Don’t Let TV Manufacturers Fool You

(I will keep the names of both the retailer & the television manufacturer out of this article in order to protect the innocent.) On a recent shopping trip in the region, I happened to be near the electronics section of a certain department store. I just happened to overhear a conversation a gentleman was having on the phone with a famous television manufacturer. (Apparently, someone at the store dialed the number for him.) He was looking for a television with a built in digital tuner as he wanted to be ready for the transistion to digital in 2009. He was told by the call service that the TV he wanted DID have both a digital and analog tuner built in. I couldn’t help but look at the box & find out the manufacturer was actually lying to the gentleman when I found the warning label on the box stating that “you will need a digital conversion box for this television.” It only had an analog tuner built in, which is no good after 2009 unless you are using it for regular cable. I print this as a warning to be careful & make sure the new TV you want has a digital tuner built in, whether it’s SDTV, EDTV or HDTV. It usually says on front of the TV which type of digital tuner it has. If there is a warning label on the TV stating that it only has an analog tuner, ask questions & look for the digital info on the TV or the box it comes in. Don’t be blind, do your homework before making a purchase. If I hadn’t stepped in, it would have cost a consumer $180.00 because of a manufacturer giving him misleading information. You can go to www.fcc.gov for more information on what to look for in a digital TV.