Which CECB will you be buying? - Page 2

I disagree. There are plenty of households that have pay service and have TVs that are not connected to it. They may have TVs that are costly to run cable to, or they don't want to pay for an extra satellite box. There are also satellite households that get their local stations over the air. It's hardly fair to exclude them from the program when they are local broadcast viewers and will be impacted by the transition.

Given the sheer number of boxes that are being approved as coupon eligible, competition and production process improvements will likely drive the cost of these boxes down fairly quickly. I suspect by the time the February 2009 analog shutoff deadline comes around next year, you'll be able to pick up converter boxes for $20 or $30 without a coupon.

There are those of us on Cable or Satellite that wish to get off. OTA reception frees us from those ties.

I am sure rrrrrroger was just being sarcastic since there aren't many people that think it is the government's responsibility to buy him 6 converter boxes.

I voted for the Echostar TR-40 because of the VCR timer. If it doesn't come out in time to use my coupons, I'll go with the Zenith/Insignia.

Just visited Best Buy and their Insignia version of the Zenith comes in a really ugly box. For that reason alone I'll have to choose the Zenith. The pretty box wins out every time.

If the TR-40 has all the features I'm hoping it does (like converting the digital TVGOS info to analog for my recorders), I won't mind paying the full 40 bucks for it one bit.

Even if it doesn't, if it's the only one with a recording timer (manual, that is), it's still worth it. If it can't be manually set and relies on the PSIP time, then forget it. I already have a Samsung which has that, and it ain't worth a damn.

I still want the pass-through, though.

Thats the way I am we have 4 TVs at our house. Two have DirecTV but we still get our local News, Weather by OTA as well as all of the main Networks ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW, PBS with an antenna so I ordered our two coupons but I would need two more. The way I got around that is I also had to order both my grandma's coupons both have OTA only so thats four more coupons with one TV a piece I will have the other two I need. We will have to go get there boxes anyway so that was my solution.

The government created the problem of my suddenly non-working televisions.
The government is at fault.
The government should be the party who pays for the upgrade, not me.

Same as when you are in a car accident, the person at fault pays for the repairs, not the victim. The government is at fault, and should be the one who pays for the upgrade to fix the damage they caused. Like I said, I have 3 that I use daily. To have one of those sets go dark is unacceptable.


And yes coupons should exclude cable/satellite subscribers. If your dish doesn't work right when it's raining, that's your OWN fault for choosing a sucky service. Either you should pay, or the dish company should pay to fix the problem, not the government. The government is not at fault, and not liable to repair your situation.

Yeah.... good luck with that.

I assume you are a Democrat?

-Robert

I'M a Democrat and I don't think it's the government's responsibility to provide 6 subsidized tuners to one person.

But as a Democrat, what I like best about the CECB program is it might help keep millions of TVs out of the landfill.

Now, back to the topic... I'm waiting for one of the S-Video boxes before I use my second coupon.

I never said that the government has to make me right. I accepted when I first got DBS that at that time - Locals were not available from DBS. Therefore I kept lifeline cable. Eventually - Dish started offering locals, and I finally got OTA figured out for my location (a long painfully slow expensive process, I might add - this topic wasn't covered very much ANYWHERE). Once I saw where Digital was going (I live in the Raleigh Durham market - home of WRAL - the nation's Leader and first HDTV broadaster, BTW) , I started making my plans and executing them. These 2 converter boxes are part of my plan - I've replaced TVs when they went out, or in anticipation of this.

So don't get on my case about taking advantage of something available to me. I'm not getting on your case about wanting 5 CECB coupons when you can obviously afford more (I mean - do you REALLY need 5 TVs ? ) - by your same standard - maybe the program should have had an income requirement - but it doesn't - so get over it already. Go buy your extra CECBs and enjoy and quit whining about the "problems" as you see them.

rrrrrroger,

Your chances of changing the government's rules here are next to zero. However, if you feel so strongly that the government should provide you with a third box, there is a way...

