LG touts first converter box approved for 2008 digital changeover
By Erik Hanson 
posted Oct 8th 2007 7:13PM
posted Oct 8th 2007 7:13PM
The U.S. Department of Commerce has certified the first digital-analog converter box eligible for the digital television transition coupon program. LG Electronics has developed a low-cost box which will allow consumers to get broadcast signals to their older television sets using a $40 government coupon. The converter drops higher-end features like digital audio or component outputs, but includes features designed for older sets, such as RF and composite outputs, V-Chip parental controls, closed captioning, and options for 4:3- or 16:9-ratio televisions. The company plans to have production ramped up to coincide with the launch of the coupon program in early 2008, just in time for consumers to remain clueless as to what they needed a converter box for anyway.
Great. Does this mean my tax dollars are going to help people that are too cheap or poor to get a decent TV to get basic cable? Why not just tell these people to get satellite and the free box? Can I get a $40 voucher to a new plasma? I think that's fair.
the $40 vouchers can be used only on these converter boxes. the program is set up so that the vouchers can be redeemed only on purchase of a converter box; they're not good on anything with a screen, a PVR, a DVD player, a VCR, etc etc. being a government program there are lengthy rules about what does and doesn't qualify, and in fact to qualify for the $40 voucher program, a manufacturer has to submit their device for government testing and pass. This article is basically saying that LG is the first manufacturer to pass all of the tests and quality.
My question is - does the $40 coupon cover the full cost of the converter box? An HDTV would cost me 3 months of income - am I somehow less of an American because I refuse to spend as much on cable TV as on staple foods?
OTA TV is the only reliable source of news and information for millions of lower income Americans. Can you imagine trying to get news to make informed political decisions from AM radio blowhards? I think perhaps that is what you are already doing, Rob...
I still think people are going to be super dumb about all this. Oh well, I gotta look out for numero uno.
-dad
First, it's not your tax dollars - it is paid for by the auction of the 700MHz spectrum freed by killing analog TV. And the picture you get would probably be better than you can get over cable or satellite, even if it's just displayed on an SDTV.
Cable can be quite expensive for anyone on fixed or limited income.
Another, I think the only thing new about these boxes is the cost. There used to be external ATSC tuner boxes available that would downconvert as far down as composite, maybe RF, but those were very expensive.
You mean that photograph isn't from the 1960s?
Ha, for some reason I thought the same thing at first!
In the picture above... it shows 2 TV's side by side, the closer TV has a washed out picture based on analog signal OTA. The TV on on the left has a more vivid picture quality, digital OTA, and the guy in the back has his hand on the small black converter box.
So does this mean we can only get junky/crippled boxes with our $40 voucher? This sucks.
what happens if they try to tune an HD station? will it just down convert it or will it not display at all?
It will downcovert it, absolutely. The whole device would be pointless if it couldn't tune in HD channels, because that's most of what's on ATSC.
Kind of along with Andy above, I am wondering if these converter boxes have component inputs to connect to the outputs of a standard DVD player? With most older TV sets, there are no inputs other than the RF-in F connector which connects to antenna or cable, or a VCR made in 2006 or earlier. None of the DVD players currently on the market will even connect to these old TVs. So, if these converter boxes don't have the inputs required to connect to the outputs of a standard DVD player, then they really won't meet the needs of those who have OLD TV sets, and the only real answer would be to buy a new TV set.
I had kind of hoped that this deadline would push back. I would rather buy new HD sets than put converters on our older TV's, but we just can't afford it. Rob, those of us who don't have HD TV's don't need to be penalized due to a lack of disposable income. My family is actually trying to get out of debt at this time. We just don't have money to either buy a new set, get cable/satellite, or both. I am not for the government subsidising someone's lifetyle, but at the same time I don't advocate penalizing someone just because they don't have the money to buy something or pay for a subscription service. As a matter of fact, this could be seen as an informal means of subsidizing cable/satellite networks and TV/converter box manufacturers. It's kind of like what Windows Vista is doing to the software world.