To those saying, "just get cable," some of us don't have that many options, and only need a few channels. I live alone and don't feel like forking over a bunch of money for channels I'll never use.

I ended up using my coupon for a $40 box on Amazon that received some decent reviews. I then bought a new antenna, and can now get a few channels. Unfortunately the quality is still poor (I get a lot of digital pixel delays), which may be due to buildings or trees. I also read that some HD stations won't be operating at full power until after the conversion, so who knows.

I do know that Radio Shack and places like Rite Aid are pricing their stock $20 above other places to take advantage of the coupons. Do some research before buying.

Converter shortage? Best Buy in the Village has a small mountain of them going for about $50 each.

Those of you finding it so easy to find them locally are missing an important point: not everyone lives in NYC.

How easy is it to find one in Kansas? Alabama? North Dakota?

"Just get cable already, it's fucking 2009."

And in those scattered areas of the country where cable still isn't an option? Or for those families throughout the country who can't casually take on a $100 monthly expense for cable or satellite?

Yes, Congress represents the whole country, not just Manhattan.

Uh, Dish Network is not local to NYC. They'll ship a TR-40CRA or two anywhere in the country, no questions asked. Just pay shipping and your local sales tax.

So do I now really have to get into how many people all over the country don't get to spend their days shopping for online bargains and commenting on blogs? How many don't have Internet access at all? How many don't have credit and debit cards with which to shop online? And how all of those people deserve the same consideration from the government as the rest of us?

I've had cable for more than a decade. I get my HD signal. That's why I don't see what the big deal is about delaying the big changeover by a few months: digital signals are already available, so if you have the technical capability for them you're OK now. This will change absolutely nothing for you; you won't even notice when the final step is taken. What difference does it make if for a few more months there's also another type of signal being broadcast that you're not using?

I would prefer the government focuses on bigger issues like affordable health care for all or coherent, fair tax laws. Not some $40 coupon to make your television work.

So would I. However, this coupon converter box program is directed at the poor and elderly. For too many of them, this is all they have.

all these boxes suck balls cause they only do 480i broadcasts. So when you move up to real HDTV you get screwed and have to rebuy a box that lets you use HDMI. So you are basically paying 60 bucks for a shitty box of which the government will eat 40 bucks for and then you pay an extra 20 bucks plus tax then you'll have to eventually upgrade later on. Nobody will sell 480p CRT's much less want to watch anything on a crt. anymore and you'll be left with obsolete technology. It's a conspiracy I tell you. They are trying to squeeze out every last damn dime from the analog CRT market.

When you finally upgrade to a real HDTV, you'll find that it has an ATSC tuner built in. You won't need any converter boxes. Honestly, your understanding of this tech is about as good as John Del Signore's. How he got to write a story about something he doesn't understand is beyond me.

This conspiracy theory of yours is exactly the opposite of the intention. There are hundreds of millions of analog TVs already in the homes of American consumers. That includes LCDs as well as CRTs. Allowing them to just buy converter boxes means those same consumers don't have to go out and buy new TVs, which would cost a hell of a lot more than $40. Not to mention those otherwise perfectly usable TVs don't suddenly end up in landfills.

Can I have a coupon to replace all my old vinyl records with cd's?

haha!

No TV? Somebody might be tempted to read a book or have a conversation at home. The horror! The humanity!

Just get cable already, it's fucking 2009.

I'd love to, but my block hasn't had cable access for the 17 years I've lived there. Everyone on the block has satellite if they don't want to be reduced to the requisite 11 or so network channels. Which we can't afford. It's 2009, not everyone can afford it.

I can't believe there is no box for under $40. You can buy a DVD player for $29.95 in a supermarket. The DVD players are much more complicated and have more moving parts. I smell a bit of a conspiracy and price fixing here.

Retarded, they should just do it and get it over with

$40 does NOT cover the cost of a box. I looked everywhere for a $40 box. I couldn't get anything for less than about $60. Radioshack's were even more expensive. For one week target had them on sale for $40 (plus tax) but they were completely out of stock.

I took my coupon, invested the extra 20 bucks, plus another 15 for an antenna and now can happily watch my American idol and occasionally PBS- when the PBS signal works!

Oh, for crying out loud. There's a little thing called Google you might want to check. You can order the Dish Network TR-40CRA here. $40 and highly rated in almost every head-to-head comparison of converter boxes. I got two of them just last month. So much for hard to find and out of stock.

which means we'll all have to wait until June 12th to watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles digitally.

Uh, no. WNYW has had digital broadcasts for years now. The delayed changeover just means people can continue to watch on their old sets until June.

I don't know why people would go to Radio Shack anyway. The Dish Network TR-40A converter box is in stock on the Dish website and has gotten some very good reviews, especially for its extended program guide. Cost after the coupon is about $12 for shipping and tax. Goddamn NYS still charges sales tax on the $40 even though you don't have to pay it!

A rebate does not reduce the sale price of an article. The tax calculation is correct.