Find a friend (or relative) who is willing to apply for a coupon, but doesn't need it, because they are on satellite or cable. When the friend's coupon comes, go with the friend to the store, and he/she buys the box you want. Once you get home, hand the friend the cash for the cost of the box, and your friend hands you the box.

Now, having said that, what you would be doing is against the law, but if you want to "beat the system", that's how to do it. I've already had several friends, who are aware that I need 5 boxes to cover all the TVs and VCRs in my home, offer to do that. I will NOT do that, but I'm sure others might.

Sorry, but life is very unfair; all we can do is make the best of it and move on...

Bob Diaz

Hey, they're giving most people at least a $300.00 rebate check for nothing - what more do you want? Just use the money from that.

What, does he want everything for free? Sounds like a lot of illegal aliens I know. A lot of good welfare reform did in the 90's.

and how much did they take from you. My sister is really P.U. becuase she is single and makes over $80g and is left out. When will the goverment learn that making $100gs a year isn't a lot.

When will the goverment learn that making $100gs a year isn't a lot.[/quote]

Depends on where you live and the cost of living. It's a he!! of a lot around these parts. Definitely considered upper class, that's for sure.

If you don't like the way it was implemented, whining about it to this forum isn't going to help you. I doubt it'll help, but have you written a letter to your elected representatives in congress?


I take it you've never driven in a no-fault accident state.


If it's unacceptable to you, wait until just before the transition and pick up a converter box without the coupon. Most likely it won't cost much more than they are now with the coupon.


You do realize there are areas in the United States that don't have cable service right? In those areas, the only subscription service available is satellite dish. Given the radio spectrum that satellite TV service operates on, it would be down right impossible for the service provider to "fix" the problem. Heavy rain and snow tend to block and scatter signals at that frequency. Also, it's likely that there are still folks out there that can't get their locals over the dish.

Besides, I highly doubt that if they had excluded pay TV households from the program that they would have increased the coupon limit per household. They probably would have simply reduced the overall coupon program allocation, so you would still be in the same situation, whining about the government not fully covering your upgrade.

It's clear in the government FAQ that you can't sell or transfer the coupon to someone, but I don't know of any restriction on selling the converter itself after you buy it. Do you have a reference indicating that you can't sell a converter once you own it?

FAQs at
https://www.ntiadtv.gov/faq.cfm

smpowell - that's always been MY understanding - can't trade the coupons, but the boxes themselves are like any other electronics box.

I have Dish Network, with locals, but am waiting anxiously to get my coupon.

For starters, I'm paying Dish around $6.00 per month for local reception--and that's money that can go towards the overinflated gasoline prices in this country, once that converter is hooked up.

Secondly, Dish doesn't offer ***all*** of the locals in this area, and the overcompressed image on the locals is marginally acceptable at best...and, of course, none of the extra digital channels that a local may offer are carried either.

The government is taking analog away from us all, I feel no guilt whatsoever accepting these coupons...and if the price of subscription television continues to rise at the extreme rate that it has been rising in recent years, the local channels are all I'm going to have eventually, DVD not withstanding.

I hear 'ya. I just dropped down to their Top 100 after the recent increase.

Had the Top 200 2 years ago, then dropped down to Latino Dos when they raised that, which actually was a lot better than the Top 100 as far as English offerings (IFC, National Geographic, Sirius music channels and free Playboy TV!). After the Top 100, I've no further down I can go without never hearing the end of it (thanks to Lifetime).

I would've liked to have kept my RSN if they still offered it with the Top 100+ pack for $5.00 extra - but, along with the Top 100 price they also raised the RSN price to $10.00!!

With everything else going up so much, I have to cut back - I can't just "absorb" these raises like so many others here seem to. It gets me when people here imply that "It's only a few dollars - so what? Just pay it!".

I still have OTA and a no-fee HD DVR for my HD, though. (And another SD one for the Dish channels.)

To be honest, I just assumed that was the case, but you may have hit on a loophole for those who want a third box at a coupon price.

Bob Diaz

It's comforting to know that there are others who feel the same way. I dropped DirecTV last year, after 9 years with them, and went with Dish because of pricing that was simply getting out of control. I'll hang on with Dish until it can no longer be justified. Top 100 is what I have as well.

