On February 17, 2009, all over-the-air TV broadcasts will cease transmission in the analog format and switch exclusively to digital. While this doesn't affect those who have cable or satellite TV, it does for everyone else. And as someone who is looking for a way to drop the $60+ monthly bill from DirecTV, it seems like a perfect opportunity to do so.The US government is helping people out with the switch by providing $40 coupons towards the purchase of a converter box. Granted, these are pretty bare-bones options in this program, but you can't beat the final price of $10-$40. So your first order of business is to request those coupons on their site: https://www.dtv2009.gov
After you wait the 4-6 weeks for the coupon to show up, you're ready to buy your converter box. I consider an S-video output to be an essential feature; Most modern TVs have an S-video input, and it gives a much sharper and richer picture than a coax RF or RCA connection. So that leaves us with just two options: The Apex D250 and the ChannelMaster CM-7000.
From the customer reviews tab on BestBuy.com, it looks like there are serious quality issues with the Apex. The CM-7000 reviews while fewer in number have a more reassuring tenor than Apex. So for me the choice is clear. The cheapest I could find it online is from SolidSignal.com.
| Get a CM-7000 from Solid Signal |
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