Best Buy Co. said it has stopped selling analog televisions and pulled all remaining stock from its shelves, signalling the end of an era as consumers increasingly move toward digital products with flat-panel and high-definition screens.
Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, broadcasters will stop transmitting analog signals. Non-digital television sets that are not attached to a cable or satellite service and not equipped with special converter boxes will no longer work.
After the first of the year, the government will be making available to each household two coupons worth $40 each that can be used to buy two converter boxes. Best Buy will sell coupon-eligible converter boxes starting in early 2008.
Sign of the times.
#23 AMPS better than digital? Well in the US maybe but where the transition has been done in other countries digital is much better – Australia and China to name two that I have experience with.
Australia bricked analogue mobile phones YEARS ago same with China. Its rare to have poor phone service in China. My wife once had to visit a rural factory and she had to ride a donkey to get there but she still had mobile phone service. LOL!
Cheers
Coincidentally, the switchoff of analog TV broadcasting in the UK started this week (link). No voucher subsidies here, though.
>>Its rare to have poor phone service in China.
Well, that’s China. This is the U.S. We put a man on the moon 35+ years ago, but we can’t seem to sustain a cell phone network that makes reliable phone calls.
Where’s Alexander Graham Bell when you need him?
Who the hell cares what BB does?
The real place that people will buy a TV for the average consumer will be at Wally World. And when THEY go CRT-less THEN it will be a story.
Best Buy can bite me!
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Has anyone else read this?
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-276576A1.pdf
Best buys has not had rebates in my town for a year. I have actually started to shop there again. Their service still sucks.
Personally I’m scared about this whole new digital thing. I don’t get why every tv has to go to digital.What about the people eho can’t afford a converter box?? Another question if the tv doesn’t have an antenna then is it digital???
This transition will only affect people who watch TV via an antenna. If you watch TV via cable or satellite, you won’t notice any change at all.
If they watch TV from an antenna, then after the switch over they won’t be able to watch TV.
I don’t really know what you mean. Most TVs do not have built-in antennas nowadays, regardless of whether they accept HD or analog reception. I’m guessing that if you have one of those small TVs with a built-in antenna it is probably not ready to receive HD over the air. However, the lack of an antenna does not mean it’s ready to receive over the air HD broadcasts.