Video: Concerns about the digital TV switch

The countdown to next month’s conversion to digital TV is on, and a government coupon program to help pay for converter boxes has run out of money.

“How many questions do you get? Every day, dozens and dozens of questions for each customer,“ said Jonathan Lopez of Radio Shack.

Questions about the historical conversion February 17, when all full power television stations will shut off traditional analog broadcasts, and transmit only digital signals.

“This is the first time we’ve ever shut off technology like this that everybody uses,” said President of Texas Broadcasters Association Michael Snyder.

Satellite and cable users won’t need to do anything to be ready,

But as ad campaigns have been warning for months, more than 70 million TV’s in the U.S. that use an antenna to receive over the air signals will be left with blank screens unless they have a digital converter box.

For millions of people, it may be too late.  The government’s billion dollar coupon program to help people pay for digital converter boxes, is out of money.

“The government sponsored this coupon program to be able to provide each household with up to two coupons for 40 dollars for each converter box. The idea was to try to offset the costs for those families,” said Kevin Martin of the FCC.

Thousands of people are now on a waiting list, as Congress scrambles to find a way to allocate more money to the program.

Consumers can still request a coupon. It just might not arrive in time for the conversion.

It’s already happened in Wilmington North Carolina.  It’s a test market for the conversion that made the switch five months ago.

Within the first five days, the FCC got 1,800 complaints associated with the switch.  Most were simple to solve.

That as the rest of the nation gets set to enter a new era of transmission.

The digital technology is a more efficient way of delivering the same television programming.

As for the government coupon program, you don’t have to have a coupon to buy a converter box.