Jerry Follansbee checked out new digital televisions at a Best Buy in Aurora on Thursday after promising one of his sets to his daughter just in time for the upcoming conversion to digital television.
“I’m pretty up on this stuff; this is my hobby,” said the Bennett man. “But my daughter has the old-type TV and didn’t have the (government) coupon (for a converter box), so I made it easier for her and gave her the digital TV. I did that for my other daughter too last year.”
At the store near Interstate 70 and Tower Road, round stacks of converter boxes sit near wall displays of digital televisions. The boxes sell for $49.99, on sale from $59.
With the conversion set for Feb. 17, the store’s general manager, Jerome McKay, has hundreds of converter boxes in stock to meet demand. He has just as many digital TVs for those who want to avoid the boxes and upgrade totally.
“I have a feeling it’s going to pick up again as it gets closer to the deadline,” he said. “I would imagine as soon as TVs (stop receiving signals), people will come in.”
Analog televisions not connected to cable or satellite will no longer receive a signal after Feb. 17 without a digital converter.
McKay hopes to help as many consumers as possible avoid having their televisions go dark. The week leading up to the conversion, McKay’s staff will don black shirts, and he will periodically shut off the store’s TVs to show what could happen.
In the U.S., about 9 percent of the 114 million households will be affected by the conversion from analog to digital, said Megan Pollock, spokeswoman at the Consumer Electronics Association.
Of those polled who will be affected, 11 percent plan to buy a new digital television, 63 percent will buy a converter box, and 9 percent will subscribe to cable or satellite services.
Since the inception of the coupon program by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, more than 20 million $40 coupons for converter boxes have been redeemed. The converters allow analog televisions to access digital channels.
“We have seen a 134 percent increase in month-to-month sales (by unit) for converter boxes since began accepting the government DTV coupons last September,” said Paul Ryder, vice president of consumer electronics at .
Cheryl Kiefer of Lafayette used a coupon Thursday at Best Buy for a converter box after talking to associate Matthew Martinez.
Martinez finds himself explaining several times an hour how the converter boxes work with outdoor and indoor antennas, what they do to UHF and VHF, the differences between analog and digital, and whether a consumer might need an amplified antenna to go along with the box.
Digital-TV sales are also skyrocketing, Pollock said. Currently, 62 percent of all U.S. households own at least one digital television compared with 50 percent at this time last year and 33 percent in 2007.
So far, about 10 percent to 20 percent of consumers who come into McKay’s store looking to convert are opting to buy new digital TVs, he said.
Steve Hahn of Thornton had his eye on a 65-inch Samsung digital TV Thursday. His wife, he said, gave him clearance to buy a quality set for the family room to replace the analog even though they have cable and technically the TV would not be affected.
Three other TVs in his home, the ones in the kids’ bedrooms, do use rabbit-ear antennas, and he plans to replace those this weekend.
“I figure now is the time to switch over,” he said. “Might as well strike while the iron is hot.”
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