The digital converter will indeed help, I'm looking forward to saving the money each month that's being paid for locals. Now am simply hoping that I pick the right converter, once the coupon arrives...was leaning heavily towards the Zenith box, but audio issues reported by multiple posters have me wondering now.

There's the "Family Plan" for $20. ($25 with local channels)

I remind people how much those few extra dollars cost in lifespan. Say $10 more per month; $120 a year:

- About 15 more hours wasted in hell... er, work.
- I'd rather spend those 2 days at home enjoying the company of my wife and kids.
Well then you should agree with me - the $40 coupons should not be provided to cable or satellite owners. If the TV goes out, then it should be either the cable or dish company that provides the solution, not the government, because it was the company at fault.

The coupons should only be for those who have NO other solution except over-the-air.

The government "broke" their televisions and made them useless; thus it should be the government that fixes the problem (provides those coupons). I look around, and I see all these poor or elderly people who have no clue about the DTV transition. All the boxes will have been taken by cable/dish subscribers (i.e. you), leaving the poor/elderly with nothing.

Also:

I don't want six coupons.
I want three.

They don't have Lifetime with the Family plan. Other than that, I myself could live with it, because I don't watch that much stuff on the satellite/cable channels anyway. I thought about getting the standalone HD Pack, but not at least until they get more channels.

If it wasn't for the infamous low-powered, lo-VHF WBBM-DT here (CBS), I could comfortably drop the locals and knock that cost off too, but until they move to hi-VHF like they're supposed to, I need to keep them around. I have no use for the Dish locals otherwise - I get them all OTA and they look 1000x better.

I'm really pissed off now after reading this http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/22...-til-june-jul/

Even though I have no use for one of these boxes personally...my father has a lake cabin with a older crt hooked up to analog cable that frequently goes down...and the back up rabbit ears are used more than you would think. I told him the Echostar TR-40 is the way to go because of analog passthrough...but now they may not be available until the coupons expire. If the government can't even get this right...can we trust them with universal healthcare?

Thanks for playing, "Really Bad Analogies"

The government provided the coupons, not the TR-40....

The TR-40 is on the governments "approved list" which means this box was made specifically for the coupon program....the same program which has a tight 90 day window before they are useless...and only a paltry handful of boxes available (none below $50) when the first ones were sent out. believe it or not...there are some people in this country (and no, my father isn't one of them) that will have to wait until the $39.99 boxes are available before they can afford to get one. What if their coupons expire before that is possible?

If I could know on January 2, what I know now, I could make a ton of money off the stock market and the lottery!!!

On January 2, I had no idea that most of the boxes would be delayed.

However, I'm happy with the Zenith Box, so I'll end up getting 2 more Zeniths.


Bob Diaz

Yeah, I'm not sure where the complaints are coming from (other than rrrrroger, who would complain if someone walked up to him and handed him a $20). I signed up for my coupons on Jan 1 figuring that there would be limited selection available on the market when I received my coupons. I also knew they wouldn't mail any coupons until at least some products started hitting the shelves. With that info, I was more than willing to be a guinea pig and be one of the early adopters.

Once the products had started hitting the shelves, I noticed that one of the Best Buy's near here had them in stock with one prominently on display and hooked up to an antenna. It was pretty nice to get to check one out before purchasing it. It was in a signal area that was just a little bit worse than mine, so I was luckily able to get a good idea of the performance of the box too.

About a week ago, I got my coupons and went to Best Buy and picked up two of the Insignias. The purchase was pretty smooth. They hadn't seen the coupons before, but readily figured it out. I've been happy with my purchase. The Insignia is certainly not without some minor quirks, but no major problems or annoyances. It performs well enough hooked up to rabbit ears, but hooking it up to my DB2 definitely helps with performance. Its interface is also intuitive.

At the end of the day, I have no regrets signing up for my coupons early and being an early Insignia (Zenith) adopter. I would definitely recommend the box to anyone who needs to burn their coupons right now.