Consumer concerns over purchasing and setting up DTV converter boxes that will allow televisions to pick up the new digital signals are coming in force, said Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union.



TV is about to become very complicated, said Phillip Swan, author of TV dot com: The Future of Interactive TV and founder of TVPredictions.

Were hearing a lot of confusion in the marketplace, Kelsey said.

Over 1 million of the $40 DTV coupons offered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration have already expired without being used, according to the NTIA website. (The coupons have a 90-day expiration date by law.) These coupons are being made available to help offset the cost of purchasing a DTV converter and are available to all households in the US.

Many consumers are also finding out (oftentimes too late) that many of the big-box retailers only stock one or two of the coupon eligible boxes which leaves almost no room for comparison shopping. Lots of stores are also do not have enough stock to satisfy increasing consumer demand leaving many folks out of luck once their coupons expire.

And some are finding they need an upgrade to their antenna once they buy the converter boxes to get some of the channels they had over the air before, Swan said.

Buying a DTV converter box

Here are a few good tips you should keep in mind while choosing a DTV converter box:

Dont wait. You should begin comparison shopping immediately after ordering your coupons, which will take approximately two to three weeks to be mailed. This will give you ample time to find the best model to meet your needs so you can be prepared once your coupons arrive. Be aware that all coupons expire after 90 days. One million coupons have already expired without being redeemed. Once youve applied for your two coupons, thats it. You get to pay the full retail price on your own.

Give some thought to the features you need. If its important to you to have a good program guide, an analog pass through or a button on your remote to choose whether you want your programming in full screen or letterbox, you must keep those features in mind when reading reviews or shopping.

Shopping online will give you more choices. We ended up buying a lot online because it was the easiest way, CUs Kelsey said. Many big-box retailers have only one or two models available at their stores, while online retailers will often have dozens so you can find the features you need at a price that fits your budget. This can also help save you money buy not burning gas to drive around the stores in your area shopping for your boxes.

Get an Energy Star rated product. Digital converter boxes that have earned the Energy Star label by the Environmental Protection Agency consume no more than 8 watts of electricity in on mode and 1 in sleep mode. They also automatically power down after four hours or less of user inactivity. Look for the label to confirm that it has met program qualifications. This will help you decrease your carbon footprint as well as keep that pesky electric bill in check.

Install your converter box before upgrading your antenna. Dont buy a new antenna until you have determined whether or not you need it. If you live far from the broadcast tuners and are not receiving all of your desired channels with the converter box, consider getting a smart antenna. To see whether you may have poor reception, you can use AntennaWeb. The Web site provides a mapping program from the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Association of Broadcasters that locates the proper outdoor antenna to receive your local television broadcast channels. SummitSource also carries a HUGE selection of antennas so you can receive crystal clear HDTV broadcasts for free.

Best converter boxes

Consumer Reports recently rated the best TV converter box in a variety of areas, including the quality of the program guide, whether it has a universal remote control, whether it makes adding new channels easy and whether an AV cable is included. The models that ranked at the top for best picture quality, defined as those capable of images that come close to DVD quality are the following:

The Sansonic FT300A and the Philco TB 100HH9. Both of these units are available at many online retailers for your convenience.