miles away. Pick up one of these, and there will be no more blacked out games or fuzzy channels for you.

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