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This budget-priced TV can receive digital signals

CLEVELAND, Ohio — My wife and I just got back from Wal-Mart with a new TV set to replace an older model.

Since it's not a TV that we'll watch very often, we settled on a 20-inch screen—not a slim LCD model, the old-fashioned tube type—but heck, it only cost $140.

It's not high-definition, of course, but it is digital.

That means even though our new second tier set (an Emerson brand made in Thailand—who knew they made television sets there?) is taking the place of a brand-name TV (Sony), we'll no longer have to put up with ghosts and sparkles and static; the images will be studio-clear—but in "standard definition" (SDTV).

Just goes to prove there's more than one way to make sure you're ready for the digital TV revolution. As we've been telling you in recent weeks, all analog TV transmissions will cease on Feb. 17, 2009, little more than a year from now.

If your TV signal comes from an off-air antenna (not cable or satellite service), and you don't already have a digital TV set, you must make a plan to keep receiving free TV after February of next year.

You may have heard about the government program to offer every American family two $40 coupons to subsidize the purchase of digital TV converter boxes, which let any analog TV receive the new digital signals. The boxes are expected to be priced between $40 and $70.

The coupons are already going out, and Computer Corner viewer Mike Parker was one of the first to get one. He has a problem, though:

"They give you a choice of finding authorized vendors from 5 to 50 miles from your address," Parker wrote. "Guess what? There are NO authorized vendors within 50 miles."

Parker is concerned that he won't be able to use his coupons before the 90-day expiration date. "Everyone wants to sell the new HD sets, so no one will sell the converter boxes advertised under the program," he wrote.

So where are these boxes? I visited several local stores; didn't see any at Wal-Mart. Couldn't find them at RadioShack. But I did see a stack of Insignia brand converter boxes at a Best Buy. There was no price or signage, but they appeared to be ready for the expected consumer demand.

Best Buy spokesman Tran Ngo confirmed that the Insignia model NS-DXA 1 will be available in stores by Feb. 17, priced at $59.99.

Mike Parker apparently received an early test mailing of the $40 coupons; Todd Sedmak, a spokesman for NTIA, the government agency managing the coupon giveaway, said consumers should begin receiving their vouchers late this month or early next month.

So far, more than 2.3 million applicants have requested more than 4.4 million coupons, Sedmak said.

RadioShack spokesman Charles Hodges told me their customers who get coupons early have nothing to worry about. "They won't have any trouble purchasing boxes through RadioShack later this month," he said. "We'll be ready when the first big wave of consumers receives their vouchers on Feb. 18."

RadioShack just posted details of its DTV converter box online (although the product will initially be available only in stores). The Zenith DTT900 ($59.99) is pretty basic, just like the others. But according to the setup instructions already available on the RadioShack Web site, it does appear to be easy to hook up.

Our viewer Mike Parker was certainly correct about one thing: the database at the NTIA Web site that offers to help you find a DTV converter box retailer isn't really much help at all. I typed in my home address (in Denton County) asking to see stores offering a qualifying product within 50 miles. It produced zero results—even though RadioShack, Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, and other retailers are all within a short drive.

But whether you've got a digital TV coupon in hand, if there's one on the way or you're planning to apply, rest assured that there will be a wide variety of places to buy the converter boxes starting around the middle of this month.

Go to the DTV2009.gov Web site or call 888-388-2009 to apply for up to two coupons or to get more information about the program. You can also check the 2009 DTV Countdown page at WFAA.com for more about digital TV.

Watch Computer Corner every week on News 8 Midday at noon (usually seen on Wednesdays; this week, though, on Friday), or online any time.

E-mail askwalt@wfaa.com