Exactly one year from today, when you turn your analog TV on, it may not work. Where you expect As The World Turns (ATWT to its fans), you’ll only get fuzz. That’s because February 17, 2009 is when broadcast TV stations will be turning off their analog signals and starting to transmit only in digital. How do you know if yours is an analog TV? If you use “rabbit ears” or a rooftop antenna for TV reception, you’re on an analog TV.

But before you use this as an excuse to pitch your current television out with this week’s garbage so that you can rush down to the big box store to acquire your massive high-def plasma flat screen, consider a more modest approach: simply getting yourself a converter box. Shortly, retailers — online and off — will be selling special boxes that change the digital signal into analog. They’re to cost about $60 to $70.

Best of all, the federal government is providing free coupons through a web site at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/ that will let you save $40 on the purchase. At the moment of this writing, exactly 4,732,276 coupons had been ordered. Each household can request two of them.

The coupons won’t be available after March 31, 2008, which means you only have a few weeks left to request yours. They’re also only good for 90 days. That means you can get your coupons, but you also have to plan to use them within three months. No dawdling if you want a good deal. (And since you’re on PriceGrabber.com right now, I know you’re always looking for a good deal.)

I’d assume that your preferred online retailer will accept the coupons too. If they don’t, then find another company to buy from. According to the feds, about 14,000 retail outlets will be accepting them.

Posted on February 18th, 2008 by dian