Eighty-six percent of the public now is aware of the February 2009 transition to digital television. That’s up 12 percentage points from the beginning of the year, according to the results of research released on Sept. 15 from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
The research also revealed 32 percent of TV viewers who watch television on at least one set with an antenna have applied for the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) converter box coupon. An additional 37 percent of such households say they plan to request a coupon before the end of the year. Twenty-one percent of these households don’t plan to ask for a coupon.
According to the CEA, this translates into an additional 14 million converter box coupon requests in the next few month, which is within the available number remaining in the NTIA program.
According to the survey, converter box users are highly satisfied with the experience they had with the coupon and converter box. The survey found 90 percent of consumers rated the process of requesting a coupon online as good or excellent. When it came to finding a store with converter boxes for sale, the survey found 81 percent gave the experience high marks.
Three out of four consumers who have purchased a converter box have attached it to their sets. Of those, 38 percent read the instruction manual to hook it up, and 42 percent relied on assistance from a friend or family member, the survey found.
For more information, visit www.ce.org.