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Retailers Reprimanded for Selling Incompatible TVs
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Major retailers get in trouble with the government for selling televisions that won’t work when broadcasting goes digital next year.
30-Second Summary
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Sears Holding Corp., Target Corp. and eight other retailers were fined for violating FCC rules intended to prevent consumers from buying televisions that will be unable to receive signals when broadcasters switch to digital on February 17, 2009.
In preparation for the changeover to digital broadcasting, the Federal Communications Commission’s current rules state that retailers must have a label on or near television sets that cannot receive a digital signal without a converter box.
The change won’t affect most viewers. Those with cable or satellite service are safe. But those who use rabbit ears to tune their sets may be out of luck. Nielsen Media Research estimates more than 13 million homes receive service exclusively through an antenna.
The change will leave some viewers “in the dark,” reports The Washington Post. “The digital conversion presents a huge logistical and technical hurdle for the communities whose dependence on rabbit-ear-style analog TVs are high, but whose understanding of how to manage the change is low.”
In preparation for the changeover to digital broadcasting, the Federal Communications Commission’s current rules state that retailers must have a label on or near television sets that cannot receive a digital signal without a converter box.
The change won’t affect most viewers. Those with cable or satellite service are safe. But those who use rabbit ears to tune their sets may be out of luck. Nielsen Media Research estimates more than 13 million homes receive service exclusively through an antenna.
The change will leave some viewers “in the dark,” reports The Washington Post. “The digital conversion presents a huge logistical and technical hurdle for the communities whose dependence on rabbit-ear-style analog TVs are high, but whose understanding of how to manage the change is low.”
Headline Link: ‘FCC Fines Major Retailers Over TV Transition Rules’
Wal-Mart stated that the fines were for past infractions and that its stores currently comply with FCC rules: "'... we have already voluntarily invested millions of dollars in new technology, training, new product and consumer education for the FCC's DTV transition program.'" Target said it would "review the FCC’s findings and take the appropriate action."
Source: Reuters
Background: Best Buy CEO ‘nervous’ about switch
Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson said in January that the transition to digital television posed the biggest threat to his industry, foreseeing trouble next February when some consumers find themselves without working TVs. "We're very nervous about the potential risk," Anderson said. "I think the industry will be damaged if we as an industry don't handle this well."
Source: CNET
Related Topic: What happens to viewers with outmoded sets?
Those with outmoded sets can subscribe to a cable or satellite provider, upgrade to a set with a digital tuner or purchase a DTV converter box. The government will subsidize those buying converter boxes with two $40 coupons per household; as of March, more than 6.6 million coupons have already been requested.
Source: Newsweek
Seniors and low-income individuals are the most likely to own older televisions that won’t accept digital broadcasting signals. It’s harder to inform these populations about technical change, reports The Washington Post. “Yet these groups are also the people who most rely on their TVs for critical information such as news reports and public-service alerts. In nursing homes and retirement communities, where many sets need antennas to pick up signals, TVs could flicker out,” according to the story.
Source: The Washington Post
Reference: DTV
findingDulcinea provides a Web Guide to digital broadcasting, with user-friendly online resources about what, if anything, users need to do to update their household for the switch next year. The guide also examines a lot of the misinformation that’s been floating around the Web regarding the switch to digital.
Source: findingDulcinea
The FCC offers a guide about the digital television transition on its Web site. The guide includes frequently asked questions, an outreach toolkit and recent press releases.
Source: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Best Buy’s Web site features a guide to DTV, with an explanation of the upcoming switch, a video tutorial and a quiz to help viewers determine if they are ready for the DTV switchover, and, if not, what they need to do.
Source: Best Buy
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