Audio Video News

Owners of obsolete analog television sets, rejoice. The $40 federal subsidy designed to keep your old TV going is in the mail--if you've requested it.

As part of the transition to DTV broadcasting, the federal government pledged to defray the cost of set-top digital-to-analog converter boxes to keep analog TVs from going dark. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has begun mailing plastic cards worth $40, up to two per household. Recipients will have 90 days to redeem the credit at stores selling the boxes, such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, RadioShack, etc. The subsidy program will cost $1.5 billion.

More than 2.6 million households have requested 5 million coupons since January, according to the NTIA. This may be troubling given that the number of broadcast-dependent U.S. households is usually estimated to be around 20 million and some estimates run as high as 40 million.

Will everyone who needs an analog lifesaver get one in time for the end of analog broadcasting? We'll find out on February 17, 2009.