Get up to $80 from the government

The digital age...gotta love it! From iPods, bluetooth technology, high speed internet, and yes, the blogosphere, everything is going digital. You can even get a digital picture frame with a LCD screen, that you load your digital pictures into, and it rotates them like a slideshow. What will they think of next? Anyway, what we're going to talk about to day, is digital television, and how to save some money...namely, $80.



Starting in February 2009, all broadcast stations in the US will stop using analog signals, per the federal government. That means no more getting to use those nifty rabbit ears on top of your tv, unless of course, you just LOVE to watch static and snow on the tube. What to do?!? Do you rush right out and buy a brand new high definition (HD) tv, with built in tuner? You can...if you have the cash (remember, we don;t use credit cards unless we actually have the cash to pay it off, in hand), and if you want to take the time to find a good deal (I saved my cash, and found a deal on a sweet HD LCD, and saved $300). Or, you can just connect a digital tuner/converter box to your current television, and continue watching on your old tube tv.

HEre's the low-down...digital is different from high definition. It's basically the way it is broadcast. So while you need a digital signal to get HD, you do not need HD to watch digital - Clear as mud? Good. All the converters do is capture the digital signal, and convert it to play on your old analog television. And you can even use the ol' rabbit ears as your antenna - I did (they look marvelous resting on top of my sleek, 3 inch deep LCD). Seriously, I still use my rabbit ears...I went from 5 channels I could pick up and watch (with static) with analog, and with digital, I get 15 channels, and they are all clear, with no static. It's great! And cheap, because I'm not paying for cable or satellite, either.

Here's the money saving info. Visit dtv2009.gov and you can apply for up to two coupons for $40 each, good towards the purchase of digital tuner boxes. The site also has a list of approved converters. It appears the boxes will be on the market in a month or so, and the coupons will actually mail out then. Prices appear to be in the $60-$100 range, before using the coupon, depending on the make of the box.

So, do yourself a favor, and save some money, and get the coupons...that's $80 still in your pocket, plus the cost of a new tv with built in digital tuner (hundreds of dollars), and SAVING MONEY is MAKING MONEY. Plus you'll keep your faithful, bulky tube tv from sitting in a landfill somewhere, growing bitter that you left it for the newer, sexier, SLIMMER models on the market.