Digital TV converter boxes are available at Wal Mart

[anotherguy]

I was in my local Wal Mart today and found out that the digital TV converter boxes are now available. They were made by RCA and Magnavox, and ran at just under $50.00, so the government issued coupons will bring it down to just under $10.00. They're about the size of a small DVD player. The RCA model has channel selector buttons on the front, but the Magnavox model can only be controlled by remote. I'm going to get two of them when I get the coupons (hopefully assuming they're not sold out) for my set that I keep on rabbit ears and another for a spare or if I put a set on an outdoor antenna.

Something else I'm wondering is what will these boxes do if they are connected to cable? I know that the digital subchannels for local stations are probably taken off of the stations before they're sent out on cable, but will these boxes bring in anything surprising?

[Eric Stein]

Something else I'm wondering is what will these boxes do if they are connected to cable? I know that the digital subchannels for local stations are probably taken off of the stations before they're sent out on cable, but will these boxes bring in anything surprising?

I'm thinking that these basic converters won't do anything when hooked up to cable TV, since they probably lack a QAM decoder (something that more expensive and advanced models have). As for the surprises, if you don't subscribe to digital cable, you may find some of the subchannels informative and/or entertaining (such as local weather, traffic, all-music videos, or even classic TV programming in some cases).

If you're happy with what your cable company currently provides, the converter is just another option.

[KML-224]

We only sell the Magnavox model at the location I'm employed at. We sell it for about $49 and, interesting enough, the Funai name appears on the manual for customer service. Hmmm! Anyways, I haven't been able to read that manual to see what it would do for cable. Lastly, I've only had one customer ask so far (by phone) if we were supposed to have the $40 coupons. Oh geez!

[ansky212]

I applied for a coupon.  I guess we should be receiving them within the next couple weeks.

[FightingIrish]

I applied for a coupon.  I guess we should be receiving them within the next couple weeks.

The coupons were sent out last week.

[MarcB]

The coupons were sent out last week.

I heard a report that the coupons are only good for 2 months.

[tripinva]

The coupons were sent out last week.

I heard a report that the coupons are only good for 2 months.

3 months.  They expire 90 days from the day they're issued, which I read wasn't supposed to be before today.

- Trip

[jal41]

The coupons are valid for 90 days (3 months) after they are issued by the NTIA.

Most electronics under several brand names (Emerson, Magnavox, etc.) that are sold by Wal-Mart are made by the Funai Corporation. The big name manufacturers license their names to other electronics companies (overseas) to make electonics in their names. American electronics companies no longer make their own electronics, let alone making them in America (I believe there is only one plant that makes TVs in the US located in Tennessee, and they are about to shut down if they have not already).

The functionality of the approved boxes is limited. They can only output to RCA composite video/audio or RF NTSC Channel 3/4 (no digital outputs). I believe QAM is a disqualifying feature.

Most cable companies are now carrying the subchannels of the local commerical and PBS stations (but not the religious stations or the Ion stations). Most are carrying WeatherPlus and RTN when they are offered by a partnering local OTA station.

[anotherguy]

We only sell the Magnavox model at the location I'm employed at. We sell it for about $49 and, interesting enough, the Funai name appears on the manual for customer service.

There are some Magnavox items that are still made by Philips, but a lot of the cheaper Magnavox branded stuff comes from Funai now. I'm not surprised the converter box is that way.

I can almost tell if an item is made by Funai by the shape of the remote, regardless of the brand. I have a Symphonic TV/VCR combination, a small Magnavox DVD player, and an Emerson DVD recorder/VCR combo with similar remotes that work on each other's items for the same functions.

I've tried to get to their website, but it apparently isn't up at the present time, but here is the article on them in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funai

[FightingIrish]

I own a Funai 19" TV set that recently celebrated its 21st birthday. It still works very well, though the remote died long ago. Got me through college and was fairly easy to travel around with. I don't think I could ever part with it, since it has such sentimental value, though I rarely use it since it's shoved off in another room.

I always thought it was a very well made and durable piece of equipment.