The DTV transition coupon program has, indeed, run out of money. Anyone who requested a coupon after Jan 4 has been placed on a waiting list, says MSNBC. [MSNBC]
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Can we get our expired coupons replaced? I sent an email to the people issuing the coupons earlier this week but haven't heard back. Just wondering if anyone had luck/knowledge with this?
I so can't wait until February. Let the lawsuits begin!
Oh boy, time to make a killing on ebay!
Seriously, they thought that starting something like this only a year in advance wouldn't cause problems?
And they DIDN'T think the Cable companies and television manufacturers wouldn't make a field day out of it?
Its a conspiracy for consumers to play into the hands of monopolies like Comcast. Blech.
@kidnextdoor:
Consumerist wasn't the only one telling people to wait.
I waited a bit, then held off buying mine because I was waiting for the Dish Network one to come out. It was supposed to be available last June, but my coupons were expiring in August & it hadn't come out then.
I wanted that one because it was supposed to be able to change channels for a VCR.
I still can't find it & the similar Zinwell isn't available either. Those that sell it don't know if they're ever going to get any more of them.
Way to go FCC, by not setting a standard design, you're forcing people to get cable or satellite!
Just watch, we'll find out in a few years that the cable & satellite people bribed the FCC into this mess!
I got my boxes, but I found out that my old ass Tivo series 1 w/ it's lifetime subscription won't work with them (unless/until I do some crazy hacking nonsense) so I'll still be watching a ton less tv after the switch date.
@jscott73: If your coupon expired, you can get a new one. However, the money set aside for your coupon has been released and given to someone else, so you'll have to get on the waiting list and wait for other coupons to expire.
@He: Hacking nonsense? Doesn't your Series 1 have an IR transmitter you can plug in to let it control an external tuner, like it does with cable boxes?
I certainly understand why you don't want to give up the Series 1's lifetime subscription, but a TivoHD has the ATSC tuner built in already... you could sell your subsidized ATSC tuner(s) in the probable feeding frenzy on eBay/Craigslist in February and buy a new TivoHD... you've probably already gotten your money's worth out of that lifetime subscription. ;)
I think the primary problem is people who don't need the boxes took coupons. Only 15% of households watch their TV OTA. I'm sure a decent number of the 85% who subscribe to cable/sat decided they wanted a free converter box too.
Don't they keep track of when these coupons are redeemed? It's like they gave away free money to get a converter box, but they just gave away pieces of paper. IF all these people got coupons who didn't need them, then the govn't didn't send the stores the money to replace the coupon.
@Pylon83: "Free" one of the major problems with this program is that the boxes cost way more than the $40 coupon. Walk in to a big box shop today. I bet you will see either no boxes because they are sold out OR only boxes that cost more than $40.
@GearheadGeek: The IR transmitter doesn't have the remote codes necessary to control the converter boxes and also can't change to channel 7.3, for instance. There's a good guide on how to make it work, I just don't like messing around with something that has been rock solid in the past. And I don't want to buy a TivoHD, because I'm trying to be cheap. All our A/V equipment is second-hand including the lifetime tivo.
I choose to blame faulty / misleading consumer education. I suspect most of the people don't need a DTV converter box, they just think they do.