DTV Coupon Program

Federal rebate program offsets costs

If you want to continue getting broadcast TV signals using your older analog television, you'll need a converter box. For a limited time, the government is offering a rebate to offset the cost of up to two DTV converters. In some cases, that will allow you to get the boxes for free. The program issues up to two $40 rebate coupons for households that need them. Coupons are not issued automatically (you must apply and wait for them), and they expire 90 days after they are issued.

The program, which was originally slated to run until the end of March, ran out of money in early January. As noted earlier, however, all is not lost. Funds from unused coupons are being added back to the program, and new appropriations are possible, if not likely. Right now, you can add your name to a waiting list for a coupon.

Note that not all DTV converter boxes qualify for the program. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has established guidelines that limit the functions and features of eligible boxes to only those that are needed to convert digital signals to a format that can be displayed on an analog TV. Video is only output as 480i standard definition, regardless of what format the signal is broadcast in. The boxes also won't output the Dolby digital 5.1-channel sound that's part of the HDTV broadcasting standard, instead downconverting that audio to two-channel stereo.

Full information on the TV converter box coupon program, including updates on the program's status, lists of eligible converter boxes and an application for up to two coupons, can be found at a special website set up by the NTIA and the Department of Commerce.